Several years ago, I had the best blueberry ice cream. It wasn’t a super premium brand either—it was a discount grocer’s house brand blueberry ice cream. But it was so good we’d go out of our way to buy our groceries there just to get the ice cream. But like so many other San Francisco retailers dealing with high rents and a difficult hiring environment, they eventually closed.
So, no more blueberry ice cream for us.
Fast forward to last year’s Fancy Food Show where I got a sneak preview of Humphry Slocombe’s Blueberry Boy Bait ice cream. I was in heaven! But I was also in denial about my ability to tolerate lactose.
I’ve spent the past year trying a variety of different ice cream techniques that don’t involve lactose. It’s actually easier than you might think thanks to the ease of finding lactose-free milk in a number of my local grocery stores. Combine that with the ability to order sweetened condensed coconut milk online, and I’ve had a solid toolset to work with.
The Secret to Easy Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream
If you have the time, and want more of a blue hue to your ice cream, you can cook the blueberries down with a cup of sugar on your stove top. But if you want ice cream and you want it now, you can combine your blueberries with your milk in your blender. My Blendtec blender even has a setting just for ice cream. You blend for less than a minute then pour your mixture into the ice cream maker and walk away. It really doesn’t get a lot easier than that.
The hard part is having the patience to take the blueberry ice cream out of the ice cream maker, put it into the ice cream tub, and freeze it for a couple of hours before devouring it. Also note that after the ice cream has frozen through, you’ll want to set it out on the counter for ten minutes before scooping to avoid it having an icy consistency.
The Right Tools for the Job
Note that this post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on them and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price you pay, but it helps defray the cost of maintaining this blog. Thanks for purchasing through the links I share!
If you’re just getting started with your ice cream making adventures, I recommend the following tools, all of which are in heavy rotation in my kitchen:
Enjoy your scoops!
Easy Blueberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 pint blueberries
- 2 cups lactose free milk If you aren't on a low FODMAP diet can use regular whole milk
- 1 can sweetened, condensed milk Use a lactose free condensed milk such as coconut for low FODMAP
Instructions
- Wash the blueberries and divide the pint of blueberries into two equal portions.
- Put half the blueberries and both milks into the blender. Close the lid and blend for 1 minute until blueberries have been incorporated throughout the mixture.
- Pour into the ice cream maker and set timer for one hour or as per the manufacturer's instructions.
- After ice cream maker completes its cycle, pour into a freezer-safe tub and freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.
- For best results, after the ice cream has frozen through, you'll want to set it out on the counter for ten minutes before scooping to avoid it having an icy consistency.
Leave a Reply