Wild Rose Ice Cream

Recipe and photo by Alexandra Hudson

 

 

This cardamom-kissed ice cream is infused with the petals and buds of our local wild rose, Rosa californica, a perennial shrub that blooms May into June throughout the Bay Area. While most bushes are solitary and should be harvested with a moderate hand, some are woven more densely through our wilderness areas and can be harvested more freely. If you want to use petals from garden roses, make certain that they are free of toxic garden inputs. You could also purchase culinary rose petals. I like to boost the rose color, taste, and scent by adding the Anima Mundi rose petal powder made by Costa Rican herbalist Adriana Ayales.

I remember hand-cranking our old salt- and ice-filled ice cream machine, but these days, I use my incredibly simple plug-and-play machine. I just need to remember to stick the core in the freezer the night before.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 2 cups rose petals
• 6 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1 cup whole milk, cold
• 3 tablespoons culinary rose petal powder (optional)

 

Place cream in a small lidded pot, add cardamom and rose petals, and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat when small bubbles begin to form. Let it steep for 1 hour and then strain through a fine sieve. Return cream to pot, cover, and use low heat to bring to 150°F. In a separate medium-sized pot, bring a few cups of water to a boil.

In a medium-sized metal or glass bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is pale and fluffy. Slowly pour the hot infused cream into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Set the bowl on the steaming water bath without letting it touch the water. Stir gently, monitoring the temperature with a thermometer. Meanwhile, you want to have an ice bath ready, which is as simple as placing a few large handfuls of ice in a large bowl of cold water.

When the cream mixture reaches 174°F precisely, take it off the heat and set the pot in the ice bath. Stir the milk into the cream mixture and continue stirring intermittently for about 20 minutes as the ice bath chills the cream. You will want the mixture to get as cold as possible so it does not melt the frozen core of the ice cream machine.

When the mixture has chilled so it’s cold to the touch, set up the ice cream machine with the frozen core set inside of it. Pour the cream into the machine and start the motor. It will take 20–35 minutes, depending on the coolness of your cream base. When the ice cream begins to thicken and is very cold, add the rose petal powder. Your ice cream is ready when the cream firms up and the machine struggles to churn further. Shut off the machine and scoop the ice cream into containers or straight into bowls to enjoy! Bon appétit. ♦

 

Alexandra Hudson is a California-born clinical herbalist, wild foods chef, and holistic educator. She splits time with her family between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, where she tends to her land and offers classes and sessions to clients. For more information on Hudson’s practice and classes, visit wildfoodandmedicine.com.