Homemade Mango Ice Cream

I'm sure that you'll agree with me when I say that all of us have "growing up" memories of ice cream, and summer or not, it is everyone's favorite treat! I grew up in a country where tropical fruits grow in abundance, and ice cream flavors are adapted to whatever fruits are in season. I remember this ice cream company named Magnolia which sold special edition ice cream dubbed "Flavor of The Month," which as the name implies, is only sold for a month. I was always so excited to know what the next flavor would be, and I would see to it that my father buys it for me. When we moved to the US, I was kind of disappointed that I can't be able to eat the ice cream flavors that I grew up eating! Though there are American flavors that I love like the butter pecan, cookies 'n cream, neapolitan and strawberry, there are times when I crave for Filipino flavors like Avocado, Mais-Queso (Corn and Cheese), Mangga(Mango), Nangkasoy (Jackfruit & Cashew), Quezo Real (Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam and Coconut Sport).
I've long been wanting to make homemade ice cream, but I was thinking that it is so time consuming to do if you don't have an ice cream maker. When I saw the Cuisinart 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker that is currently on sale at Costco, I didn't even have second thoughts of buying it, and when I found Mexican mangoes at the Asian Store last Sunday, I knew that it's the first flavor that I gonna make. Though there are mango ice cream available here, I still miss the Filipino Mango Ice Cream which is made from Philippine Mangoes, most commonly known as Manila or Carabao mangoes, a variety similar to Mexican Ataulfo Mangoes except that they are sweeter and has less fibers inside making it a lot softer.
Between the two basic types of ice cream which are the Custard or French custard-style which as the name suggests, is made from a custard base and the Philadelphia also called "New York" or "American" style which contains no egg yolks and does not require cooking, I chose to do the latter which is less time consuming and easier to make. It was my first time to make ice cream, and though I have an ice cream maker, I prefer my first ice cream making experience to be as hassle free as possible.

I'm so glad that it turned out perfect! I'm excited with the thought that now, I can already make the other Filipino ice cream flavors that I love and terribly miss like the Avocado, Quezo Real and Ube Macapuno. 

I'm so happy to be sharing with you this very simple ice cream recipe that I came up with after checking on some homemade mango recipes online. This will be my entry to A Latte with OTT'A's June Iron Chef Challenge which is sponsored by Dean Foods & Kelsay Farms. The themed ingredient for this month is milk, which is still my family's favorite source of calcium. Not only does it provide more calcium per serving than any other food, it also contains other nutrients like lactose and vitamin D which increase calcium absorption. For my mango ice cream, I used Borden Milk, one of the products of Dean Foods which is one of the leading food and beverage companies in the United States and a European leader in branded soy foods and beverages. Since we got here in Texas in 2004, Borden has been our favorite brand. We've tried some other cheaper brands, but I can say that nothing compares to the taste of Borden Milk. 
I'm also sharing this on  Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen,  Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home and Simply Delish Saturday.

Ingredients:

• 3 large mangoes, peeled, seed removed and cubed (approximately 2 cups)
• ¾ cup sugar
• Juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed - approximately 2 Tbsp (Lemon is used to bring out the flavor of mango and other fruits)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup milk

Procedure:

1. Puree the mango, ¼ cup sugar and lemon juice in a blender until very smooth. 

2. In a large bowl, combine cream and milk with the remaining ½ cup sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the pureed mango. Do not beat. Just stir gently to mix in.

3. Chill the mixture for at least one hour.

4. Pour in your ice cream maker and churn. Mix for about 25-30 minutes or according to manufacturer's instructions.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, pour the ice cream mixture into a wide, airtight container and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour then place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Beat ice cream mixture with an electric mixer until smooth. Put it back in the freezer for 40 minutes - then beat with an electric mixer. Repeat "40 minute freeze-then-beat cycle" 3 times. You can choose to either beat your ice cream mixture every 40 minutes until frozen or let your ice cream mixture freeze on its own. Either method works fine but the more you beat it, the softer it will be.

5. Serve and be refreshed! If firmer texture is desired, transfer ice cream in a tightly sealed container and freeze for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Although making homemade ice cream does take more work than opening a container of store bought ones, it’s worth all the time and effort to make your own. The good thing about homemade is you can control the ingredients that go into your ice cream. That means no chemicals, no preservatives, no ingredients you can’t even pronounce.  With the right choice of milk that you use like that of Dean Foods, you can create your perfect ice cream, and you might not want to eat store bought ice cream anymore!

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