Concord Grape Ice Cream
Makes: About 1 quart/1 liter
Late August is Concord grape picking time down the back roads near my home in western New Jersey. They make wonderful pies, preserves, ice cream, and sorbet. Letting the purée steep overnight with the skins gives the ice cream an enticing hue; concentrating and reducing the grape purée evaporates enough of its water to produce an exceptionally creamy consistency.
Plan Ahead For the deepest color, let the grape purée and the skins steep for up to 24 hours.
Ice Cream Base
| Concord grapes | 907 grams (2 pounds) | about 5½ cups |
| glucose or reduced corn syrup | 42 grams | 2 tablespoons (30 ml) |
| sugar | 238 grams | 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | . | a pinch |
| heavy cream | 290 grams | 1¼ cups (296 ml), divided |
| 6 (to 9) large egg yolks | 112 grams | ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (104 ml) |
| lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained | 10 grams | 2 teaspoons (10 ml) |
Make The Concord Grape Purée
* Have ready a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a medium saucepan.
1) Rinse the grapes well and drain away any water. Place the grapes in a bowl and remove the skins by pressing the grapes between thumb and forefinger (see Scoops), but leave the skins in the bowl with the grapes. Allow them to sit at cool room temperature, covered, for 8 to 12 hours, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. (If you are using a food mill fitted with a fine disc to purée the grapes, there is no need to remove the skins, as they will be left behind along with the seeds, nor to allow the grapes to sit overnight; proceed to Step 3).
2) Remove and reserve the skins in a small bowl.
3) In a food processor, pulsing briefly, break up the pulp. (The seeds are very hard, so they will not be cracked open.) Press the grape pulp through the strainer and scrape any mixture clinging to the underside into the pan. (This will take about 30 minutes.) Squeeze the liquid from the peels into the pan. (Alternatively, pass the grapes, skins and all, through a food mill fitted with a fine disc.) You should have about 500 grams/about 2 cups/473 ml. Discard the skins and the seeds.
4) Over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, cook at a slow boil until the purée reduces to about 300 grams/1 cup/237 ml. Watch carefully as it will bubble up. It should be very thick. Remove it from the heat.
Make the Concord Grape Ice Cream
* Have ready a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a medium bowl.
5) Into the hot grape purée, stir the glucose, sugar, salt, and 58 grams/¼ cup/59 ml of the cream. If it is still hot (above 100°F/38°C), allow it to cool until warm.
6) In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Stir them into the grape mixture.
7) Heat the mixture on medium-low, stirring constantly, until it thickens slightly more. An instant-read thermometer should read 170° to 180°F/77° to 82°C.
8) Immediately pour the mixture into the strainer, scraping up any remaining mixture that has settled on the bottom of the pan. Press as much as possible of this thick mixture through the strainer and scrape any mixture clinging to the underside into the bowl.
9) Stir in the remaining cream (232 grams/1 cup/237 ml) and the lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or until no warmer than 43°F/6°C. (Alternatively, cool in an ice water bath.) Set a covered storage container in the freezer.
10) Churn the Concord grape custard in a prechilled ice cream maker. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled container. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ice cream, cover the container, and allow the ice cream to firm in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
Store
Covered storage container: frozen, 3 days
Scoops
* It is recommended that you wear disposable gloves when skinning the grapes by hand to prevent irritation from the acidity.
* Depending on the ripeness or even the year, some grapes may release more liquid. I still reduce the purée to the same volume and weight.
* Concord grapes freeze very well for over a year due to their thick skins. Freezing also helps release the pulp and juices from the skins.
* Concord grape jam or jelly adds a delicious and bright purple swirl. Different brands will vary in consistency, so if it seems a bit thin, it may work best to boil it for a few minutes before straining it. Any leftover add-ins can be passed in a pitcher or small bowl to use as a topping. Spoon up to ½ cup of the jam into a small bowl and stir it lightly until smooth. Scrape it into a disposable piping bag. Cut off a small semicircle from the point of the bag and close it with a binder clamp until ready to pipe the jam. (Alternatively you can use a spoon to apply it, but it’s easier and faster with a piping bag.)
* Use a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, preferably Pyrex, as your storage container. Pipe zigzags of about one-third of the grape jam onto the bottom of the pan. Spread about one-third of the ice cream on top. Quickly pipe zigzags of about half of the remaining jam on top. Repeat with another one-third of the ice cream and then the remaining jam. Top with the remaining ice cream.