Running on Empty
In the Southern Lakes region of the Yukon, 2023 was a bad year for lowbush cranberries. Ditto soapberries. Blueberries in the White Pass en route to Skagway were okay, but just.
That September my p...
Makes about 5 cups
Ingredients
For the cranberries
- 6 cups lowbush cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup sugar
- Leftover cranberry purée from cranberry juice, page 37 (optional)
For the gelato
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon birch syrup or 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup 35 percent cream
Preparation
Combine cranberries and sugar in a small pot and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries begin to pop. Stir in the purée, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until the texture is that of runny jam, about 7−10 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Chill for a couple of hours before starting the ice cream.
Heat milk, sugar, and birch syrup or vanilla together in a small pot over medium heat, stirring, just until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl with a cover, and chill for 20−30 minutes. Place an empty, medium-sized bowl in the fridge to chill as well.
Whisk the cream in the chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the milk to the cream and stir gently until thoroughly combined. (You whip the cream to incorporate air, which makes for softer, creamier gelato.)
If you have an ice cream maker, churn the milk-cream mixture for 20 minutes, until it is frozen but still soft. Just before you stop the machine, drop 2 tablespoons of cranberry mixture, 1 after the other, into the gelato as it churns.
Transfer ½ of the gelato into a freezer-proof bowl. Dollop 2 or 3 tablespoons of cranberry mixture over the top. With a knife, cut the cranberry into the gelato in a swirling motion, going for streaks rather than a uniform color. Repeat with the second ½ of the gelato. Place in the freezer for a couple of hours or overnight.
Take out 5−10 minutes before serving to allow gelato to warm.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the gelato into a 9x13-inch baking tray, cover, and place in the freezer. Every 30 minutes, for about 5 hours, remove the tray from the freezer and whisk the mixture vigorously. (Plan this for a day or evening you will be at home!) The whisking will break up any ice crystals that form and ensure a creamy final product.
After the fifth time whisking, dollop spoonfuls of the cranberry mixture over the top and with a knife, cut into the gelato with a swirling motion. Return gelato to the freezer for 2 hours or overnight. Remove from freezer 5−10 minutes before serving.
Eat the gelato within a week for the best flavor.
Recipe featured in the story, Running on Empty, in the Fall 2024 issue of Edible Alaska.
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