Homemade Raspberry Ice Cream!

We've had an abundance of raspberries offered to us this year!  Dad and Mom let us have 2 large pickings from their patch.  I thought I'd NEVER finish picking the first time... move a branch or turn a leaf and MORE BERRIES!   So far I've bottled 21 quarts, frozen 21 quarts, made 2 batches of raspberry freezer jam, mashed up and froze enough berries for 2 more batches of jam, and we've eaten raspberries fresh until we're almost pink from the inside out!  :)    We're in Raspberry Heaven!

We've been enjoying homemade ice cream quite a bit this summer.  We've mainly made vanilla and chocolate.  We started wondering how we'd enjoy fresh raspberry ice cream.... and tonight we found that we LOVE it!  

We used a 4 quart ice cream freezer that is pretty much like THIS and approximately these ingredients:

Raspberry Ice Cream

1 quart of cream  (I used regular but heavy cream would have been even better)

part of a quart of half and half  (probably about 2 cups give or take a bit)

2 1/2 C. sugar

4 eggs beaten until light and fluffy  (optional - I don't mind the raw eggs, but if that worries you - just leave them out all together)

about 8 cups of fresh raspberries

Mix the cream and sugar and stir. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Let this sit while you prepare the berries.  Stir occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.   Reserve 1-2 Cups of the berries to add whole.  Mash the rest of the berries (or put them in a blender on low speed for a few seconds) and press them through a sieve to remove the seeds.  Add the juice from the berries to the cream mixture - toss the seeds.  Add the whole berries.  Pour this mixture into your ice cream freezer can.  Add half and half up to the "fill" line. Freeze as directed in the directions for your freezer.  (ours took about 20-25 minutes turning and then we packed it with ice and salt and let harden for 35-40 minutes.  It came out really firm on the sides and bottom and soft ice cream textured in the middle.  LOVELY!)

Joy's Notes:   Honestly - I just kept mashing berries and adding the juice until it tasted the way I wanted.  The whole berries froze pretty firm - I didn't like that as much, but the kids and Dave LOVED it.  I've never worried much about eating raw eggs (not by themselves - but IN stuff like cookie dough and ice cream) - we raise our own laying hens so maybe that's part of it, but if that concerns you, just leave the eggs out.  It affects the texture very little.   You might like to add a dash of vanilla to this - I didn't, but if you're a vanilla lover, it would blend well.  You CAN use all cream rather than part half & half, but I think it makes it seem kind of "greasy" feeling.  Too little fat makes it icy.  Play with it until you get it the way you like.  (which means you'll need to make this over and over to perfect it, right?  Great idea!)   OH!  Another tip if you didn't already know....  instead of buying that expensive rock salt for ice cream, buy a bag of extra coarse water softener salt.  Works perfectly at a fraction of the cost!

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I have to tell a story on my daughter.  :)  She was here when we were making the mixture for ice cream earlier this summer.  Her little guy who's 2 was dipping his finger in the cream & egg mixture to taste it, and she gasps, "BEN, No!  That has raw egg in it.... you've got to wait until it's.......... frozen!"    We all burst out laughing as she realized what she said.  :)   Really - like I said - it's ok to just leave the eggs out.

Enjoy your Raspberry Ice Cream!   I know having this tonight is making me hope for another whopper of a raspberry crop again next year!  Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing all those big, beautiful, RASPBERRIES!