Surprise! Homemade ice cream can be Ayurvedic! No need to deprive yourself of one of summer's most special treats. Knowing a few simple tricks about foods and spices is the key to making an ice cream that not only tastes good, but makes you feel good.

Rose Pistachio Saffron Cardamom Ice Cream is sweet and aromatic. Rose, saffron, and cardamom provide elegant, decadent aromas which in turn help you digest heavy, cold ice cream. The crunchy texture of pistachios compliments the sweet and smooth consistency of this creamy dessert. Hearty, rich pistachios also offer a savory balance to sweet ice cream.

Moroccan Inspiration

This ice cream is a heavenly finish to a Moroccan or any Mediterranean menu. If you don't like rosewater, you can leave it out and it will still be absolutely delicious.

Be Creative!

When making ice cream, try many different combinations. That's how chefs stumble upon delicious flavors like Lavender, Sea Salt and Caramel, Earl Grey, Jasmine Green Tea, and Pumpkin Pie Spice. In your own kitchen, experiment with essential oils like sandalwood or khus, lemon balm or orange blossom, the sky is the limit!

Ayurvedic Ice Cream

Making ice cream the Ayurvedic way should:

1) Include spices that break up mucous and aid digestion
2) Avoid eggs (a bad food combination when mixed with dairy) and
3) Avoid refined sugars.

But be warned! No matter how you prepare it, ice cream may provoke congestion, sluggish digestion and heavy thick blood in Kapha individuals, so indulge in moderation. Kapha types might try our cherry sorbet instead.

The Science of Ice Cream

Ice cream provokes a flood of gooey mucus in the stomach. Cardamom breaks up these mucus forming qualities of ice cream. Once the rich, tasty gooeyness of ice cream is absorbed into the blood, the blood becomes congested and thick. Saffron moves this heavy blood and helps maintain good circulation.

Ever wonder why you crave a glass of water after eating ice cream? Digesting the fats in heavy cream absorbs water through a process called hydrolysis. Your body then needs more water to replace the water lost to digesting fats.

Rose and saffron are sattvic. Together with high quality dairy products, this ice cream is a strength and ojas building tonic to rebuild tissues and fat in underweight Vata individuals.

Preparation

Ice becomes creamy and smooth when crystals are kept small. Large crystals are grainy instead of smooth. To achieve this effect, the ice crystals are made into an emulsion of water, sugar, fats and proteins. The mixture helps lower the freezing point of water, helping the ice cream stay creamy.

Here are some guidelines to good homemade ice cream:

1) Use liquid sugars (called inverted sugars) over crystallized ones where possible. Examples are maple syrup, agave syrup and honey.

2) Skim milk powder and pectin are a better food combination than egg whites. Egg whites, however, will result in a creamier product.

3) Egg yolks provide fats. In this recipe we'll use dairy alone to provide fats for vegetarians. However, it is easier to whip air into large fat molecules like egg yolks - making lighter, more desirable cream.