“Curd-Like” Ice Cream without Curd

Ice cream is chilled fat with sugar and protein. If you want to make good plant-based ice cream, remember these three components.

The first records of chilled, icy desserts date back 2,500 years to Persia, where they prepared desserts resembling today’s sorbets. Icy desserts appear in a Roman cookbook from the 1st century and in medieval Japan and China. However, the first modern ice cream was created at the end of the 16th century by the Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti. An architect, hydraulic engineer, sculptor, painter, and builder of fortifications and gardens, Buontalenti invented the whisk, which allowed for whipping and aerating frozen cream — a device as important to the contemporary form of ice cream as its ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 50 g of raisins
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 5 packets of lemon zest or zest from a fresh lemon
- 1 block (200 g) of tofu
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) of brown sugar
- 50 ml of lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Crumble the tofu and mix it with the remaining ingredients, then blend thoroughly. The smoother the mixture, the better.
2. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the machine’s instructions. It should take about 15–20 minutes to get “curd-like” ice cream from tofu.

VARIATIONS:
- Instead of sesame oil, peanut oil works well, or you can use walnut or hazelnut oil, or any other aromatic oil.
- Raisins add sweetness and flavor; you can use dates, figs, or even ripe (brown) bananas or mango. Or simply use sugar or another sweetener.

NOTES:
Remember that after chilling, the taste, especially sweetness, is much weaker, so the ice cream mixture should always be a bit too sweet and strongly flavored.

SERVING:
Serve in bowls with fresh fruits, nuts, chopped chocolate, flavored syrup, a bit of good cherry liqueur, or brandy. Or with a sauce, for example:
- Peel an orange, cut into cubes, mix with yogurt and raisins, sugar, and a pinch of salt.

The ice cream created by the Florentine architect consisted of milk, sugar, eggs, lemon, and a bit of wine. Honey, milk, and a drop of wine were also used. The wine and lemon added a contrasting flavor to the sweetness of the sugar. The egg and milk provided fat and protein.

Another protein addition used in ice cream, though less popular than eggs, is curd, which in this recipe is replaced by tofu. Coconut milk and sesame oil provide the fat.

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