Here’s another tasty offering along the lines of my Probiotic Potato Salad. The secret ingredient in this probiotic ice cream is one of my favorite foods – kefir. Kefir is a natural antibiotic, and it has other great properties, too. Its tart flavor is not noticeable in this ice cream – but it still offers its benefits to those who gobble it up (and they will gobble it up, I promise).
I try to get kefir into as many dishes as possible. Take a look at these seven yummy ways to eat kefir.
Wonder whether the bacteria/yeast of kefir survive the freezing stage of making this ice cream? I’m not totally sure – but I’ll share what I think about it and then, if you think I’m wrong, please let me know. 
One of the ways that people preserve their grains, when they’re taking a break from culturing it, is by freezing. This tells me that the bacteria and yeast survive the freezing. Even if some of the bacteria/yeast died, some or most of them do not.
I’ve also read that the kefir culture does not last in a long-term deep freeze (but ironically, others claim their kefir grains do survive the deep freeze). If the former were true, I don’t think it would apply to making homemade ice cream, especially if you serve the treat right out of the ice cream maker. Rather than being “long-term deep freeze” it is “immediate soft serve” as it just barely achieves a soft frozen state before serving. So, I think that in this ice cream and in my kefir smoothie pops, the bacteria/yeast are still active, or at least most of them. Do you think I’m crazy or right on or is the jury still out?
A few remarks about this recipe. For creaminess, the recipe calls for whole coconut milk (not light) as some of the liquid, as well as an avocado. If you have raw grass-fed cream, feel free to use that in place of the coconut milk. Depending on the creaminess you desire, you might also substitute cream for some or all of the raw milk. Now, here’s that recipe – make yourself some yummy probiotic ice cream!
Makes 2 quarts
- 1 can (about 2 cups) whole coconut milk (not light) – I like the Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk
- 1-1/2 cups plain kefir
- 2 cups raw, grass-fed whole milk – goat or cow
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 or a whole ripe avocado
- 3 egg yolks – from local, naturally-raised, pastured chickens (important, otherwise omit)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered Sucanat (ground fine in food processor or Vitamix) OR 3/4 cup date pieces
Blend all ingredients until smooth in blender or Vitamix wet container. Chill thoroughly. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Serve immediately or put in the freezer to harden for about an hour. If you freeze much longer, it gets hard. That’s not so bad because hard ice cream = milkshakes!
© Copyright 2009 by Wardeh Harmon.
Coming up! A Thanksgiving-themed “Gallery of… “ like the Gallery of Soups. More details to come on Monday, November 2!
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
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That looks great! I’m going to give it a try.
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Do you think if you used duck eggs, you could go with 2 whole eggs since they are higher in fat and protein than chicken eggs? Just curious what you think. Sounds yummy!
Kimbrah – Definitely! The amount of egg yolks is loose – I think I’ve added 4 or 6 chicken egg yolks before. So you could do more duck eggs. If you want.
Just wanted to mention that we culture our own Kefir at home, and live kefir grains are available, either free of charge or for a minimal fee at this kefir grains sharing website: http://www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php
D
That sounds amazing! I love the variety of ingredients, and I bet they all work well together. I need to start making kefir.
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This is such a creative recipe! I never would have thought to use kefir for ice cream, much less throw in an avocado. Thanks, Wardeh.
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The avocado sounds very odd, but I bet the ice cream is fantastic tasting!
I love kefir.
Andrew – I got the idea for avocado from an internet friend – she added it to coconut milk ice cream to make it creamier. It works! But imparts no discernible flavor. Well, perhaps a tiny, tiny bit. But it is pleasant and works very well – so that no one would know. (IMO)
Wardeh, this looks great! Stumbling now…
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Thank you, Kelly.
We made this tonight and it was so good! With a few changes, of course. We used all cream in place of the milk. I added cinnamon and cardamom, which I almost always do to dairy or sweet items (a little Ayurvedic trick). I added some extra carob on top of the cocoa/raw cacao mix, to make it chocolate-y-er and sweeter. I added a banana, just because we have a whole bunch to use up. Actually 4 whole bunches, over 100lbs (we live in Hawaii and get bananas for free…). And I was out of sucanat, so I used a mix of raw honey, stevia, and my kombucha-feeding organic cane sugar. But the combo was still less than amount called for; we haven’t had fruit or sugar for a few weeks and need far less to satisfy now. The kids were so thrilled, we haven’t had ice cream for about 6 months! Thanks so much for the recipe, there are only so many kefir smoothies you can make!
I read a comment on an article (I don’t remember what or where), by someone who said they had experience as a research scientist. The comment said that they stored yeasts used for experiments at -176 F to put them completely to sleep, but that above that temperature, yeasts were still active. I thought that might help you…I hope!
Hello there, I have a question! Can I use my left over whey instead of using raw milk. How will it change the consistency and taste of the ice cream? Is it better to not try? Why does lite coconut milk not work?
Julien — I wouldn’t do that — at least not for ice cream. You could try it but you’d end up with a frozen whey concoction, maybe like an icy juice, more so than ice cream.
Lite coconut milk works, but it is a waste of money. All they do to get light is water down regular coconut milk yet charge the same amount of money. Plus, regular coconut milk is more creamy — thus making a creamier ice cream.
What about switching the raw milk for full coconut milk OR hemp milk? Will the consistency suffer?
Julien — That would be fine! The coconut milk would be better I think because of the cream. With the hemp milk, you might want to up the egg yolks and/or avocado for creaminess.
Hey hey I tried this and it was super good! I subbed in 3 bananas for the avacado, and added the cinamon and the cardamon. Oh so good! The kids ate it up too!