Rhubarb-Cherry Ice Cream

You may have tried cherries and ice cream before... what about cherries and rhubarb? (Photo by John Wilton)

By Laura Schaub

I love rhubarb-cherry ice cream. When my rhubarb is starting to fill in, I know that soon I'll harvest pounds and pounds of the red-ribbed stalks. Toward the end of rhubarb season (by late May to early June), the cherries are ready for harvest. Fortunately, I freeze cherries from the previous year's harvest and can whip up some of this delicious ice cream as soon as the rhubarb is ready.

 

Rhubarb-Cherry Mixture

• 4 to 5 stalks rhubarb, chopped
• 1 cup pitted cherries
• 1 cup sugar, or to taste, depending upon the sweetness of the cherries
• Splash of water
• Pinch of salt

Combine the rhubarb, cherries, sugar, water, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the rhubarb and cherries have softened to the consistency of applesauce. Stir often to keep the sugar from burning.

 

Ice Cream Base

• 1½ cups half-and-half
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of salt

 

Instructions

Pour the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Gently warm the half-and-half without letting it come to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk the vanilla, eggs, and salt. Slowly stream in ½ cup of the warmed half-and-half while constantly whisking the egg mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan while constantly whisking. Let the mixture cook until it starts to thicken, stirring often.

Add the rhubarb-cherry mixture to the ice cream base. When the flavored ice cream base has cooled a bit, pour it into a pitcher and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 5 hours or overnight. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.