savor — guide to dining on the azalea coast
When it comes to fresh ingredients, the
ice cream makers at Lewis Nursery
and Farms don’t have to look far.
The farm’s ice cream flavors are based on what’s picked
fresh daily—luscious red strawberries and a few weeks
later, just-ripened blueberries.
Best enjoyed with loved ones after spending a couple of
hours in the pick-your-own field, the Lewis family doesn’t
mind sharing their recipe because they know sometimes it
just tastes better when you do it yourself.
Lee Williams, Lewis Nursery and Farms co-owner, says
he married the farmer’s daughter. Williams says the shortlived
ice cream season will last until July 4, maybe longer,
depending on how the blueberry crop fares. He believes
that an added touch of vanilla flavoring adds a special
oomph to blueberry ice cream.
“We add vanilla flavoring to our blueberry ice cream,”
Williams says. “I’m not sure why,” he continues.
“Someone told me one day that it tastes better if you add
vanilla to it. I did just that and it works; it makes it taste
better.”
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WBM june 2011
Blueberry Ice Cream
from Lee Williams,
Lewis Nursery and
Farms
3 cups of blueberries
½ cup of water
2 pints of half and half
1 quart of milk
3 cups of sugar
• Crush the blueberries and place
them in a saucepan with the
water. Boil until the berries are
soft. Strain the berries. Place the
fruit in a freezer churn and add
the remaining ingredients. Stir
the concoction to dissolve. Let
it freeze overnight. This should
make about three quarts of ice
cream.
• Or for instant gratification take
a trip to the farm, 6517 Gordon
Road. —JY, MM and TL
East Indian ice
cream, Pista Kesar,
in which saffron
is cooked into the
cream and combined
with ground
pistachios.
“It’s not a staple flavor for us
by any means. It’s something
we bring out as a novelty,”
Michelle says.
“I was taught by an Indian
woman when we first opened.
She came right back and
showed me how to make it.
That’s something we do not
measure, we do by eye ... the
color of the cream, the saffron
and the taste.”
The Manevals have also produced
other savory flavors like
green tea ice cream made with
green tea powder. The powder
can be purchased at local Asian
markets and is incorporated
into a basic ice cream recipe
in the same way that Michelle
incorporates coconut flavoring
into some of her ice cream
blends, substituting coconut
milk into the cream, along
with shaved coconut and fruit.
“When you’re dealing with
fruit, some fruit is sweeter than
others. There’s such variance,”
Michelle says. “If you have a
quart of strawberries that are
bright, dark red sweet strawberries,
it’s going to make a lot
different ice cream than if you
have a quart of strawberries
that are pink and white inside
and not that flavorful.”
Not always knowing what
flavor’s coming from the fruit,
part of the ice cream adventure
comes down to individual
taste. In the end, when homemaking
your own summer
sweet cream, follow Michelle
Maneval’s philosophy for a
pure experience flavored with
true ingredients. —MM and TL
Farm fresh
Caitlynn Nichols, left, and Maddi White.
Photography by Allison Breiner potter.