Wild blueberries are so delicious when you can get your hands on them. Sweet and juicy. You can make this Wild Maine Blueberry Ice Cream with regular blueberries too.
But those little wild ones are the sweetest in muffins, pancakes and this sweet and creamy blueberry ice cream.
We can’t get enough blueberries around here when summer arrives. My boys love going to the lake with their auntie. She takes them out on the boat and invariably to the little islands on the lake. They tote along those big plastic red party drinking cups and it’s like a treasure hunt.
Everyone tries to find as many as they can, usually for pancakes or blueberry crisp. And the last time we climbed Mt. Major we found lots of wild blueberries on the way up. So nice to have something sweet and juicy to anticipate on the climb. There were so many wild blueberries near the top.
This ice cream is so easy to make. Be sure to allow enough time for the ice cream to harden in the freezer after processing in the ice cream maker. (I usually allow six to eight hours freezing time.)
Mash the berries and let them macerate with the sugar and lemon juice for a few hours. This draws out the juice.
Meanwhile, make your ice cream base and chill. Then add in the blueberries and juice. Process in your ice-cream maker. Eat soft with a spoon or freeze in the freezer six to eight hours or ’til hard and scoopable.
(You can easily make this ice-cream using raw pasteurized eggs and skip cooking the custard-base on the stovetop. But I give the directions here with the stove-top method in case you can’t get pasteurized eggs where you are. Cooking the custard or using pasteurized eggs protects you from the possibility of coming in contact with salmonella bacteria.)
Nothing more refreshing on a sweltering August day than Wild Maine Blueberry Ice Cream. This recipe is adapted from the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.
Wild Maine Blueberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
Sweet Cream Base:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 cups heavy or whipping cream
- 2 cups milk
Blueberry Mixture:
- 4 cups small wild blueberries Wyman's Wild blueberries are perfect
- 1 cup sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon approx. 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl several minutes 'til light and fluffy.
- Whisk in the sugar a little at a time.
- Continue whisking until completely blended, about another minute. Set aside.
- Add milk and cream to saucepan and whisk to blend.
- Heat milk and cream over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- When the cream/milk mixture reaches 140°, remove from heat.
- Very slowly add in about 1/3 of the hot cream/milk mixture into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking quickly the whole time 'til blended.
- (This "tempers" the eggs so they don't scramble when added.)
- Once thoroughly blended, add in the remaining cream/milk mixture.
- Return custard to sauce pan and heat on medium low heat until the mixture reaches 175°, stirring often. (This kills off any harmful bacteria.)
- Remove from heat.
- Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator until mixture is a minimum of 40°. (You want it very cold so it freezes well in the ice cream maker.)
- Separately, mash blueberries in a mixing bowl.
- Toss with lemon juice and 1 cup sugar.
- Let sit covered for two hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
- Add mashed blueberries and juice to the sweet cream base.
- Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer's instructions.
- Freeze in freezer six hours or until hard and scoopable.
Notes
Related post: Blueberry Pound Cake
cristina says
How lovely that field of blueberries – I’d love to see and experience something like that. I wish my blueberries grew in that abundance. This is a beautiful ice cream full of big blue and juicy antioxidant blueberries – I’ll take a gallon to go, please! 😉
Kelly @ TastingPage says
I’ve never seen a field of fresh blueberries growing. How lucky are you?! Even better is this great recipe for blueberry ice cream. While I don’t have your wild Maine berries, I can still muscle through with regular one’s. Looks wonderful!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
How I wish we had your fresh wild Maine blueberries–nothing beats them. I had them when we visited Maine when I was in high school. So yummy.
Catherine says
Dear Allie, it reminds me of a children’s story I used to read to my kids when they were younger about blueberry picking. Sounds like such a wonderful time..it must be a lot of fun. Your ice cream looks sensational dear. xo, Catherine
Jessica @ Stuck On Sweet says
Gorgeous ice cream Allie! Perfect for Summer and it looks so creamy!
Jessica says
Allie, can you PLEASE send some of this to North Carolina?! It looks delicious.
Allie says
Dear Jessica, I will have to find a dry ice company…I’ll work on that. P.S. What nice manners!
Marye says
I used to pack all the kids up in the car at 4 am and drive to east Texas to pick blueberries. We had so much fun doing it, then we would freeze them and have so many blueberries through the rest of the year. This icecream sounds so yummy!
