Blueberries are capable of adding some special … colors! This intensely purple color that the gelato turned pleasantly surprised me!
I was expecting a more reddish tinge, for I really never seen an ice cream this color! While I marveled at how pretty this looks, the kids were wishing they had a crayon this deep lavender that they could color with.
Not too far from our home, is a pretty place with fountains, music, restaurants which laid out tables & umbrellas outside, night light & life & a small Italian Ice Cream place at one corner – which has the most wonderful sorbets & gelati fresh made on site every day. Perfect summer setting. Last time we spent our evening there, Arjun had Mango Pomegranate & Mixed Berry Sorbet, the kids took fresh Strawberry Cream & Key Lime & I indulged with Tiramisu & Chocolate Mocha. The texture of the gelato was strikingly different from the regular ice cream we usually have; it was smooth , not as heavy & made us crave more & more.
So this little Italian Corner & the few boxes of blueberries at home inspired this Blueberry Gelato. I loved the idea that I did not need to use Cream or egg for the gelato. I have adapted from here.
Blueberry Gelato
Ingredient:
- 3 Cups Whole Milk (full fat milk)
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 2 Cups (About a pound) Blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon Sloe Gin (Optional – the booze is supposed to reduce the crystals, esp. if you do not have the luxury of an ice cream machine)
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch (also known as Corn Flour)
- Juice from 1/2 a fresh lemon or lime
Preparation:Place blueberries, sugar and lemon juice & 2 Tablespoons of water in a pan on a very low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Cook blueberries until soft but still can hold their shape. Remove from heat & cool & stir in the lemon zest.
Chill the mix overnight in fridge or until completely cold.
Mix together 1 cup of milk and corn flour together till smooth; Heat rest of milk in a pan at low heat.
Just before the milk starts to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the milk with the corn flour. Stir so that there are no lumps. Put the pan to the heat and cook on a low heat, stirring constantly for a few minutes until milk thickens. The floury taste of the corn starch should be gone before you are done.
Remove the mix from heat and chill in fridge overnight.
Next day, mix the sloe gin with the berry mix. Blend 2/3 of the blueberries until smooth and keep 1/3 aside. Mix together the thickened milk, blended blueberries and whole blueberries till well combined.
If you own an ice cream maker:
Transfer the mix into ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers instructions.
If you do not have an ice cream machine:
Freeze the mix, for about 1.5 hours, take it out & scrape/whisk with an electric mixture or with hand till smooth & all the crystals are gone from the mix. Do this for at least 5 times before you finally freeze in a metal container.
Serve topped with some fresh blueberries. I served the ice cream in little kiddie cones with ice cream scooped with the small melon scoop.
Well by the time you finished reading the post the ice cream melted:-)
What more could I say except that this was declared as delicious by all. The beautiful color & the abundance of berries in every bite, unlike the store bought ice creams were the extras which added to the grading scale. We are still enjoying so berry Blueberry Gelato.
What is Gelato?
Gelato, (plural gelati), is Italy’s regional variant of ice cream. It is made with some of the same ingredients as most ice-creams; milk & cream, sugar, flavorings fruits, nuts, essences, etc. and air are the main ingredients. Unlike many types of ice cream tho’, gelato often does not contain eggs. A form of gelato made with water & sometimes fresh fruits (and no milk) or soy milk is called Sorbetto.
“… Gelato is often compared to ice milk rather than ice cream. Gelato melts faster than ice cream because of its semi-frozen consistency. It is stored in a forced air freezer, different than those freezers that store American style ice cream. Some versions of gelato are lower in fat and calories than traditional ice cream.
Because of its softer texture, gelato can be more easily swirled or molded with a spatula than can ice cream.” (Source)
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Vegan Ice Cream: Coconut, Cherry & Almond
I am astonished with the color of this gelato! It looks so pretty! I can imagine how good it tastes. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing ! Gelato makers all over the blogger world are tempting me to try !! So many things..so little time…
Sluurrrp…a very heavenly color of gelato. Perfecto! 🙂
Aww..outa words..:O..I want a satin frock in that color..:D
This is amazing 😀 and really makes me drooling…
What a colour!! love it :))
I sssssoooooo love gelato. I used to live in a city where there were amazing gelatos! Howver, where I live now, it is really hard to find a gelato store:(
Also, thanks for the tips for the people with no ice cream maker. I don’t have one and really don’t know how to make homemade gelato.
