Meyer Lemon and Sage Vegan Ice Cream

Oh Berkeley Bowl, how do I love thee? Let me count the gleaming bag of Meyer Lemons on sale for $1.79, just beckoning me to use our new-ish and still exciting ice cream maker. 

But how to do you justice? Creaminess, yes, but nothing overbearing. Not too much coconut milk. And a savory flavor to mingle with. 

What goes with Meyer lemon, I wonder? Google turns up a recipe for [non-vegan] Meyer Lemon Sage Olive Oil Cake. Yes! But that's easier done in cake than in ice cream. Olive oil and lemon sorbet seems basically like salad dressing on ice (minus the mustard), and what's to keep it from separating into unpleasant oily goo? 

Well, apparently a magic plant called kuzu can do the trick, as could guar gum and locus bean gum and xanthum gum and carrageenan and all the mysterious thickeners that I sang the praises of in my last post about Modernist Cuisine. Except I don't have any of those at home and I also want ice cream ASAP. Also there's this recipe for vegan olive oil gelato, which seems like a great experiment in itself for a future date.

In the end, this is what I settled on: 

• 1 cup Meyer lemon juice (about 5 entire lemons in the juicer -- slightly bitter from the peel but fast and zesty)
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3/4 c other milk (soy sunflower, in this case)
• 2 T arrowroot powder
• 1.5 t dried sage
• 1/2 c sugar

I heated the coconut milk and sage in a pan, made a slurry with the cold milk and arrowroot, and stirred that in until thickened. Then I added the lemon and the sugar, chilled the stuff, and made ice cream according to my unit's instructions.

Notes: This didn't make a full 1.5 quarts like a normal recipe, so next time I'd increase the quantities of everything.  Also in the final product the sage is pretty hard to detect, I might use more (or fresh sage, ideally).

Overall Awesomeness Grades:

Danny

"Pungent amazingness of Meyer lemons makes this ice cream fantastic. Sage is a nice afterthought." 

 

Rachel

"Palate-cleansing. Not too sweet. Slightly more bitter than perfect, but BOLD. I want more sage."