Twin Cities – FROZBROZ

August 1, 2013

Cream Cheese Blueberry with Candied Lemon

Many of our flavor concepts are first, based on seasonality; second, a specific technique; and of course we are generally striving to push the envelope with flavor pairings and techniques alike. And then there are concepts like this week where we just want to make whatever it is that we want to eat. I mean, we’re definitely staying true to seasonality, and that means most things, such as berries, are only around for so long. And this week, we’re talkin’ blueberries. Local blueberries Ripe blueberries that are the kind of blueberries dreams are made of…at least my dreams. And this is an ice cream flavor that I want to sit down and destroy…I craved it before I even attempted to make it. If you are into what I’m about to show you, then I’m pretty sure you’re going to have similar sentiments. Let’s get this on, with this weeks flavor – Cream Cheese Blueberry with Candied Lemon.

Cream Cheese, from Swiss Valley Cooperative in Luana, Iowa. This is a full flavored cream cheese with a nice tangy note to it. Also, extremely dense. Why cream cheese? This is my flavor jam, and I have all glutinous instincts in motion. It’s the Wisconsin in my blood. It’s that I know what this ice cream will taste like after I incorporate this block-o-cheese into the ice cream. So that’s what I’m doing here. The cream cheese is incorporated into our organic cane sugar base during the cooking process. Next, the whole reason designing this flavor ever came about…

Blueberries! Local blueberries from our very own Midtown Farmers. Before finding these blubes, I hadn’t decided how exactly I would get them into the ice cream. These were very ripe and sweet, almost past their prime, but perfect for juicing and making a syrup. And after a taste, I knew that was my approach. I smashed them with a potato masher and then brought to a simmer. Then, strained the juices through a fine mesh strainer. Next, sugar is added and the juices are simmered down. Blueberry syrup? Check. I layered it into the cream cheese ice cream during packaging.

Next I worked on making the candied lemon. I toiled with idea of making a cream cheese lemon ice cream base, but in the end, I wanted a little texture differentiation, and chewy candied lemon just seemed right. It is right. In preparation, the lemons are first peeled and julienned. The rind can be quite bitter, so I first blanch the rind in boiling water for a 20 seconds or so and then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. I repeat this 3 times, each time changing out the water. Now that the bitter oils are removed, the rind is simmered in a simple syrup of sugar and water until translucent. The candied rind can be used as is, or I like to toss them in sugar, so they don’t all stick together. The candied lemon get tossed into the ice cream during the churn. Some of the candied lemon start to break down in the ice cream, creating little pockets of intense lemony goodness.

Are you into what I just showed you? – rich cream cheese ice cream studded with candied lemon and laced with an intense blueberry syrup. It’s my jam and it’s what I want to eat.

Want to try it? You can win one of the only two pints in the world, filled with this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. 2 lucky winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 8/2/13 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally and give us feedback. Pints must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

June 20, 2013

Asparagus with Truffle Honey

Ok, so this week we are going to test your inner most ice cream love. And not just your inner love, but your preception of ice cream love. And not just your percieved love, but your adventurous ice cream love.

On a recent trip to Pizzeria Lola my wife and I ordered one of the weekly specials: pizza topped with asparagus and truffle honey. Not only does Lola live up to all hype given, but this weekly pizza special was off the charts good. The idea resinated immediatley, and I couldn’t stop thinking about my process and how I would break it down into ice cream. Once asparagus hit the local farmers market, we were on it. Let’s get started with this week’s flavor, Asparagus with Truffle Honey.

Asparagus from the Midtown Farmers Market.

We cut off the tips and blanch them in boiling water to soften up and bring out their vibrant green color. We reserved the staulks and grilled them for delicious eats guys. After blanching, into the food processor for a spin. The puree is added into our organic cane sugar ice cream base right after cooking. We give it a generous salting and the solids are strained out through a fine mesh strainer. The asparagus ice cream is ready for churning.

Now that the asparagus ice cream is done, we’re ready to make our truffle honey. We were lucky enough to get our hands on some of the last remains of Nordeast Nectars honey. Last year many of their bees died off, but thankfully their queen is still alive. This year Britt Lundberg and her neighborhood crew are making efforts to regroup, and hopefully, with a name change, new packaging, and much hard work, we will see more of this local liquid gold from them. To make the truffle honey, we stir a small amount of truffle oil into the honey. The oil becomes suspended in the honey. The truffle honey gets layered into the pints during packaging.

Asparagus with Truffle Honey! It’s creamy asparagus ice cream with an itital burst of truffle flavor leading into a sweet honey finish. Testing your inner love, perceptions and adventures in ice cream. Love, FrozBroz

Want to try it? You can win one of the only two pints in the world, filled with this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. 2 lucky winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 6/21/13 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally and give us feedback. Pints must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

June 13, 2013

Spicy Jerk w/ Dark Rum Caramel

This flavor falls in line with the Caribbean influence we’ve had over the last couple of months, as well as with some of the spiced ice creams we’ve been experimenting with, such as Baharat. The idea hit a few weeks back when I was preparing a Jerk paste to be used for some grilled chicken. With sweet spices like Cloves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Allspice, and a good amount of brown sugar making up the majority of the Jerk seasonings, I couldn’t help but begin to think of ice cream. Add in a dark rum caramel to round out those Jamaican flavors, and you have a winner.

For this flavor, some of the savory elements of traditional Jerk seasonings have been left out, primarily the onion and garlic. The primary components of this flavor are those aforementioned sweet spices, as well as thyme and a habanero pepper to provide the heat that “Jerk” is known for. Since the spices are almost identical to what many identify as the “pumpkin pie” flavors, the pepper and herb are essential to keeping a dividing line between the Thanksgiving dessert and the Caribbean spice.

Since Brown sugar is often used when making Jerk seasoning, I went with our brown sugar base for the foundation of the ice cream.

The spices, and the sole habanero are blended into the brown sugar base to steep while it is cooked.

The caramel begins with brown sugar, and is combined with molasses. Rum is often made from molasses, and since rum burns off with the heat from the cooking process, we use molasses in its place. A bit of real rum is added to the caramel after it cools, so as to not lose the alcohol to evaporation from heat.

Once we’ve spun the Jerk ice cream base, we layer the dark rum caramel in as we pack the pints.

The resulting ice cream is a rich, spicy brown sugar Jerk ice cream with rivers of dark rum caramel.

Want to try it? You can win one of the only two pints in the world, filled with this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. 2 lucky winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 6/14/13 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally and give us feedback. Pints must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

June 6, 2013

Rhubarb with Brandy Orange Caramel

Although you may not able to tell by the weather we’ve been having this year, it is actually Spring in Minnesota. Whatever the temperatures are, it doesn’t matter, it’s time to celebrate the beginning of the new growing season. And to start it all off, one of the first things out of the ground every spring is the beloved rhubarb. So let’s get this celebration started with this week’s flavor: Rhubarb with Brandy Orange Caramel.

This is heirloom rhubarb. The original plant started on my wife’s grandparents farm near Milwaukee, WI. It’s been split many times, but I have to say, this plant likes to get crazy in our yard, and if left alone would grow upwards of four to five feet in height. We twist and pull out the younger stalks for cooking.

We first puree the rhubarb completely. So you’re probably wondering why the puree is green and not pink in color? For the ice cream, I decided to peal the rhubarb first, to eliminate the posibility of retaining any stringing fiberous material. Because the puree will eventually end up in the ice cream, I wanted to make sure that fiberous material didn’t affect texture. In hind site, it didn’t matter, because we processed it fully, but I assure you, this green puree has evey bit of rhubard flavor. The puree goes into a sauce pan and is reduced with a squeeze of lemon juice until nearly all the liquid has boiled off. At this point, we set the puree in a fine mesh strainer and allow it to drain any left over liquid. Any residual liquid could potentially make this an icy rhubarb ice cream instead of a creamy one. The finished/drained puree is added into our organic cane sugar ice cream base.

For the caramel, as we almost always do, we start by caramelzing plain white sugar over high heat. Once caramelized, we whisk in our cream. And since we’re celebrating the beginning of the growing season, I thought we should probably throw in a party favor. Citrus and rhubarb are a classic combination, which gave way to exactly what party favor to use? Another classic combo – brandy and orange. And so it goes. We finish the caramel with brandy, orange zest and a generous salting.

Creamy rhubarb ice cream layered with a zesty brandy orange caramel. Let’s tip our glasses and celebrate the beginning of Minnesota’s growing season, FrozBroz style!

Want to try it? You can win one of the only two pints in the world, filled with this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. 2 lucky winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 6/7/13 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally and give us feedback. Pints must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

May 31, 2013January 29, 2024

The New York Times

We made The New York Times!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/magazine/who-made-that-ice-cream-cone.html