Holy crap!!! What the hell, I swore looking at this gelato, while A whistled. The pics – OMG, Soma 🙂 BRILLIANT.
I’m SO SO SO making this soon. Dunno when, but I will. wait and watch.
Back to pictures.
ROFL 😀
Looks beautiful and the color is amazing. I am very very inclined to try this as I have pretty much all the ingredients exept the Sloe Gin. Does the corn starch imparts any starchy, floury taste or is it masked completely? Can I use 2% milk instead of wole milk?
Nope no taste of the corn flour. just make sure you boil the milk … the taste will disappear. I am not sure how the 2% will work… might have more crystals? not sure. Don’t have to add the sloe gin if you do not have. Bee (Jugalbandi) had suggested to use some kind of booze to reduce crystals, & the sloe gin is a what i had at home (it is berry based), so I used it.
Great pictures with great color Soma..I think you clicked many seeing the beauty..and lilac season for you !!
this looks soooooooo ridiculously good! you make me want to go buy an icecream maker! im making this this weekend..
woooooooooooow, no words to say..Its stunning !!
Ooooo i love the gorgeous vibrant color! I so wish i had an ice cream maker, would have made it right away!
Woww just love this…beautiful clicks Soma!
golly look at that color. just a perfect cooling recipe to beat the heat!
oh my god, this looks so delicious! great photos 🙂
Wow this is just amazing!!!! I love the vibrant colours especially!
Oh My! the color, is just amazing. What a treat for the kids!
We made this one summer and just could not get our hands out of it.
AMAZING ,PERFECT all the praises to you,Soma,love the gelato,can’t take my eyes off the pic,wish I were there -you are making full use of the summer and summer berries.I dearly miss blueberries
We don’t have an ice-cream maker so it would be fun to try this! The photo looks amazing.
wow!! That is amazing looking Ice cream I have ever seen!!
I am sure it must have finished then only.
Soma, That looks beautiful!!!! I love the color and the pictures.
What a gorgeous color!
What a remarkable color – really eye-catching.
this post literally popped from the screen while I checked my facebook 🙂 I love the colors and blueberries are my favorite berries, too! great post!
How vibrant and pretty this is! I bet it tasted wonderful! What a yummy treat.
That color is to die for, Soma. What a perfect treat for the sweltering summer.
I would so love to try this Soma… I know you specifically mentioned full fat milk, but can I use skim milk in this? That is what I have on hand at the moment and can’t wait to give it a try.
Anu, as I have written to Supriya (Redchillies) before, I do not know how it is going to turn out with low fat milk.. perhaps more crystals.. but that is something i really would not mind. Try using more milk & boiling it down to make it slightly thicker than the light skim milk.. if u cannot wait! 😀
WOW!!!!!!! this is what u call refreshing ……so it’s time for me to take out the ice-cream makerout……
It look so delicious can’t wait to try my hands on it specially b’coz it’s egg free…..i thinkk i’m gonna skip the Gin.
Wow, sooo pretty! I love the intense color and I love the idea that you can make with without an ice cream maker!
Thanks Soma, I have a can of evaporated milk as well which is slightly thicker even though it is skim. I might try to use that.
Exactly !! I agree with Kirbie !! I too , am fascinated with the idea that u can make this woithout an ice cream maker !! This looks fantastic !! beautiful color !!
OMG, those cones look so pretty and tempting! What a magnificent color! Drool…
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow absolutely amazing, from the colors to the simplicity of the recipe. I love blueberries but have never had this flavor gelato, and now I really want it 🙂 Great photos too!
Wow, the color is soooo vivid! It must have had a nice strong blueberry flavor.
What a color! Love it! My brother made me blueberry ice cream for my birthday once, it’s one of my favorite flavors!
Beautiful pictures! I freaking LOVE gelato. Ever since I went to Italy a couple of years ago and ate it after lunch and dinner I have been obsessed. Thank you so much for showing me how to make it at home and without an ice cream maker! I still have yet to get one of those.
Fantastic color! Greta recipe for those that don’t have access to an ice cream maker, like me!
Soma you’ve wonderful photos and recipes.. this one make speechless… excellent info about the gelato 🙂
Cheers!
