Did you cook the pineapple first?

I always cook the pineapple first before I blend it into puree to make ice cream.

Pineapple has an enzyme which can react with protein unless cooked.

dcarch

I did not cook the pineapple first - some recipes called for that and others didn't. I think most of the Spanish recipes did call for cooking the pineapple, but I wanted to see if I could preserve the fresh flavor. The flavor changes after it is cooked. I have some Greek yogurt that appears to have uncooked pineapple in it, and I like the way that tastes. I'm not fond of cooked pineapple, but it might depend on how it is cooked. I would not want it to have a caramel flavor. I like caramel, but not with pineapple.

Lars

Lars, I have made pineapple ice cream using canned pineapple but I don't know why you couldn't do a fresh version. I was actually trying to recreate a Dole Whip from Disney World which is one of our very favorite treats. The recipe is all over the web. Here's the one I used. I made the ice cream up then served it as a float with pineapple juice.

Pineapple Ice Cream

2 large cans crushed pineapple with 2 T juice reserved
2 T lemon juice
2T lime juice
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 c cream

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 T juice. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend. Process in ice cream maker. I add 1-2 T vodka to keep the ice cream from getting rock hard.
Here's DH at Disney with his pineapple float:)

I watched a Martha Stewart video on the subject not too long ago. If you can stand watching her and her cut-with-a-butter-knife hair falling all over her face and having to push it out of the way every few seconds, the recipe (linked below) from her guest chef may have some merit or inspiration for you. I thought the baked in a low oven, but not caramelized, pineapple was a little different method than some I found on-line.

I was also looking at some Dole recipes that used fresh or frozen pineapple - so you might want to try a search for Dole Fresh Pineapple Ice Cream recipes, if you need more inspiration.

Pineapple Sorbet - Dole Whip Style
http://kidsthesedays.org/content/pineapple-sorbet-dole-whip-style

If you find a "winner", please post it.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Martha Stewart - How to make pineapple ice cream

Tracey, I will definitely try that recipe - it looks very simple, but if I use fresh pineapple instead of canned, I will have to add extra sugar. Instead of vodka, I would recommend adding rum to the mixture. In fact, I did add 1-1/2 tablespoons of rum to my mixture to keep it from getting too hard, but I had also added 2 tsp of Grand Marnier (normally I would use Cointreau, but I was out) to the strawberry mixture. I was afraid the rum may have prevented the ice cream from freezing, but it did help the flavor!

Thanks for the MS link, Grainlady - I will check that out when I get home and try her method. I do think that partially cooking the pineapple is a good idea and would still keep the fresh pineapple flavor. The Dole Whip Sorbet recipe is interesting also - I've been making that since the 1980s, although I more often made it with mango.

Lars

I had some of the ice cream with my lunch today, and the ice cream was quite hard, and so perhaps I did not add enough rum or Grand Marnier. Tastewise, I don't think it needed more rum, and in fact the flavors were very balanced - not too sweet and not too tart. Because I used the strawberry juice, it came out like strawberry ice cream with tiny pineapple chunks, and it does look pretty - pink with yellow polka dots. I wish I had made a pure pineapple flavor, but as a combination flavor it is still very good, but I would prefer to taste the pineapple more intensely. I might make a similar recipe and use pineapple juice/syrup instead of strawberry juice, but if I use the juice, I think I would have to cook it a bit with some sugar, and I would have to do that by taste. I might just break down and use canned pineapple - that would save much of the work, and I think it tastes okay - especially in ice cream. The fresh pineapple does bring back memories of Mexico, however.

Lars

Lars, I think your ice cream sounds wonderful with the strawberries. You've inspired me to make some ice cream using what I had on hand so I made some piña colada ice cream today. It turned out great! Here's what I ended up using.

1can pineapple chunks, drained reserving 3 T juice
1 can coconut milk plus enough milk to equal 3 cups total
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 T pineapple juice (from can)
2 T lemon juice
1 t rum extract
1T vodka

Put everything in the blender then in the ice cream maker.

This post was edited by tracey_oh on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 16:51

"----I had some of the ice cream with my lunch today, and the ice cream was quite hard,---"

Lars, using inverted sugar will help.

Tracey, very nice. I like the color variation.

dcarch