Spiced Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Sweet potatoes are said to be an original American food.  Hernando de Soto found them in Indian gardens back in 1543 while exploring what is now Louisiana.   They quickly became a food staple and major export of our Southern states, especially North Carolina.  The ease of growing and great nutritional value made them very important to our troops during the Revolution and Civil War as well as to Slaves who grew them under the floor in their quarters.  They were even dried and ground up for coffee.  Sweet potatoes continue to be a very good food for children because of their value in combating childhood nutritional diseases.

Here is a recipe my friend Mike Cook sent out on facebook.  I believe it was originated by Brynne Valouch and you can find it at http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/spiced-sweet-potato-ice-cream.aspx?nterms=50034%2C54162 on the internet.

Spiced Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
Table salt
5 large egg yolks
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Pinch of ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

1.       In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt.

2.      Warm the cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes.

3.      Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water. Set a smaller metal bowl (one that holds at least 1-1/2 quarts) in the ice water.

4.      Pour the remaining cup of cream into the inner bowl (this helps the custard cool quicker when you pour it in later).  Set a fine strainer on top.

5.      Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

6.      In a steady stream, pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.

7.      Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof rubber spatula until the custard thickens slightly (it should be thick enough to coat the spatula and hold a line drawn through it with a finger), 4 to 8 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 175° to 180°F at this point. Don’t let the sauce overheat or boil, or it will curdle.

8.       Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath.

9.      Press firmly on the strainer with the spatula to extract as much flavor as possible.

10.   Cool the custard to below 70°F by stirring it over the ice bath. Stir mashed sweet potato, vanilla extract, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon into the cooled custard.

11.    Refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

12.    Transfer the ice cream to an air-tight container, and freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks.