Persimmon Ice Cream (Probiotic)

I tried persimmons for the first time at the Farmer’s market yesterday and had to buy some to make some ice cream. They were very ripe and so sweet that I cut down on the sugar content in the recipe.  What are persimmons?  According to wikipedia:  Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. Diospyros is in the family Ebenaceae, and certain species of Diospyros are the sources of most kinds of ebony wood, and not all species bear edible fruit. In color the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety.  The ripe fruit have a high glucose content. The protein content is low, but such as it is, it has a balanced protein profile. Persimmon fruit have been put to various medicinal and chemical uses.  Like the tomato, persimmons are not popularly considered to be berries, but in terms of botanical morphology the fruit is in fact a berry.

I also added some kefir to make it probiotic ice cream!
Ingredients:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk – where to buy coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp raw honey – where to buy natural sweeteners
• 3 pastured egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp gelatin (adds richness and smoothness)
• 1/2 cup homemade or store bought plain kefir
• 1 lb. fresh local persimmons (available now at the Farmer’s market in Austin – you can sub peaches, cherries or strawberries too)

Heat the coconut milk and the raw honey and gelatin in a medium sauce pan on medium low heat, until steaming, but not quite boiling. Turn heat down to low.  In a separate pot, heat whole persimmons with a 1/2 cup of water until they are cooked down (about 15 min) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.

Once the coconut milk is steaming, add one small ladle of it to the egg yolks, and stir to combine. Slowly add two more small ladles full. This will temper the egg yolks, so they won’t scramble when you add them to the hot coconut milk.  Slowly pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pan with the coconut milk, and whisk until slightly thickened, which will take several minutes. Make sure the mixture doesn’t boil, as this will scramble your eggs. When the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a thin custard, remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.
Strain fruit mixture through a strainer (I had to also put into a blender after picking out the skin and pits) into a bowl and whisk to blend with coconut milk mixture.  Whisk in the kefir.  Transfer to a jar and refrigerate until very cold, overnight is best.  Once the mixture is cold, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

This post is featured in: Fresh Bites Friday, Freaky Friday, Fill Those Jars Friday, Whole Food Friday, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday,