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Have you ever tasted real, homemade teaberry ice cream? When I was a child, we discovered a wonderful ice cream shop near the cottage where we spent our summers. It was in the front room of a home on a country road, and while they didn’t carry a lot of varieties, the ice cream was all homemade.
That’s where I had my first taste of teaberry ice cream.
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My entire adult life I have been looking for that ice cream. Time after time I would order teaberry ice cream when I saw it on the menu, and time after time I would be disappointed.
The ice cream was always colored a fake pink, and the taste was always disappointing.
Teaberry, also known as wintergreen, is super abundant on the mountain where our family cottage is located. Several years ago, I had a revelation.
I could make my own wintergreen extract and then make my own homemade teaberry ice cream.
Guys. This was the teaberry ice cream for which I searched for 40 some years!
Making Homemade Teaberry Ice Cream
As my experience with trying to find good teaberry ice cream illustrates, ice cream will only be as good as its ingredients. I prefer using raw cream and milk from a good source. This way, my ice cream contains enzymes which help me to digest it. But, yes, the recipe will work with pasteurized dairy.
To be sure the taste of the teaberry extract comes through, white sugar is best. While I love using coconut sugar, honey, and maple sugar in recipes, each of these have a strong taste which will overpower the teaberry flavor.
And be sure to purchase organic cane sugar – if it’s not organic, it is genetically modified.
A good tip to keep homemade ice cream from freezing rock solid is to add some vodka to the recipe. You won’t need to do that here, since you are using several tablespoons of the extract, which already contains vodka.
Homemade Teaberry Extract is the Secret to Fantastic Homemade Teaberry Ice Cream
The secret to this recipe is making your own teaberry extract. I know what you’re thinking. You want to make homemade teaberry ice cream, but you don’t want to go through the bother or the wait of making wintergreen (teaberry) extract.
The reason that none of the ice cream I found tasted right to me was that it is virtually impossible to find teaberry extract commercially that does not contain at least some artificial ingredients.
That’s why the label almost always says ‘Teaberry Flavor’, or ‘Teaberry Extract Flavor’. Those that do use all natural flavors are not all wintergreen but add other flavors to the mix.
To make ice cream, you’ll need an ice cream maker, of course. This is the ice cream maker I use. There are more expensive models on the market, but this works well.
So, are you ready to make the best ice cream you’ve ever tasted? Start with foraging and making teaberry extract!
My best buddy waiting for the ice cream to finish churning.
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Other Yummy Ice Cream Recipes
Homemade Teaberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups heavy cream * preferably raw
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- pinch sea salt
- 4 tablespoons wintergreen (teaberry) extract **
Instructions
- Make sure that your cream and milk, if using, are very cold.
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Stir thoroughly, until the sugar is dissolved. Work quickly so that the cream mixture remains cold.
- Pour into an ice cream maker, and churn according to manufacturer's instructions for 20–25 minutes.
Notes
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Bobbie says
My favorite ice cream!!! When I was a kid, growing up in Central Pennsylvania, I would forage for tea berries and chew on them. I first had teaberry ice cream at a creamery in State College, PA. Can’t find tea berries out West. 🙁
Susan Vinskofski says
Ah, the Penn State Creamery. My sister went to Penn State and that was a favorite place – I was only there once. I don’t remember if I tried their teaberry ice cream, though.
Unfortunately, wintergreen doesn’t grow out west, but you can purchase leaves to make your own extract!
April Clemens says
I made this and added the recommended 4 TABLESPOONS of teaberry extract and it was absolutely awful. LOL I think it should read TEASPOOONS possibly? It was easy to make and the consistency was great but the flovor was overpowering and had a bitter aftertaste. Would try it again using MUCH LESS EXTRACT.
Susan Vinskofski says
No, tablespoon is correct. Did you use homemade teaberry extract? It is mild and needs the full 4 tablespoons.