Double Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I make several batches of ice cream for our farm customers every week, and they sell out within minutes. I make Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Pistachio Cardamom ice cream. When cherries are in season, I make Cherry Amaretto. And then there’s always the tried-and-true OG Double Vanilla Bean Ice cream.

Let me start by saying….

Double vanilla bean because can you really ever have too much vanilla?

I don’t think it’s possible.

Despite the dish I’m creating, I often double the amount of herbs and spices most recipes call for. You must focus on flavor if you want people (including yourself, most importantly!) to eat your food and enjoy every bite. Flavor will keep people coming in droves to your table. It will also keep you engaged and excited about the food you prepare and eat.

For example, no one wants to eat a dry tuna salad sandwich simply because it’s high in protein. No, if you live on the wild side, you want the tuna sandwich to seep at the seams with mayo, celery, herbs, black pepper, and a smattering of chopped walnuts and raisins. Flavor is life. It makes you feel things you didn’t even know you could feel on your palate and in your soul.

So many people today eat because they know that putting food in their mouths keeps the blood pumping through their veins. They eat out of necessity, not for pleasure, joy, or connection.

While I’ve never eaten to maintain my pulse, I have experienced my fair share of dietary dogma, and I can tell you where it leads…

Malnourishment. {also insert: Boredom. Blandness. Monotony.}.

Any way you slice it, dietary dogma leads to malnourishment. Whenever you build walls around anything, something always gets left out.

I’ve sat at the table with everyone from carnivores and vegans to pescetarians, seasonal dietary die-hards, and raw foodies who all consume their version of a strict diet not because it tastes good but because they’ve convinced themselves that a rigid food regimen will save their lives or the planet or a baby goat or all of the above.

I’ve been down the diet dogma road; I’ve given up meat because I thought it would make my heart stop. I’ve said no to drinking iced cold water because Chinese medicine says it slows digestion. I’ve shunned pork because some random study said people who eat pork have the bloodwork of a cancer patient.

All absolute lies. Complete and utter BS.

Strict eating habits create sclerosis not of the arteries per se but of the mind and lifestyle. Approaching food this way leads to bland and monotonous meals and is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s talk about my new motto…

No guilt, all pleasure.

Enter double vanilla bean ice cream.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in my kitchen with Mary Dougherty, a long-time friend and videographer. We started shooting for my Get Nourished cooking course, making cultured butter and vanilla ice cream while trying to keep her dog, Bodhi, from eating my chickens. 

It was a success all around. Even for the chickens.

At the end of the day, Mary said something I instinctively knew but never really voiced…

She reflected on our day and said, "I was surprised at how easy it was to make these foods."

She is so spot on with this.

As with many nourishing foods, homemade butter and ice cream are not challenging to make. You don’t need a culinary degree, rock salt, or an antiquated butter churner; you don't need much more than some good-quality cream and an ice cream maker to make the best ice cream your lips have likely ever tasted.

I can almost guarantee that when you make my double vanilla bean ice cream recipe, you’ll never buy the store crap again. The simplicity of ingredients combined with vanilla-infused cream and egg yolks will be a unanimous win for your taste buds and gastronomic aspirations.

CHEF’S TIP

My double vanilla bean ice cream recipe uses double the amount of vanilla compared to standard vanilla ice cream recipes. I go above and beyond with vanilla in this recipe because it accentuates the vanilla flavor in a way that will win the hearts and stomaches of every lover of vanilla on the planet.

When you read this recipe and are baffled (maybe) by why there’s no milk in my ice cream, please know that just as There’s no crying in baseball and There’s No I in Farm, we must add to the list: There’s no milk in ice cream!

For the love of sweet baby Jesus, don’t put milk in your ice cream.

It’s called ice cream for a reason.

I never use milk in my ice cream—I only use heavy cream, often combined with double cream, which makes the most decadent and nourishing ice cream. Hands-down.

Let’s quickly review ice cream makers…

You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe.

Here are my recommendations:

Whynter Ice Cream Maker.
This is my number one choice and well worth the price, especially if you love ice cream and plan to make and eat a lot of it. I have used this model for years and appreciate its built-in compressor. This feature allows you to make ice cream whenever your heart desires—no need to wait for the freezer bowl to be completely frozen before making your ice cream. With this model, you can make delicious ice cream in under an hour without needing to pre-freeze anything.

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.
If I’m being honest, I dislike this model because excessive sticking causes some of the ice cream to stick to the freezer bowl. Unlike the Whytner model, this Cuisinart freezer bowl has to be very frozen before making ice cream. However, this model is great for those on a budget.

DOUBLE VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM RECIPE

1-quart heavy cream (preferably raw and/or from cows raised on pasture)
1/2 cup raw honey, softened
4-6 egg yolks
Vanilla paste from 3 vanilla beans
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients, except the honey, in your Vitamix or blender.

Start blending at a slow speed. Pour the honey in from the top of your blender.

Blend for about 10 seconds.

Add to your ice cream maker, and let the magic begin.

I store my ice cream in a quart-size mason jar in the freezer.

Here’s a sneak peek at my Double Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Recipe that I will teach you all, along with 30+ other nourishing recipes, in my Get Nourished cooking course. Click here to learn more about the course (preregister before March 15th to save 15% on course registration).

Tune into the Eat Heal Farm podcast to learn more about traditional foods and Heathar’s favorite recipes.

While Heathar is a chef and homesteader, she’s also a homeopathic practitioner. You can study homeopathy with Heathar and learn about her homeopathic practice on her Study Homeopathy Substack.