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

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.

-he 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