Lemon and blueberry gelato

When we were in Italy in June I became addicted to gelato.  I think I had a least one gelato every day I was there.  So it was only natural when we got together with some friends to view some of the photos from our trip that I would serve gelato.

It is possible to buy it here but it's very expensive so I looked into making it myself.  I found lots of recipes for gelato online, most of which called for an ice cream freezer.

And I actually had one of them sitting in the back of a cupboard.  We got it as a gift over twenty years ago and it even survived our most recent move.
This is the gizmo.  Inside the plastic case is a heavy aluminum double sided container the you put in your freezer overnight.  Then you fill it with the mix and  stir it around with the handle for a few minutes to create a frozen treat.

For gelato you use a custard made with egg yolks, sugar, and milk or cream, plus  plus the flavor element.  We'd been enjoying lemon gelato and other fruit flavors so that's what I decided to make.  I have to admit that it isn't diet food though.  The lemon mix includes six egg yolks plus a pint of whipping cream.  But it tastes sublime.


The blueberry mix has less cream so makes you feel a little bit virtuous.  And isn't it a most amazing colour?

Here's the recipe in case you happen to have an ice cream maker hiding in your cupboard.

Blueberry Gelato

3 ½ cups blueberries  (Can be frozen or fresh)

5 egg yolks

2 cups milk cup heavy cream

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup water

Step 1 -- make blueberry sauce

In saucepan dissolve 1 cup of sugar in ¾ cup of water over medium heat.  Add blueberries and simmer for a couple minutes until you have blueberry sauce.  Cool it and then blend it at high speed and set aside.

Step 2 -- Make custard

Beat the egg yolks with ½ cup of sugar, then add ½ cup of heavy cream and beat until creamy and white.  In a saucepan heat the milk and the rest of the cream until bubbles form at the edges.  Take ½ cup of this hot mixture and add it to the creamy mix while constantly stirring to temper the egg mixture.  Then pour the custard back into the pan and cook slowly until it coats a spoon.  Cool quickly in a sink full of cold water to stop the cooking process.

Step 3 -- Mix and cool

Add the blueberry sauce to the custard and cool overnight in fridge.  Then freeze in your ice cream freezer.

If you can't eat it right away just keep it in the freezer but make sure to take it out and let it warm up and melt a bit before you serve it.  Apparently gelato freezers are not as cold as those used to store ice cream.  Gelato changes from solid quite quickly and the trick is to get it just the right consistency.   Mine tasted just as good as the stuff I remembered from Italy.

We're going to be trying other flavors very soon.