Corn Ice Cream (for the Ninja Creami)

 This recipe contains no fruit, but it is my forbidden fruit.

When I first tried corn ice cream, it was from Adrienne Borlongan’s wonderful cookbook The World of Ice Cream, which I reviewed here. I tried a slightly modified version of her recipe and loved it.

Corn ice cream is sweet and buttery. Corn ice cream feels like a secret that Southeast Asia and South America have been keeping from North America, and for good reason; almost every time I tell someone here about how delicious it is, they do not believe me. I know people like to stick to their classics, but come on. Corn ice cream is fantastic.

What, did you think I was going to call it a-maize-ing? Well, I would not do that. That would be too corny.

Ahem. Sorry.

Honestly, with how major of a crop corn is in the U.S., I am shocked it is not more popular as a dessert flavor. Corn has quickly became one of my favorite ice cream flavors right up there with vanilla and strawberry. Corn is a trigger food that hurts my stomach, but the corn ice cream I tried from Borlongan’s cookbook did not hurt my stomach.

Naturally, I decided to test the limits of corn ice cream, concocting my own creation. How much corn is too much?

This corn ice cream definitely has too much corn. By weight, this recipe is 37% corn. It made my stomach hurt. Giving me a sensitive stomach was a higher power’s way of nerfing me, and I am not happy about it. I am tempted to make this recipe over and over while lowering the weight of the corn by one percent each time to see exactly what percentage makes my stomach hurt, but I also do not want to do that to myself. My mind is screaming yes. My body is crying out for help at the thought of eating this again. This recipe contains no fruit, but it is my forbidden fruit.

Please do not let my stomach woes stop you. This recipe is lower in sugar and fat and higher in protein, but I promise, it does not taste like it. It’s still sweet, rich, and buttery in flavor, just like the full-fat, full-sugar version. It is also super easy with only four ingredients and a simple process—blend, freeze, and churn. With summer winding down but the days still too hot to cook, this recipe is perfect for cooling down and enjoying a sweet treat.

Even though I cannot eat this anymore, I am also not the type of person to gatekeep a delicious recipe. I cannot eat it, so please make it—if not for you, then for me to live through you vicariously.

Corn Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

·       1 ⅔ cup (200 g) sweet corn (either drained from a can or thawed from frozen)

·       ½ cup (120 g) milk

·       ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (100 g) sweetened condensed milk

·       ½ cup (120 g) cottage cheese

Directions

1.       Blend all ingredients until as smooth as possible. The corn does not need to be a perfect puree, so do not worry if it still has a few unblended bits.

2.       Freeze in a Ninja Creami pint overnight or until completely frozen.

3.       Churn on Lite Ice Cream. Respin if needed until the consistency feels right.

Q and A

Q: Do I need a Ninja Creami to make this recipe?

A: Yes. This recipe does not work in a standard ice cream machine. Since it is low in sugar, it will likely freeze too hard to scoop.

Q: Is this recipe healthy?

A: “Healthy” is subjective. This recipe is not health food, but if it fits into your diet, then please eat it, by all means.

Q: Why does corn hurt your stomach?

A: I have a health condition that I might post about someday, but basically, eating too much corn triggers a stomachache for me as a result of my health condition. This does not mean that this amount of corn is unsafe for the average person to eat. Only if you’re me, which you probably are, because I don’t think anyone else is reading this.