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!!!!