Homemade Fruit Ice-Cream Recipes To Make With Your U-Pick Haul
U-pick season has finally hit its stride. Nature's bounty is in full force with strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and more coming forth by the bucket-full. Any given Saturday you'll find droves of Southerners plucking and picking their way through the groves and fields, with white plastic baskets in hand. The most important rule for taking part? Only pick what you can eat. These fruit ice-cream recipes will put every last berry and sliver of fruit to delicious use. From homemade strawberry ice cream to lip-smacking peach ice cream, our homemade ice-cream recipes have big plans for being your new favorite summertime tradition. Grab your ice-cream maker and start mapping out those u-pick farms because you're going to need plenty of the season's best to make it through this decadent and oh-so-Southern list of fresh ice-cream recipes.
Blueberry Lemon-Zest Ice Cream
Recipe: Blueberry Lemon-Zest Ice Cream
Let us introduce you to one fresh pair: blueberries and lemon. This zingy duo is a summer-centric choice for the bold of palate. There's nothing quite so refreshing when the humidity levels are climbing and the mercury is flirting with triple digits.
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Strawberry-Basil Ice Cream
Recipe: Strawberry-Basil Ice Cream
Adding herbs to homemade ice cream sounds like a gamble, but we can assure you this Strawberry-Basil Ice Cream is a winner. It's fresh and light with just a hint of interest that sets it apart from the crowd.
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Buttermilk-Plum Ice Cream
Recipe: Buttermilk-Plum Ice Cream
If you're lucky enough to have fresh plums in your neck of the woods, this Buttermilk-Plum Ice Cream is your ticket. It's a creamy, custardy indulgence.
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No-Cook Peach Ice Cream
Recipe: No-Cook Peach Ice Cream
Who says making homemade ice cream has to be a laborious process? This No-Cook Peach Ice Cream proves otherwise with an easy-peasy process that only requires a blender and an ice-cream maker—keep the pots in the cabinet. If you love this recipe so much that you just can't stand not to have it year-round, you can substitute summer-fresh peaches for the canned variety when needed.
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Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream
Recipe: Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream
This salty-sweet combination calls for both chopped fresh strawberries and strawberry preserves—just to cover all the berry bases. Crushed pretzel sticks and a hint of chopped fresh basil take already top-notch strawberry ice cream into a whole new stratosphere.
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Peach-and-Toasted Pecan Ice Cream
Recipe: Peach-and-Toasted Pecan Ice Cream
Let's warm up our favorite peach ice cream with a little toasted pecan flavor, what do you say? If you're looking for an ice-cream recipe that pairs perfectly with a homemade waffle cone, this is it.
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Vanilla Ice Cream with Fruit Blend
Recipe: Vanilla Ice Cream with Fruit Blend
Strawberries and raspberries make one duo worth writing home about in this decadent vanilla ice-cream recipe. The rich vanilla flavor really ups the ante.
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Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
What makes strawberry ice cream even better? The addition of a little angel food cake. You'll want to bake the cubed cake pieces to crisp them up before sprinkling atop that decadent strawberry ice cream. Just don't skimp on the strawberry sauce, whatever you do.
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Homemade Strawberry Gelato
Recipe: Homemade Strawberry Gelato
You don't need to serve Almond Shortbread with the Homemade Strawberry Gelato recipe that executive chef Ian Rynecki of Virginia's Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards shared with us, but why mess with perfection? While you're at it, go ahead and make the Elder Flower Crème. It's more than worth the effort.
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Blackberry Gelato
Recipe: Blackberry Gelato
This Blackberry Gelato came to us from eastern Tennessee's Blackberry Farm, naturally. The award-winning luxury hotel knows a thing or two about its namesake, and this creamy, dreamy gelato proves just that. It only takes 25 minutes of hands-on time but you'll need to allow just over 3 hours for the entire process—including chilling the mixture and freezing the gelato once removing it from the ice-cream maker.
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Strawberry Ice Cream in a Bag
Recipe: Strawberry Ice Cream in a Bag
Here's a fun way to keep little ones occupied—or tone your arm muscles if that's more your speed. All you'll do is combine ingredients in one gallon zip-top bag and put inside another zip-top bag with rock salt. Shake, shake, shake, for about 7 to 10 minutes and you'll have fresh strawberry ice cream ready for scooping.
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No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream
Recipe: No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream
Making the creamiest ice cream without the eggs (and tempering) is as easy as popping open a can of sweetened condensed milk. Lemon juice is the secret ingredient that no one will be able to quite put their finger on.