For many years, I was delighted to work with Lindsey Shere, the founding pastry chef at Chez Panisse. She was constantly surprising us with amazing fruits and berries from neighbors’ backyards and nearby farms. Without fail, Lindsey would come in one weekend each summer carrying a big plastic Tupperware container, which, due to its distinctive rounded shape, left no question that it was precisely designed to hold a canned ham. But instead of a ham, inside would be a jumble of tiny, tender, smushed wild plums picked by her mother. Eaten raw, they were puckery-tart, but once stewed, they made an incredibly flavorful plum ice cream. Each year I would wait patiently for that one late-summer weekend when Lindsey would walk though the door lugging her now-infamous canned ham container. Although wild plums may be hard to come by, you can use whatever plums are available with equal success.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1 quart (1 liter)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Slice the plums in half and remove the pits. Cut the plums into eighths and put them in a medium, nonreactive saucepan with the water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
Step 2
Once cool, purée in a blender or food processor with the cream and kirsch until smooth.
Step 3
Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Perfect Pairing
Step 4
To make Plum–Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream, layer the just-churned plum ice cream with Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream (page 92), or make Plum–Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream by substituting blackberries for the raspberries.
