Italian juniper berries and the bees knees

Sounds like a bad Harry Potter novel

I feel like this particular recipe requires a lot of backstory, but for the sake of time, I'll be brief. I brought back some juniper berries from my trip to Italy in May. I learned from a recent gin distillery tour that gin is made from juniper berries. Apparently you can buy them from your local bodega (or whatever the Italian equivalent is called). You can also buy them in the states, but as my gin wizard tour guide extraordinaire told me, you must source them internationally for the good stuff. Actually, now that I think about it, I definitely did not declare them in my suitcase (oops).

So what the hell is a juniper berry?
No clue really, but their flavor is quite pungent, and I wouldn't recommend foraging for them in the forest (because you probably won't find it, or you'll eat something poisonous, or get attacked by a bear, or stub your pinky toe on a rock; all death-inducing outcomes). I'm sure there is a lot of chemistry involved in turning these little round fuckers into gin, but I was enjoying a cocktail or two at the time of the gin tour so I don't recall those particular facts. I do however, know that one of my personal favorite cocktails happens to be made with gin:

    Bee's Knees cocktail ingredients:
    1. Honey
    2. Fresh lemon juice
    3. Gin
    Shake that shit up.

Looking at this particular recipe, I thought to myself "its lemon, honey, and gin - that would make for a fantastic ice cream." Spoiler alert: It does.

NOTE: You can stop reading now if you don't feel like learning how to make this recipe (or if Game of Thrones is on).

So you want to make a Bee's Knees ice cream:

    Ingredients:
    - Honey (about a half cup, maybe more)
    - Fresh lemon juice (about a half cup)
    - Gin (1 oz - optional)
    - Salt 1/2 teaspoon salt
    - Egg yolks (approx 6)
    - Heavy whipping cream (2 cups aka one of those little jugs you buy them from the supermarket)
    - Ice
    - Sugar (3/4 cup) and (1/4)
    - Juniper berries (about 1/4 cup is plenty)
    - Other berries (half cup) - I recommend blackberries or blueberries (this will help with flavoring)
    - Also, if you haven't guessed by now, you'll need an ice cream maker, dummy.

    Step1: Acquire juniper berries.
    As I mentioned earlier, you can get them in the states but I would try to source them from Italy (if you know a juniper berry smuggler). They're likely the freeze dried version and you'll need to soften them up to get the strong gin flavor out. So first, let's cook 'em. Due to their strong flavor, I recommend only 1/4 cup of juniper berries. Even a smaller amount would suffice (especially if you're using the gin option). Dump these berries in a small skillet, add the 1/2 cup lemon juice and cook on low-medium heat for around 20 minutes, during which you will use a spoon to mash them up as best as possible. While they're cooking add 1/4 cup sugar to the berry mix, and toss in the other berries. Mash up these new berries and stir altogether. You may want to add more lemon juice to the mix. After twenty minutes, remove from heat and let it chill. It should be a semi-liquidy, more syrupy concoction when it's done.

    Step2: Get them eggs.
    Toss the six egg yolks into a medium sized pot whisking the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and salt together. Add two cups of heavy whipping cream to the saucer and begin to cook on low-medium for about 10-15 minutes. Stir frequently until the batch reaches about 180℉ or until the mixture begins to thicken and look custardy. CAREFUL NOT TO OVERCOOK OR YOU WILL GET OMELETTE BITS IN YOUR ICE CREAM! Actually, omelette ice cream sounds good AF.

    Step3: Mix it up
    Now that you haven't overcooked the eggs (right?) and the batch has thickened, pour the mix into a strainer over a medium sized bowl to strain any egg bits that may have materialized (ok to have a few bits here and there). Dump the honey into the bowl, mix and taste. You may want to add more to make it even more honey-er. Take half of the cooled juniper berries from earlier and add it into the batch. You can also strain the cooled juniper bits as they can be a bit crunchy (optional). Also add that gin into the mix if you like. One ounce of gin is safe, anything more than that and you're in Jesus' hands now because it will likely not freeze or be a cold mushy mess. Mix it up just a little.

    Step4: Chill and have a beer while you're at it
    Fill up a slightly larger bowl with some salt, water, and a few cubes of ice. Now take the newly berried/boozed up mixture and place it into this larger bowl to chill for about an hour. We need to bring down the temperature quite a bit, till at least 80℉, so for about half an hour to an hour. Once chilled enough, cover with wrap and pop that baby into the fridge for 4-5 hours or overnight. If you're feeling froggy and want to speed up the chilling process, you can throw it into your freezer for an hour or two (checking on it frequently).

    Step5: Churn, baby, Churn!
    Now toss the chilled mix into your ice cream maker and churn away for about 20-30 minutes. At the end of this churning process, scoop the remaining juniper berry mix into the machine and churn for another minute or so. Scoop out your newly churned ice cream into some containers and throw it in the freezer!

    Step6: Tom Petty said it best.
    The wait IS the hardest part. Freeze for about 6-7 hours or overnight.

    Step7:Enjoy!
    Serving suggestion: sprinkled with pulverized graham crackers and chased with a glass of rosé. Optional, but highly recommended: good company.