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Honey fromage blanc ice cream, plus a drink

One of my strongest food memories from France was stopping at a roadside shack in Provence, run by an grizzled, bearded man with a Harley-Davidson out front. It was a warm summer day, and we were hungry and thirsty. Maybe try this fromage-miel-something-something? Out comes a nearly overflowing parfait glass (a.k.a., sundae glass) filled with a soft, fresh cheese, oozing with honey, and I think some sliced fruits. Strangely, I cannot remember what, if any fruits there were. But, oh, how I recall the cheese and honey. I vacuumed up any fromage blanc I could obtain for the remainder of that trip. As well as during subsequent trips to France.

Sadly, I have yet to find anything remotely like French fromage blanc here in the US. Everything sold in tubs in the refrigerated section is quite expensive and incomprehensibly SALTY. Then I found and purchased cultures from the New England Cheesemaking Company — which sat in the freezer for, uh, years. I finally made some last month. The recipe calls for 1 gallon of milk, and yow! I was overwhelmed with about 10 cups of whey and 6 cups of fromage blanc. (This was after letting it strain for roughly 4ish hours.) Although I’m glad the culture has a very long life in the freezer, I really need to figure out how to accurately divide the tiny packet of powder for a more practical yield.

Fromage blanc is great on cereal, as well as mixed with fruits and a touch of honey. I’m sure it’d be great as a ricotta and cream cheese substitute in cheesecakes and pasta dishes, too, although I haven’t tried it out yet. But I did make ice cream with it. It’s sort of but not quite like frozen yogurt. Like eating it fresh, comparisons to yogurt (less tart, more cheese-like flavor), ricotta (smoother and creamier) and cream cheese (ditto, yet still different) just don’t quite compare. Try making fromage blanc yourself, as it’s cheaper (and tastier, not to mention more sanely not salty) than buying in the store; Cheesemaking.com’s page is a great resource. But, of course, if in France, you MUST eat it! It’s as common as yogurt here or there!

The recipe calls for honey, where I used a light-flavored one such as sage or blackberry honey. I might try out other flavor variants, such as vanilla simple syrup or other infused (but non-alcoholic) syrups, just to see how they work in a frozen state with fromage blanc. Hm, perhaps elderflower cordial, or passion fruit if enough sugar is added?

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2/3 cup honey, give or take a tablespoon, depending on its sweetness and flavor
  • a pinch of salt
  • 12 ounces fromage blanc (made from 2% milk)

Method

  1. In a microwave-safe bowl, stir together the cream, honey and salt. Zap it on medium-high for about 2 minutes, pausing to stir every minute, until the honey has dissolved. You could also do this in a sauce pan on the stove, if you prefer.
  2. Whisk in the fromage blanc until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
  3. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker per the manufacturer’s instructions. Because there’s less fat and more water than typical ice cream, it might take a bit longer than regular ice cream, e.g., for me about 25 minutes.

Bonus drink

Put 1 or 2 scoops of honey fromage blanc ice cream into a tall glass. Add, if you want, 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of rose water. Pour in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of seltzer or mineral water, and stir. It’s a cross between a float and a sweet lassi. Great on a hot day, or for washing down spicy foods.

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