Recipe: Mightee Fruity Ice-Creamy

So this is the long-promised vegan ice cream recipe, except that there's a bit of dispute over whether I can really call it ice cream. The consistency is milkier than sorbet, but icier than ice cream, and more substantial than sherbet. Rather than call it ice sorshercream, I'm just calling it ice-cream-ish... Ice-creamy.

There are five things you should know about this recipe:

1. This is not a health food. There's plenty of sugar and a bit of fat in it. But with only 4-5 ingredients, you know exactly what you're getting.

2. There is no special equipment required; anyone can make it at home with a pot, a bowl, and a spoon. 

3. It's incredibly delicious.

4. While the work involved is minimal, it does take a whole day to freeze. Believe me, it's worth the wait.

5. It's SO DELICIOUS YOU SHOULD MAKE IT NOW AND THANK ME LATER.

Tangerine and mixed berry flavors are modifications I've tried. See the end note.

Mightee Fruity Ice-Creamy Recipe

2 cups fresh squeezed citrus juice plus 1 tsp zest
1 can (8.5 oz) cream of coconut
1.5 cups demerara sugar (or other vegan sugar)
1.5 cups water

Juice and zest citrus. Combine 2 cups juice, zest, and cream of coconut. Set aside.

Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Add sugar .5 cups at a time and stir until dissolved. Boil for fifteen minutes over medium to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand for about 15 minutes until it becomes syrupy but doesn’t harden. (If it cools too much and hardens, simply put it back on the heat until it softens again.)

Combine with juice mixture in a freezer-safe container and cover tightly. Freeze, scraping the edges and stirring every 30 minutes for the next 4-6 hours until it has an evenly slushy consistency. Let freeze until firm (4-12 hours depending on freezer and container), stirring once more after it's mostly firm. Serve or store in freezer.

Note: I first made this with fresh squeezed lemon juice. I love lemons, but for some people that might be too tart. Even I could only eat it in very small servings. I next tried tangerines, which gave a milder flavor but were also delicious. Finally, I decided to try mixed berry, using two cups of 100% juice berry smoothie (about 50% berry and banana puree and 50% juice) and omitting the citrus zest. All of these worked well, but unanimously we liked the tangerine best.

Note to Floridians: This is an excellent use of the extra citrus on the tree in your yard, or your neighbor's yard, or your coworker's yard that got foisted off on you because they didn't want to see another [lemon, key lime, grapefruit, orange] this year.

If you make this and try a different flavor, let me know how it turns out!