Miso Ice Cream
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Ice cream for a savory tooth! You will love this Miso Ice Cream, the unusual but definitely good fusion of miso soup and caramel flavors.
Ice cream is one of my favorite food to make all the time because there are a lot of different flavors and variations that I can explore. It never gets boring because you can incorporate almost anything into ice cream. I have good news that ice cream is not just for the sweet tooth anymore. For everyone who prefers savory to sweet food, I guess you will love this Miso Ice Cream.
How does Miso Ice Cream taste like? The combination of miso paste and ice cream seems unusual, but Miso Ice Cream is actually pretty common in Japan. It definitely tastes like a cross between miso soup and salted caramel in a good way since I substitute the granulated sugar with light brown sugar to give the caramel flavor. If you are curious about how it tastes like and does not intend to go to Japan just to eat Miso Ice Cream, just give this recipe a try and let me know your opinion.
What Is Miso?
Many of you should have probably tried miso soup at least once if you have visited Japanese restaurants. The Japanese people consider miso soup as a staple in their lifestyle. Miso paste gives miso soup most of its flavor. Therefore, if you have tried miso soup before, I guess you can figure out how miso paste tastes like. Typically, miso tastes extremely salty, but it also has a great umami flavor. It does not sound particularly delicious as miso is actually not meant to be eaten plain.
Miso is a Japanese fermented paste made from a mixture of soybeans (often mixed with other grains), sea salt, and koji (a mold starter). It is brownies in color and left to ferment for 3 months to 3 years, which means it is a natural source of healthy probiotics (good bacteria) and is great for digestion.
Tips for Making Miso Ice Cream
1. Use white miso
There are many types of miso, depending on how long the fermentation process, the type of grain, and the proportions of the ingredients, the flavor can be sweet or salty, mild or pungent. Start just by looking at the color of the miso, which is a good indicator of how strong it will be.
White miso (shiro, in Japanese) is mild and slightly sweet. In general, white miso has less salt and more koji (mold). Meanwhile, red miso has a deeper flavor. It is made with more salt, which allows for longer fermentation times which results in the development of a complex, umami-rich flavor with a bit of funk.
I recommend using white miso for Miso Ice Cream since it is the mildest kind of miso with a slightly sweet taste. Meanwhile, a longer fermented miso is also generally saltier than white miso and has a more assertive, pungent flavor.
2. Do not boil miso
Miso is a high probiotic food. For this reason, make sure that you never bring your miso paste to a boil as this kills the healthy bacteria in miso.
3. Do not add too much miso
Miso paste is high in salt, so plain miso tastes extremely salty. You do not want to end up with a super salty miso ice cream just like my first experiment, just because I add too much miso into my ice cream mixture. I suggest sticking to the recipe first before adjusting the miso content in the ice cream (just for notes that the salt content in the same type of miso may differ depending on the brand).
4. Add Egg yolks
I really recommend using egg yolks because it will help to improve the stability of the ice cream, making ice cream creamier, chewier, and denser. Adding eggs to make ice cream requires some caution as heating eggs in an ice cream base might result in curdles of cooked eggs in your ice cream. To prevent this from happening, you need to temper the eggs by warming the milk-heavy cream-sugar on its own and whisk a small scoop of the hot mixture into the eggs yolks and sugar. This is making the egg yolks less likely to curdle when you stir them into the pot with the rest of the milk to cook over direct heat. Heat everything slowly until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and then turn off the heat. Please note not to let the mixture boil.
More Ice Cream Recipes
Do you love ice cream? Try out these delicious ice cream flavors!
- Matcha Ice Cream
- Red Bean Ice Cream
- Pandan Coconut Ice Cream
- Baileys Ice Cream
- Bourbon Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) whole milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp white miso
- 3/4 cup (150 gr) light brown sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, stir heavy cream and milk over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat.
- Put miso inside a strainer and slowly dissolve the miso into the hot cream mixture completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and brown sugar until thick and pale.
- While whisking egg yolk mixture constantly, gradually add hot cream mixture. Return to saucepan to low heat. Stir the mixture slowly, but constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot until the base is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. (Do not let the mixture boil or you will end up with egg curdles)
- Let the mixture cool completely. Add vanilla extract and stir until well combined.
- Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Process the ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer container. Freeze for least 4 hours before serving.
