We All Scream for Two Buttermilk Ice Creams

The strawberries are here and what better way to celebrate the warming weather than with home-made strawberry ice cream! I had seen a recipe somewhere that used buttermilk instead of cream for ice cream so I thought I’d try it. The buttermilk gives the ice cream a very subtle but lovely tang that cuts the sweetness of the sugar and fruit just enough. Because the buttermilk is low fat, it’s more of a sherbet and is a little icier than a true ice cream; but whatever you call it, it’s tasty.

One of the problems of cooking with buttermilk, however, is that you always have a lot left over. Usually, I use up leftover buttermilk by making rolls but I was still in an ice cream frame of mind. Inspired by an experimental – and highly successful – cheesecake I developed about a year ago, I decided to try a brown sugar and molasses ice cream with the buttermilk. I love molasses and you definitely do have to like molasses to like this ice cream (the flavor is much more pronounced than it is in the cheesecake). The buttermilk tang lightens up the dark molasses flavor a little and the result is a very rich – this one is much creamier than the strawberry – and surprisingly sophisticated despite the humble ingredients.

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 lb. strawberries, hulled and rinsed
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1. Combine water and sugar in a small pot; bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool and pour into a large bowl.
2. Purée the strawberries in blender until smooth. Add the strawberry purée and buttermilk to the sugar syrup and stir to combine.
3. Pour the strawberry mixture into ice cream maker and let mix for 30 minutes.

Brown Sugar and Molasses Buttermilk Ice Cream

• 4 tbsp. butter
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 ½ cups low-fat buttermilk

1. Melt butter in a small pot; add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Remove from heat and add the molasses and stir to combine. Cool completely.
2. Add the buttermilk to the brown sugar and molasses mixture and stir to combine. Pour into ice cream maker and let mix for 30 minutes.