Sliding into Summer
“You’re smart Joe. Where will you go first? Watsonville, he said.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
If you can push away from work, the digital world and all those expectations and demands you’ll find summer is waiting for you. Find a moment to breathe deeply. It’s such a small gesture; do something just for you. It’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves, isn’t it? Inhaling sunshine will warm your soul and calm your spirit. We are sliding into summer. Inhale the vivid bright light and be seduced by it’s radiance.
Without fail the olallieberries at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville ripen the first week in June each year giving notice that we are on the cusp of our coastal summer. If I didn’t know better I would believe the gossamer blossoms of spring are transformed into the fruits of summer by magic. How is it possible that the snowy white blossoms of the olallie are transformed into a majestic purple berry?
Essentials
Olallieberries are unforgiving. Picked when the regal purple druplets are firm and the berry will be crisp and sour. Picked with druplets bursting with sweet juice and berries laid on top of each other will crush into juice. Finding olallieberries between the two subtle extremes on a warm afternoon is spectacular way to breathe in a taste of summer.
This is a mighty fine ice cream. I pushed past the intrigue of whispering berry flavor to the place of sublime indulgence. The ice cream is so loaded with fruit that the actual flavor of the ripe berries shines as the main attraction. Incredible, really. I used Jeni Britton Bauer’s non-custard ice cream recipe for the base and David Lebovitz’s method for preparing the berries. And then I added olallieberry jam layers because it seemed the berry thing to do. The jammy swirls add a pop of sweetness while the brown sugar brings notes of caramel and depth to the ice cream. If you are feeling a bit more restrained than I was the jam can be easily omitted. Other juicy ripe berries can be used to make this ice cream. Blackberries, boysenberries or marionberries are good choices and I imagine raspberries would be very close to divine.
| Ingredients | |
| 4C | olallieberries or blackberries, boysenberries or marion berries |
| 11/4C | whole milk |
| 1T+2t | cornstarch |
| 4T | cream cheese, softened |
| 1/2t | salt |
| 11/4C | heavy cream |
| 2/3C | light brown sugar |
| 2T | light corn syrup |
| 1C | olallieberry jam or blackberry, boysenberry, marionberry jam |
- Process berries in a food processer or blender until crushed and then push through a seive to remove the seeds. Or process the berries in a food mill to remove the seeds. Processing four cups of whole olallieberries in my food mill resulted in two cups of seedless berry puree. Chill the berry puree while making the ice cream.
- In a small bowl stir together 2T of the whole milk and the cornstarch.
- In large bowl mix the cream cheese and salt until there are no visible lumps.
- In a saucepan whisk together remaining milk, cream, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return the saucepan to the stove and bring the mixture back to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, about 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese. There should not be any lumps. Stir in the berry puree.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream. Chill completely before processing.
- Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- In the bottom of the ice cream storage container spread a thin layer of berry jam. Spread half the ice cream on top of the jam and then add another thin layer of jam. Top with the remaining ice cream and freeze until set. To serve garnish with additional jam or fresh berries.
Thank you so much! Is that measurement correct…. 11/4 C whole milk? In other words 2 and 3/4 C whole milk?
I added a dash, to clarify the measurement. The recipe calls for 1-1/4 cups whole milk. Do you have ripe Olallieberries? Our local harvest is still a few weeks away.
we discovered olallaberries when we moved to this area….YUM! we planted 1 plant and it didn’t survive the ground squirrels…we are going to give it another try next year. your ice cream looks amazing…
Thank you for the tasty comment Chrisy! Your squirrels sound as voracious as our snails!
Thanks for the introduction to a new berry! Love the icecream, and your tips on the best way to pick them, and inhale true summer :=)
Thank you for the lovely comment Oz! If you are ever traveling nearby in June I will take you Olallie picking!
Wow Deb, I really NEED to make this ice cream! Just to feel like it´s summer and sweet berries are everywhere. I love berries, they´re so fragile and yet have such deep flavor. What I don´t know is if I ever had olallieberries, probably thought they were blackberries if I did anyway. Stunning ice cream!!!
Blackberries are very similar to olallieberries. The Olallie has a more depth of flavor; more tang and more sweetness! Thank you for your lovely comment Paula!
Love this, Deb!
Thank you Viviane!
We don’t grow olallieberries in Canada. The only time I’ve even heard of them was when we travelled in California and stayed at a place called the Olallieberry Inn. Just looking at those gorgeous berries makes my mouth water!
Thank you for the delightful comment Beth. We love our summer Olallies here along the coast!
I need these berries in my life. Or in my yard! These looks absolutely delish, Deb 🙂
Thank you for the scrumptious comment Kiran!
These berries resembles blackberries… The ice cream looks gorgeous, quite vivid, and bursting in flavor. I’d love to try it. Pinned!
Thank for the scrumptious comment Denise!
olallieberries – live and learn, I’ve never heard of these before now. Are they similar to blackberries? I just pinned them to my Berries Board because they’re new to me!
Olallies are a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry, very similar to a blackberry. Thank you for your lovely comment Julia!
Wow! Looks gorgeous! I love the idea of this method as I have used cornflour successfully before too. I also like the sound of adding cream cheese! We don’t get these berries here, but the berry season for other berries will be starting soon…. Thanks for such a lovely recipe!
Thank you for your lovely comment Cathy! The recipe would be scrumptious with any summer berry.
This has to be the prettiest colored ice cream I’ve ever seen! Your photos are inspiring me to make ice cream-it’s feeling like Summer now 😉
This is one ice cream fully loaded with berries, summer on a spoon! Thank you for your delicious comment Patty!
Oh wow, this is a new berry to me. I love discovering new fruits. We grew up with loads of blackberries each year. I need to keep this recipe close by to make when visiting my parents. It looks delicious.
Blackberry ice cream would be luscious! Thank you for the scrumptious comment Lori!
how I love olallieberries, and from watsonville! it just says summer; spoon please!
Thank you for the lovely comment Orly!
Oh my…I love berry anything, and this looks especially delicious. I’m not familiar with this type of berry, though. It looks like a blackberry or black raspberry…? I’m sure they taste at least as scrumptious as they look!
Thank you for your scrumptious comment Leigh! An Olallie is a cross of a loganberry and a youngberry. It is very similar to a blackberry.
I’ve always loved olallieberries! Your ice cream looks berrylicious, love the striking color!
Thank for the delightful comment Laura! Olallieberries are spectacular!
Breathtaking! I’m ready to slide into summer if it means olallieberry ice cream!
Thank you so much Carol! Your scrumptious comment is wonderful!