It’s pretty much impossible for me to think of my childhood in Iran and not associate it with one of our favorite flowers, Goleh Yas, Jasmine flowers. I have very fond memories of sitting outside during spring and summer nights in the garden and the smell of Jasmines lingering in the air. Goleh Yas also always reminds me of my best friend in Iran from 1st grade until 4th grade Yassi, whom I’ve talked about in my Salad Olivieh post, because of her names’ association with the flower. I think it’s pretty rare to find an Iranian who has lived in Iran that doesn’t love the smell of this beloved flower! Today’s Jasmine Ice Cream is just like a slice of the Iranian nights that I mentioned above. It’s so fragrant and you will love the taste and smell of it!
The idea for this ice cream came from a Gelato Cookbook that my sister gifted me for Christmas. As I went through the book salivating I nearly fell off my chair when I saw a recipe for Gelato di Gelsomino, Jasmine Gelato. When we got back to LA, I impatiently waited for my Jasmine plant to begin flowering so that I could use the flowers to make this recipe.
Soon enough about two weeks ago the flowers finally bloomed. So I went to work and soon realized that the amounts for the recipe were completely off. The recipe said to combine half a litter of heavy cream with 250 grams of sugar and allow the flowers to soak in for an hour. That was way too much sugar, so I reduced the amount and made the gelato. Something was off, it was incredibly fragrant, but it was too sweet. Fortunately, I had a few testers who kindly gave me some great feedback. I am pretty happy with the result at this point. Best of all this recipe doesn’t require an ice cream maker!
Ingredients
1 handful of fresh Jasmine flowers
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 pinch salt
Wash jasmine flowers lightly in some water and drain.
Bring heavy cream to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Add sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Add jasmine flowers and cover. Let rest for two hours.
Strain the flowers and heavy cream. Add lemon juice and stir. Pour mixture in an airtight container and place in the freezer for a few hours until firm.
That’s it! Pretty simple! Now hurry up and go find some Jasmine flowers to make this recipe!!!!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Have you ever tried jasmine extract in this, or other dishes? Since we don’t have flowering jasmine anywhere near us, I thought about doing this as an alternative…going to order some off of Amazon, and try your recipe. Maybe I can make some for my husband’s family for Norooz! Thanks!
Lauren, no I have not used anything else but fresh flowers. I would stay away from the dried flowers though. I bought them to add them to my tea and they smelled and tasted horrible.
Uh oh – will do! I have certainly grown to love anything with either rose or orange blossom in it, and will be on the lookout for a jasmine tree/bush at our local gardening store. Thank you so much for writing this blog! My mother-in-law is an amazing cook, and I would like to surprise my husband and her one of these days with one of your dishes. Merci!
Lauren, I am sure they will be pleasantly surprised! I bought my plant from Home Depot a couple of years ago. I recently have seen Jasmine plants at Trader Joe’s as well. Just a thought!
We are there all the time – at both! Thanks for the tip!
Oh wow, Jasmine ice cream, I would have never thought it can exist!
You are an inspiration for me and helped me a lot with my cooking. My husband is Iranian so I really enjoy reading and find out more about his culture and surprising him at that.
I also like inventing new things, and I tried recently some tahdig-mushroom risoto, it came out delicious. I have only one problem with tahdig, I am scared it will burn so it’s usually not as crunchy yet tasty.
Once again thanks.
Diana, I am so happy to be of help!!! Keep experimenting and inventing stuff!!! For your tahdig you need to makes sure that you have enough water and oil at the bottom of the pot, begin cooking on high for 10 minutes and then lower the heat and also make sure you wrap your lid in a towel.
OH my goodness! I think I may have to go flower hunting in our neighborhood! This recipe sounds like the perfect Spring sweet!
تو فوق العاده اي هنرمند
دهنم آب افتاد
هفت سين ات هم خيلي خوشگله
سال خوشي را برايت آرزومندم
I do make every summer time the jasmine flower ice cream in my parlor shop in Catania – Sicily -Italy and even my Iranian very best friends sayes : so delicius and fresh, it feels inside your nose for minutes.
I make with the water and fresh flowers only.
I’ll wait for You on facebook! By
Looks delicious! Do you have a recipe for saffron + rosewater ice cream?
You’re so right – every time I go to Iran I remember that goleh yaas smell. Especially at NIGHT, it’s just so strong and amazing. I’ve never had the ice cream before though. Would you recommend it with carrot juice? I’ve also never seen jasmine flowers on the east coast. I will have to start scouring home depots now.
Holdthgross, carrot juice????