Gera
wow lovely click! looks so pretty.
Soma, I always love your photography but I have to say that this is my favourite picture series ever! I am so struck by the colours and composition. Bravo! 😀
Thank you so much Lorraine!
Oh wow…..awesome and delectable……feel like grabbing one right now,,,,
I saw this on either foodgawker or tastespotting (can’t recall), and fell in love with the color and ‘posing’. Very nice!!
Cheers,
*Heather*
Wow looks so refreshing & tempting…
Stunning pics, Soma! 😀
I have those small cones too but I take the easy way out and use store-bought stuff.
Your pics are always so colorful and bright!
Thanks! I always buy the small or the mini cones, that way not super size servings, & the kids don’t throw them away half eaten.
Look at that gorgeous color… yummy!
Soma… this looks so good, the color, the picture and the gelato!
Fantastic!bet this would be great with coconut milk too ?
I suppose so! Then it would be a Sorbetto:-D
What a beautiful color, looks awesome…. makes me want to try soon !
What an amazing color of those blueberry gelato! Incredible! I love how you can almost see it melting from photo to photo…:)
i am tempted. thanks for the recipe. i know it is still cool in new zealand, but i am sure this ice cream will be popular! love the colour!
We went to a bluberry farm last weekend and I have tons of them, timely recipe for me to try.
Hi fantastic colour! We dont get fresh blueberries here, frozen ones cost an arm and a leg! What other fruits would you recomend please? Would love to make for my grandkids!
The closest to blueberries I think is Falsa.. That is the only name I know for that, it looks similar to blueberries.
Other berries good for this is strawberry.. Fruits would be plum, peach, cherries, any stone fruit – but you would have to cut them smaller, & boil them for little bit longer to get them soft & almost cooked. For a different kind of flavor you could try roasting peach with some sprinkled sugar. .. It is just the procedure of the gelato that matters, any flavor or fruit/berry could be used. Fresh mangoes?? great idea too.
Thank you so much for all the appreciations! We enjoyed it a LOT, & I hope if you get to make it, you like it too.
Beautiful color! And, it sounds so delicious with the blueberries.
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M new here….what a co-incidence….I ate gelato ice cream yest….nd still have tht yummy flavor in my mouth nd now when i was goin thru ur space i found this luks stunning 🙂 luv gelato ice cream yummmmms slurp :)…purple is my fav colour….i m flat at the colour
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Lovely gelatos:). No wonder you got picked for the hosts award!
The look alone knocks me over. I wish I had an IceCream maker though.
When you say do this 5 times, are you meaning freeze for 1.5 hours 5 times as well? Yipes!
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Man, that ice cream sure looks delicious. And so pretty.
If the color of the blueberry was not so normal I’d think the color of the picture had been altered. It is just so beautiful and appetizing. Love also the composition of your pic.
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When blue makes you happy!
Just posted my interview with F.W Pearce of Ciao Bella Cool Art of Gelato, A Few Scoops From Ciao Bella’s Book with F.W Pearce on ‘Serge the Concierge’.
Take care
Serge
‘The French Guy from New Jersey’
I am making this… do you think I could use brandy instead of sloe gin?
any alcohol should do. I have often used vodka too, for making ice creams.
looks fab
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I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! Ive bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.
its too tempting. I just want to grab and eat it.
I suggest you add it to sony’s food photography activity at http://www.flickr.com/groups/sonyindiaalpha/discuss/72157629939513013/ You will surely get many more likes for your efforts. All the best.
Just wondering when do I add in the berries mixed? After the milk thicken or before? Thank you in advance!
Sorry Never mind. Found it :)I should of read
Prepping my berries and milk mixture tonight… can’t wait to see the final result! I used full fat milk but had trouble getting it to thicken. I hesitated to add more corn starch — hoping it is thick enough and will do more overnight in fridge. What consistency should we cook the milk to? Thanks!
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Hi Soma
I have always looked at your blog for the various pictures and the way you write. Love it!
I was looking at making some good ice-cream with berries for my kiddos birthday this summer and voila, I stumbled upon this beautiful recipe – I have got to look no further now 🙂
I hope to make this for her birthday and hope that her friends will like it too.
I am making something for the first time from your blog – and I am excited.
Thank for the recipe