minneapolis – Page 3

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

May 16, 2013

Fenugreek Praline Pecan

The first time I considered Fenugreek as an ice cream flavor was after trying some gouda cheese with fenugreek seeds in it; amazed at the sweetness and maple like flavor the fenugreek added. After some deliberation, and some more research, I discovered that fenugreek is one of the main flavor components of fake maple syrup. My curiosity was piqued, and I was sold. To round the flavor out, I chose to add caramel coated pecans to the mix and make it our own spiced up version of praline pecan.

First the pecans..

To make praline pecans we first roast and salt whole pecans and smash them into smaller, more bite friendly sized pieces.

Then we make a simple caramel that is boiled to a “hard crack”, so it doesn’t pull your fillings out when you bite into it, but instead as a crunch. The pecans are added in at the very end and then cooled to keep the caramel coating.

After the pecans are cooled they are broken out of their caramel sheath and end up with a perfect caramel praline coat.

For the ice cream, we steep the Fenugreek seeds in our organic cane sugar base and strain them out before the churn.

What we get is a spiced maple kissed ice cream studded with crunchy praline pecans.
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 5/17/13 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!

April 11, 2013

Bee Pollen

It isn’t often that we release a flavor that rides alone – one ingredient – no further augmentations. I can only think of a handful, out of the one hundred or so flavors that we’ve released over the past two years, since starting this here blog. Those that come to mind: Black Walnut, Fennel Pollen, Tomato, and of course, Triple Chocolate. There comes a time when we just want to know how certain flavors taste, on their own, in ice cream. Well, this week is one of those times. We chose one ingredient to ride alone – Bee Pollen!

This is bee pollen. When a worker bee lands on a flower, it gathers the dusty pollen from the plant. This dust sticks to the back of their legs, and the bee then uses it’s head, along with it’s nectar, to pack down the pollen dust, forming these bee pollen granules. They carry the pollen back to the hive where it is used as protein/food for the colony. Bee keepers have devised ways to knock the pollen off of the bees legs as it enters the hive, therefore bringing these pollen granules to market. Bee pollen is readily sold as a nutritional supplement, as it has been said to be very nutritious and claimed to cure certain health problems. Scientific research over the years has not confirmed this.

So now that you know the basics of bee pollen, let’s make ice cream with it, ok? The different colored granules symbolize the variety of plants the bee visited, which will effect it’s unique aroma and flavor. It’s flavor is sweet and nutty. We steeped the pollen in our standard cane sugar ice cream base, give it a generous salting, and strained through a fine mesh strainer before churning. That’s it!

Bee Pollen Ice Cream!

It’s sweet, creamy, nutty, honey-esk. It’s unique! And that’s why we needed to throw this one out there for a good ‘ol solo run.

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 4/12 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!