(no subject)

[felicula]

Today I tried working with fresh ginger over my vanilla ice cream. Yummy, yes, but definitely trickier than working with the tea. Since fresh ginger is juicy when it is grated, it tended to freeze on the surface of the ice cream in little chunks. I ended up stirring it in to break them up and evenly distribute the ginger. I can picture potentially better results if I froze the fresh ginger first and found a finer grater to use. That, or I could just use powdered ginger next time.

Tomorrow's experiment will include peeking into my herb and spice drawers before dishing up the ice cream. Yay for a big bucket of ice cream and small bowls to put it in!

Comments

[amberrattus.livejournal.com]

Baskin-Robbins cheats on this, in their Tea of Tranquility flavor. The base is 'Chai Latte', but mixed in are fragments of gingersnaps. Lots of ginger flavor, but a little grit from the cookie crumbs.

Honestly, if you have to resort to powdered, you're better off getting a flavoring or essence instead. I wonder how much heat damages ginger flavoring - could it be done as a tincture rather than essence? I'd also recommend checking into Asian food stores to see if you can find a 'paste' of ground fresh root- that might fit the bill.

[blackfelicula.livejournal.com]

Actually, the powdered was tasty too. I did the taste-by-the-spoonful thing with a bunch of spices as toppings: nutmeg, mace, clove, chili powder, a curry mix, summer savory, cinnamon... I can't remember now if I tried others. The curry-mix as a topping was surprisingly yummy on vanilla ice cream, as was the summer savory. I'd love to have a quirky, apothecary-like ice cream shop someday where I carry a few simple flavors but have a ton of herb-and-spice toppings to choose from.