I can’t decide whether I love the color—a pale celadon—or the exotic flavor of this ice cream more. The pear causes the base to have a thinner consistency than some other ice creams have before freezing, but the final texture is lovely. It’s hard to peg the flavor as star anise in the ice cream, because the spice mellows with the cold and the cream, but it’s addictive. This isn’t a scoop-in-a-cone kind of dessert, but an elegant cookie on the side would be nice.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 quart
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Combine the cream, milk, salt, and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the star anise and immediately remove from the heat. Allow the cream mixture to steep for about 30 minutes.
Step 2
Stem and core the pears, then pulse in the food processor until you get a chunky purée. Strain the purée by pushing through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids with a spatula or the bottom of a ladle. You should end up with about 2 cups of liquid. Discard the solids. Put the pear liquid in a saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
Step 3
Add the pear syrup to the cream mixture and bring to a boil over high heat.
Step 4
While that mixture heats, place the egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl. Once the cream mixture has reached a rapid boil, remove from the heat and pour approximately 1 cup of the liquid over the yolks, whisking furiously. After the cream mixture is fully incorporated and the yolks are tempered, pour in the remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly as you do. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Refrigerate until completely cold, then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.
