Olive Oil Ice Cream

This ice cream tasted like the smell of an Asian bakery - you know, the really fragrant aroma from the cute little sponge cakes hanging out on the shelves? It was divine. With a little drizzle of legit balsamic vinegar, it was even better! The best part of homemade ice cream is licking the freezer bowl and the plastic churner component with all its nooks and crannies. Don't use your tongue to lick the freezer bowl directly. That would be a mistake, albeit an initially delicious one.

Olive oil ice cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 1/3 cups (330 ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
Pinch of sea salt (taste the custard and adjust salt as needed - salt really intensifies the flavors!)
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (125 ml) legit olive oil - the key is in the legitness of the olive oil

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Make sure that you don’t over cook it or else you’ll get scrambled eggs. It’s better to err on the safe side by turning off the heat when the custard just slightly thickens because the heat in the pot will continuously cook the mixture. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Whisk the olive oil into the custard vigorously until it’s well blended, then stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.