Handmade jam, made with so much love from my mum is one of the things I am sure will never be missing in our home. Jam made with different seasonal fruits, not forgetting my personal favorites: blackberry jam, quince jam and fig jam. Every month has its own special jams, and this can be witnessed inside our fridge as the jars start to take up more and more space. You can always save some jam for the next seasons.
Figs are one of my favorite fruits, either if they are served straight from the tree or cooked, and this can be easily noticed by the big space the fig jars take up in our fridge! And the best part remains having the whole fruit preserved even when jammed (a special feature in mum’s jam cooking). It really is a treat for when you are craving figs in the middle of the winter!
I might have gone slightly off topic, maybe have you wonder if this really is an ice-cream or jam post, but this happens to me when I get excited, and Oh God do figs get me excited! *giggles* So many childhood memories, and we all know food is memories.
Getting back on track, I have to admit that one of the best presents during this summer was undoubtedly the ice-cream machine (a present by my uncle!). I had wanted one for so long that my ice-cream list was already long, but now I finally had the opportunity to start making ice-cream [I Scream]!
The first ice-cream I decided to try was the fig ice-cream, the fig being the fruit of the season. I love the pleasantly crunch of the fruit’s little seeds as well as the sweet taste; therefore I wanted to try a recipe which would help me keep the fruit’s aroma, taste and texture but at the same time to be creamy as a proper ice-cream should be.
- In this recipe I have used small figs from the garden, which have a dark colour inside and outside (but any type of fig will do as long it’s ripe).
- You can also add vanilla extract if you wish, but you know by now that I prefer to keep the pure taste of the fruit.
- Every homemade ice-cream varies from the ice-cream machine used, therefore you have to check for the freezing time. I leave my container in the freezer for 24 hours and I let the ice-cream in the machine for 40 minutes.
- If you do not own an ice-cream machine you can place the mixture in a container and leave it in the freezer until it is frozen. I can tell you from my experience that the texture of the ice-cream changes especially in ice-creams such as the vanilla, chocolate, etc. where the base is not a fruit. Even if you do not have an ice-cream machine you can still get the same taste. Although I would recommend buying a small ice-cream machine if cooking is your passion and you like ice-creams just as much I do. I love it that I can prepare a healthy product, as many times as I want and the cost is surely lower that the market bought ice-creams. Bottom line, your investment will pay off 100%.
I hope you like this recipe and I can not wait for comments and suggestions. Do not forget to send me photos of your ice-creams, I love them too!
P.S: If my “ode” to fig jam inspired you, you can check the recipe HERE
Method:
Put together in a small pot the milk and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves
Set it aside until cold or put the pot in cold water (for a faster result)
Process the figs in a food processor until puree
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (milk and sugar, vanilla extract if using, fig puree and heavy cream)
Be careful not to over mix because you’ll end up beating heaving cream turning it into whipped cream (which you don’t need)
Churn the mixture in the ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Afterward put the ice cream in a container
Cover and freeze for at least 2-3 hours before serving
Photography by Eranda Janku, unless otherwise stated