Allie says
You are amazing Marye. 4 a.m.? Now that’s some serious dedication. I can only imagine all the wonderful things you baked with those berries.
Aunt Pinkie says
Boy, does that look good! Your pictures are fabulous! Yum!
Susan says
The minute we finish our diet We are celebrating with this… Or the Heath one – decisions, decisions!
Allie says
Dear Susan, sounds like fun. And how about both?
Candace says
Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Allie says
You are very welcome, my pleasure Candace. Thanks so much for dropping by and taking a moment to say hello!
Susie Mandel says
Oh, wow, I’ll be right over. 😉
Allie says
I’ll be waiting for you. With bells on!
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog says
This ice cream looks heavenly, Ali! I remember picking wild Maine blueberries as a kid vacationing in Maine – they were seriously the best blueberries ever!
Carina says
Mmmm… I love berries. It was fun to read about your family’s ‘encounters’ with wild blueberries. 🙂 What memories your boys will have. I haven’t really come upon wild ones like that, though we used to have raspberry bushes in the backyard when I was growing up, and I delighted in picking them off the bush. By the way, that is a lovely bowl for the blueberries in your beautiful pictures- a culinary and visual treat. Thanks for sharing and take care, Allie.
Allie says
Thank you Carina. We had raspberries growing up too. In my mind’s eye I can see the two bushes out by the stone pool…. Glad you noticed that bowl. It’s a very unusual handmade pottery bowl, one of a kind made by a local nun in town. She does beautiful work and runs a little sale each year on a table at the local catholic school. I have a matching plate also. The interesting thing about the bowl is the mouth of it is not round. It’s more triangular and very unusual. Thanks for noticing and have a lovely weekend!
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
This is perfectly times- blueberry season and ice cream- I want to eat my screen!
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I love blueberries, and I love ice-cream. And you made this heavenly delight using both. DROOLING. This blueberry ice cream looks phenomenal, Allie!
Sarah says
So not only can you go peach picking, but you’ve got blueberries fields literally at your finger tips?? That’s it – I’m moving to Maine! This ice cream looks fab – thanks for sharing 🙂
Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek says
Goodness do we love blueberries. Had our own bushes back in the city. We have plans to plant some in the orchard this fall. Want to plant oh about 100 but since we have had such bad results with moving the tomatoes this year I think we will just plant two and see how they do in that soil.
Have you ever read Robert McCloskey’s “Blueberries For Sal?” One of our all time favorite books . I still refer to canning as “storing up food for winter”. Have never had wild blueberries before but have had wild huckleberries.
I’ve been asking my boys to pick blackberries for the past few days so I can make blackberry ice cream . If they don’t do it today I’ll just have to get into my stash of blueberries in the freezer and make this.
Enjoy the weekend,
Karen
Allie says
Yes yes yes. Love “Blueberries for Sal”, as do my kids. Sure hope your blueberry bushes do well — a hundred would be…well, incredible. We have a couple of wild blueberry bushes in the back yard but the birds usually get to them before I even think to protect them. So, inquiring minds want to know…. did you get your blackberry ice-cream? 🙂
J @ A Hot Southern Mess says
Now that I think about it, I don’t think I have ever had blueberry ice cream. I love blueberry yogurt, so I can only imagine that I would love this recipe even more. I am pinning this so I can make it ad try it out! Yummo!
Tracy says
Some how I missed this piece. So glad I saw it. This looks like the perfect summer dessert. I don’t think I have ever had blueberry ice cream either…… Looks delicious! Yum!!!
Heather M says
We are planning a move to NH and I kid you not, I put finding wild blueberries and making a wild blueberry ice cream recipe near the top of my `when we move` blogging list. Perhaps I’ll change that recipe plan and just use yours. Yum!
Jane Couric says
I love this so much, though i had to try three times to get right.
Sherri @ Watch Learn Eat says
Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, but wild blueberries? Mmm Mmm good! 🙂 I can’t imagine how incredibly delicious they are in this ice cream! Love this recipe!
Terri | Love and Confections says
This ice cream sounds great! I love fresh blueberries and have made so many baked goods with ours from this year. I have been wanting to make an ice cream with them too!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats says
You’ll have to read my post called “Dr. Paul and the Blueberries”. My optometrist is a Maine wild blueberry farmer. I never knew the difference until he explained it…now I can’t wait to try them! Your ice cream sounds fantastic!
