corn is so naturally sweet it makes for a delicious and simple ice cream!
makes about 1 quart
4 ears corn
1 quart half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
pinch of salt
cut corn kernels off the cobs and put them in a large pot. run the back of a chef’s knife down the cob scraping all of the corn milk out of the cobs and add to the pot along with empty cobs and half-and-half. bring to a bare simmer over medium-low heat for 25 minutes.
discard the corn cobs. scoop half of the corn kernels out of the half-and-half and discard or save for another use. pour half-and-half and remaining kernels into a blender and blend until smooth. strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean medium saucepot over low heat. discard the solids.
whisk the yolks and sugar together. slowly add 1 cup of the hot cream to the yolks, whisking constantly to raise the temperature of the yolks. add the yolks to the cream in the pot. stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and holds the line drawn by your finger on the back of the spoon.
fill a large wide bowl halfway with ice and water. set another bowl inside the first bowl and ice bath. strain the custard into the second bowl, stirring occasionally to reduce the temperature. add a pinch of salt. when the custard is completely cool, cover and refrigerate about 3 hours.
pour the custard into the base of an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions for spinning the ice cream. freeze for a few hours to set further before serving.