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Herbal Spotlight: Applemint, with Herb-Crusted Chevre & Applemint Vinaigrette Recipes

7/28/2020

We inherited many botanical treasures with the purchase of this 1841 house & barn, but my favorite by far is the enormous patch of heirloom wooly applemint! It is truly a gift for us & for the bees. It flowers nonstop from mid-July on through to first frost, providing an unending supply for nectar for the bees & ‘minty-goodness’ for our family all through Summer & Fall. And, while the cultivars of Mentha suaveolens available now in nurseries grow about 20” tall, our heirloom strain grows Alice-In-Wonderland high--with some spikes hitting 6’ in height! Our patch is pollinator & herbalist Heaven!

Mentha suaveolens: botanical drawing

A beautiful & delicious herb, applemint has many fantastic culinary, medicinal & decorative properties. A nigh-invulnerable member of the mint family, applemint has a brighter, sweeter flavor than most mints. She is a tough one--& will gladly overrun an area if allowed free reign, so is best tucked aside or even grown in pots if that is not your aim. Applemint has been traditionally used for digestive issues, headaches & fevers, as an antiseptic [it's great on bee stings,] & for skincare. It is very high in nutrients like iron, potassium, calcium, & the powerful antioxidants Vitamins A & C. Applemint leaves have been shown to help in breaking down fat & accelerating metabolism level. It also provides a cooling effect to the skin when applied. Applemint is best used medicinally as tea [fresh or dried] or tinctured.

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Herbal Spotlight: Chamomile with Old-Fashioned, Chamomile Ice Cream Recipe

7/13/2020

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beginning the infusion process

Chamomile is a 100% must-have-on-hand-at-all-times, year-round used herb. She does EVERYTHING from clearing up our skin to soothing our nerves, & tastes great doing it! Now is the time of year when the chamomile plants go into overdrive -- & so do we in an effort to ensure we have a strong supply for the rest of the year. Despite drying & tincturing tons of it, we always ensure there is some left over to enjoy in drinks & desserts right now too!

Iced chamomile tea with cream & vanilla is the perfect, relaxing refresher after a hard day of gardening & yard work, & has been a go-to-staple in our house forever. A couple years back, I had a lovely chamomile ice cream at the Bistro [props here to you, Meredith!] & it inspired me to create my own version, pulling in the cream & vanilla notes from our tea.

This is a rich-tasting, old-fashioned style ice cream with a classic custard base -- Heavenly & 1,000 times tastier than any you’ll find at the store. I reduce the amount of sugar used quite drastically [most custard based recipes use about 2 ½ cups of sugar -- I use only 1 cup] in order to maximize the herbaceous-floral flavor from the chamomile.

I do use rather a lot of egg yolks [pavlovas or egg-white omelets later, anyone?] here, but I find the richness they give is the perfect, deep-note foil for all the ‘high’ the flowers bring to it. When making homemade ice cream, time & patience are your allies -- Rest assured, your waiting will pay off in the end! Let’s get started!

For infusing, I use a mix of dried & fresh flowers

We start by infusing our half & half with chamomile flowers, giving it a delicate flavor & color. I like to use a combination of dried [chamomile tea] & fresh flowers for a nice, full flavor. You can use all dried or all fresh & it will still be lovely. For this recipe, we need to infuse 3 cups of half & half. I used ½ cup dried + ½ cup fresh chamomile flowers. [use ¾ cup for all dried or 1 ½ cups for all fresh for this amount of half & half.] Remove the flower heads of your fresh chamomile & rinse well.

Place any dried chamomile in the bottom of a large mason jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid. Add your half & half slowly to the jar. Press & softly mash with a wooden spoon, then add any fresh flowers being used, continuing to press & mash them down to incorporate. Seal the jar & pop it in your refrigerator to steep overnight. After 24-hours, you have 2 options: You can strain off your half & half & carry on with the recipe, or you can lightly scald the half & half before straining to create a deeper chamomile flavor. It makes delicious ice cream either way; I like the boost scalding gives the flavor, so I pour it macerating flowers & all into a small sauce pan & gently heat it just to the point of simmering [DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL!] before straining. Use a very-fine strainer, pressing to get every drop. Even with a very fine strainer, you're likely to have some small bits of chamomile left behind, which is fine. You can then either rinse the spent chamomile & compost it, or simply throw it out. Your half & half will now be delicately scented, chamomile flavored, & a gorgeous pale yellow. Now we're ready to begin making our ice cream base, where we will temper the eggs & create a luscious, chamomile custard!

Old-Fashioned Style Chamomile Ice Cream

3 cups Chamomile Steeped Half & Half
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
8 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract [optional]
1 cup heavy cream

In a medium sized cocotte or saucepan, whisk your egg yolks & sugar until completely combined. Add the salt & whisk a bit more & set aside.
Pour your half & half into a small saucepan & add the vanilla bean seeds. Bring it just to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring only occasionally. Again, do NOT let it come to a full boil! Gradually add the heated half & half to the egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Return the combined mixture to low heat, whisking to thicken the custard until it reaches 165º F [again, do not allow it to come to a boil.] Remove it from the heat. Pour the custard base into an airtight container & set in the refrigerator to chill. The better chilled your base is, the better your ice cream will set & creamier it will be! Do not rush this process! [I feel you-- the patience thing is hard for me!] It is best to allow the base to chill overnight, but it must be at least down to 60º F before you run it through your machine in order to set up.

Once your base has chilled properly, stir in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream & ½ tsp vanilla extract [if using.] Pour it into your ice cream maker & process according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
We love our old+new style machine where an electric motor combines with the use of classic rock salt; it consistently gives great results.

This recipe makes about 2 quarts of ice cream. Scoop & enjoy!

Perfect little dessert that captures the taste of Summertime.

The chamomile flavor is delicate, but solidly present here. It is a rich, satisfying ice cream, so best served in small amounts. I like to add an almond-hazelnut biscotti on the side for dipping! Enjoy it with a nice glass of Chamomile Lemonade for an extra refreshing end to a meal! Be sure to let me know how yours turns out--I LOVE hearing from you & was thrilled to get all the pictures of everyone's Peony Jelly a couple weeks back! Thanks for sharing!
Until next time-- #StopAndEatTheFlowers

Chamomile is such an amazing Herbal Ally & is so versatile, she is an important ingredient in many of our top-selling items!
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