Around here, dessert is almost a necessity. My husband still needs to pack on a few pounds, and dessert is a few more easy calories after a meal. In summer, that dessert is often ice cream. Cake is nice, but I don't have to turn the oven on to make ice cream.We killed off the last bit of the last batch of frozen goodness, and I figured I'd better make something new. But when I reached for my usual ingredients, I was a little shy on the heavy cream. And I didn't want to go alllllll the way to the store just for that.
So, I decided to use some evaporated milk. Because it has 60 percent of the water removed, the evaporated milk has more body and flavor than regular milk, and it's got a bit of a caramely-cooked flavor compared to fresh milk. But not as much fat as heavy cream.
Apparently, evaporated milk got its start back in the day when refrigeration was rare. Shipping and storing milk was problematic. So, evaporated milk in a can made sense. Since it was condensed, it took less space for shipping, and since it was canned, it was shelf-stable. The consumer who purchased it could add water to recreate something similar to fresh milk.
These days, I use it for cooking, and also for some cream soups, where I want a rich creamy flavor, but I might not want all the fat in cream. I use it quite often for cream of tomato soup, since it doesn't seem as apt to curdle as regular milk or cream.
So anyway, that's why I had evaporated milk. I pretty much always have a can or two around. And I had sweetened condensed, because I bought it specifically for ice cream.
No-Cook Peanut Butter Ice Cream
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.
You can do this with a whisk, but I suggest a stick blender to get that peanut butter un-lumped. Or pour it all in a blender, and let the blender do the work.
Refrigerate the mixture until well-chilled, then churn in your ice cream maker
according to manufacturers instructions.Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.
