Strawberry season always sneaks up on me. Maybe because supermarkets carry strawberries year round, and, as they were my brother’s favorite growing up, they were often in the house. Some people have strawberries with their ice cream. My brother has ice cream with his strawberries.

I, on the other hand, ate my ice cream plain.

Which makes this strawberry season all the more exciting. This is the first year I’ve ever just been can’t-sit-still-excited about a berry of any sort. It started with jam. At first it was just a mention here and there, but the seed had been planted. And the watering can of the information deluge we live in helped it grow. Suddenly the idea of strawberry jam began to consume me. Visions of baguettes and jam on the porch on a sunny day dance in my head. I find myself inexplicably drawn to the novel Strawberry Fields by Marina Lewycka while browsing Kramers (Au. Note: One of my best impulse buys in quite some time). I even begin to lust after mason jars.

And so, I’m reading everything that comes across my path. My current plan is to ease into this age old tradition in a very new age way–Refrigerated Jam–before working my way up to the more timeless method of canning shared by Bon Appetite and The District Domestic.

But for the time being I’m holding out on jam until I have a chance to pick my own strawberries. Picking the berries myself is an integral part of this process in my mind. Call it my inner-Laura Ingalls Wilder, I suppose. That first weekend in June is looking mighty fine from here…

In the meantime, I have to get my fix in other ways. And I’m quite certain that the only way to pass time waiting for homemade strawberry jam is to make homemade strawberry ice cream. And that’s just what I did. Right down to squeezing the lemon juice myself.

I’d like to say I pulled off my first my first batch of ice cream like a seasoned pro, but this blog is a place for stories not tall tales. There may have been one or two panicky phone calls wondering why it looked more like strawberry drink than strawberry ice cream. And no number of assurances from A that it was the best strawberry drink he had ever tasted were making me feel any better. I grabbed blindly into the cabinet for a tupperware container that looked ice cream-friendly, slapped a lid on it, said a prayer, and shoved it in the freezer.

Twenty four hours later, my roommate and I sat down after a night of summer school (*shudder*) for the moment of truth. Spoons in hand, we dug into the now VERY frozen ice cream. There will be no bragging as all the strawberries had found their way to the top of the mixture and the tupperware killed much of the aesthetic effect, but I will say that I saw said roommate dive back into the freezer for seconds. And I think that sight, along with my book, will get me through until we be jammin’.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

As a first-time ice cream maker, I opted to go with a recipe that came with the appliance. I figured it was in their best interest as a manufacturer to not steer me wrong. Here is the recipe from the Cuisinart recipe index.

Servings

Makes about fourteen 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1-1/2 cup sugar, divided 1-1/4 cups whole milk 2-3/4 cups heavy cream 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours. Strain the berries, reserving juices. Mash or purée half the berries. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries, and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.