Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream with Goat Cheese

The following recipe has been modified from one at Juniper Moon Farm. I was skeptical of the contrary flavors and was pleasantly surprised with how well they work together!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar (separated 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon (Wholesome Sweeteners)

• 1 cup whole milk (additive free)

• 1 cup heavy cream (If you can't find a "safe" heavy cream, sub more whole milk)

• 6 egg yolks

• 6 oz. mild goat cheese (I buy it from a local farm)

• 2 pounds of strawberries, hulled and cut into eighths (smaller bits work better)

• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (Pompeian)

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Stir occasionally, being careful not to allow the milk to scorch. You are just gently heating the milk to a low simmer.

Separate 6 eggs, retaining the whites for another use like meringue kisses.

Whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar. Next is tempering the eggs. Tempering is a slow and gentle way of raising the temperature of the eggs so that they don’t cook and become a gloppy mess.

First, reduce the heat under you milk mixture to low. Then slowly add the hot milk mixture to the yolks, never more than one spoonful at a time, and stir to combine.

Don’t try to rush the process. It will only end in heartbreak.

When the to mixtures are roughly the same temperature, add the egg mixture to the milk mixture and stir.

You are now making the custard that will be the base of your ice cream. Continue to stir the custard over low heat while it cooks. By “continue to stir” I mean, give this custard your FULL ATTENTION for the next four or five minutes, being careful to stir all the way to the edges of the pot. Allowing your custard to cook too quickly will result in the eggs that you so carefully tempered turning into scrambled eggs. This is what’s referred to as a “broken” sauce.

The custard is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and set aside. Pour the hot custard mixture over the crumbled goat cheese and stir until some of the goat cheese melts into the custard. Cover the custard and refrigerate until well chilled.

While your custard is chilling, macerate your berries by sprinkling them with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and allowing them to sit at room temperature for about an hour.

When your custard is nice and cool, combine the custard with the macerated fruit and proceed with the instructions for your ice cream maker.