Sylvie says
How lucky you are to go pick your own wild blueberries!
Denise says
It’s not even 8am and my mouth is watering for this ice cream.
Allie says
Blueberries = fruit Milk + cream = dairy Eggs = protein Sounds like a delicious breakfast to me!
Tammy says
On a day as bright and beautiful as today, I would love to go blueberry picking! ^_^
This ice cream looks sooo prefect. We don’t have an ice cream maker but with all those blueberries on hand we picked up at the store, I’m def feeling inspired to throw some into our no churn recipe 🙂
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Aunt Pinkie says
Still haven’t made it but it still looks sooo good! Love blueberries!
Susie Mandel says
I wonder if there will still be fresh blueberries when we come up there??
Allie says
I will put in a special order for you!
Susan says
We visited Acadia National Park in Maine last summer–and climbed tiny Cadillac mountain (ok, in our car!) because we had to make it in time for sunset! All along the way, the kids scrambled up and down rocks scoring wild blueberries for their oatmeal at the Continental breakfast bar, next morning. Lobsters, sight seeing, shopping? No, their best memory was collecting wild blueberries on the mountain!
Allie says
It’s funny what kids remember. It’s the little things, and most of the time they’re free. I love Acadia! Did you stop at the Jordan Pond House and sample their famous popovers? If you didn’t, you’ve got to. Scrumptious.
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
Wow! I love those wild blueberries! What a treasure! This ice cream looks just perfect….nothing better than using the best berries and turning it into wonderful treats.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh my! I’ve gone to strawberry, apple and peach farms, but I’ve never seen wild blueberries! They are GORGEOUS!!! I could climb that mountain and just stare at all the blueberries for hours. Of course at some point I’d get hungry and realized I absolutely needed some of this fabulous ice cream in my belly! This looks so delicious, Allie! Creamy and super dreamy ice cream perfection! I’ll take 2 gallons! 😉 Cheers, dear friend! xoxo
Kellie says
my weakness is ice-cream !!! I really do need an ice-cream maker!! and blueberries!!! YUM
Shashi @ RunninSrilankan says
Oh Allie, I so adore blueberries and seeing those bushes with blueberries galore is a feast for my eyes! Now, can you imagine what your homemade ice cream with fresh, macerated blueberries is doing to ALL my senses! Back when I was a young un in Sri Lanka, we used to go blackberry picking and there was this one spot, up in the mountains where my uncle lived that had a treasure trove of blackberry bushes!
Thinking back, I don’t think I’ve ever, ever had fresh blueberry ice cream – gosh, I am so missing out!
Tomorrow is Friday – Yayyy!!! Hope you and your family has a wonderful weekend!
Tracy says
More awesome ideas from Allie! This ice cream looks so delicious! We used to have tons of blueberries in our backyard. I don’t know what happened? But I do know where to find some! Looking forward to trying this! YUM!!!
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
LOVE LOVE blueberries! And I love ice-creams too. I go for strawberry picking, but never went to a blueberry farm. This blueberry ice cream looks so beautiful, delicious and dreamy creamy. Although it’s raining here but I still want 2-3 scoops of this sweet and fresh ice-cream. Loving it! 🙂 <3
Eva says
Le glaces en été, j’adore ça! Et si en plus sont fait maison comme les tiennes, alors là, c’est que du bonheur! Ta glace a l’air tellement gourmand…xx
Allie says
Merci beaucoup Eva , j’aime la crème glacée aux bleuets en été . Il est si rafraîchissant sur une chaude journée! xo
Jeff says
Question for you: I made this recipe specifically because the pictures seem to show a fairly white vanilla look to the ice cream with some blueberry flecs, but when I made it, especially because the blueberries are mashed , the entire ice cream turns purple. What did I do wrong?
Allie says
Hi Jeff – thanks for dropping by. It’s been a few years since I made this recipe. I used the tiny Maine wild blueberries. Unfortunately the blueberries weren’t very juicy, so they didn’t mash very well at all. I’d hoped and intended to have a blue ice cream with blue berries, but it didn’t happen. That’s the only reason my ice cream was white. Because the berries weren’t juicy. Your ice cream may not have looked like mine, but it probably tasted better than what I photographed, because the sweet blueberry juice was mixed through out. If you want a whiter ice cream base, just don’t mash the berries next time. I hope you liked the taste and texture. I’m hoping to make this recipes again in the next few weeks when blueberries are in season around here.
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