How to Make Persian Saffron Ice Cream
Here's a delicious recipe of Persian Saffron Ice Cream from Saffron: A Global History by Ramin Ganeshram.
Persian Saffron Ice-Cream
Total time
10 minutes
Prep time
10-15 minutes
Amount
6-8 serves
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (375 ml) heavy (double) cream
- 1½ cups (375 ml) whole milk
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground saffron
- 2 tbsp food-grade rose water such as Cortas or Sadaf brands
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks
- ¼ cup (27 g) sliced pistachios
- Food-grade rose petals for garnish (available in Middle Eastern shops)
- Combine the cream, milk, sugar, salt and saffron in a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat.
- Whisk well and keep whisking until the sugar dissolves, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, without allowing the mixture to boil, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the rose water and vanilla and mix well. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a large, heatproof bowl and slowly pour in the hot-milk mixture while whisking vigorously.
- Continue pouring and whisking until all the milk mixture is used. Return the mixture back to the saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over a medium-low heat and cook, whisking until the mixture thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool slightly. Cover the ice-cream custard mixture with plastic wrap, placing the wrap right against the top of the mixture, and refrigerate until cold.
- Add the pistachio slices to the ice-cream custard and pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice-cream maker.
- Churn the saffron ice-cream custard in an ice-cream maker following the manufacturer’s directions.
- When the ice cream is hard, scoop into a quart (litre) container and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- Serve garnished with rose petals.
Saffron: A Global History by Ramin Ganeshram
