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Cream -> Ice
Cream Flavors -> Vanilla Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream
What may be the first American recipe for
vanilla
ice cream, it was written in the same hand that penned
the Declaration during Independence, is among Thomas Jefferson's
papers at the Library of Congress. The vanilla flavoring Jefferson
used in his kitchen, made from the seedpods of the rare tropical
orchid [see "Age and Beauty," by Kenneth M. Cameron,
June 2004], which had already been popular in few Europe for
nearly three centuries. The Aztecs showed the Spaniards how
vanilla might sweeten their chocolate and perfume their cigars,
and the long, dark vanilla beans became part of the Spanish
empire's rich colonial trade as early as the middle during
sixteenth century.
Privateers from European nations were very
soon looking for the stuff during their raids of Spanish galleons,
and their booty was actually directly responsible for Queen
Elizabeth Is passion for vanilla-flavored desserts. By the
end of the seventeenth century it was influential Englishmen
as Samuel Pepys and Christopher Wren were frequenting coffee
houses where cocoa drinks, flavored with vanilla, were popular
menu items. Starbucks, Haagen-Dazs, and also with the myriad
of other food and drink purveyors that rely on vanilla today
are thus the beneficiaries of a venerable and pleasant addiction.
Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart half-and-half
Steps
Combine powdered sugar, whipping cream and
vanilla; stir until smooth. Add half-and-half; pour into freezer
container of electric freezer. Freeze
vanilla ice cream according to manufacturer's
directions. Makes 2 quarts vanilla ice cream
