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How to Make Saffron Ice Cream

Lately, I’ve been craving a treat from my childhood- saffron ice cream! This recipe is easy and is guaranteed to wow those who taste it. Saffron ice cream is the perfect treat after a warm day—you just have to trust me on this one! First, a few frequently asked questions about Saffron since it isn’t your everyday spice: Saffron ice cream with pistachios in a bowl and mint leaves on top

What is saffron?

Saffron is a spice that comes from the flower, Crocus Sativus (aka the Saffron Crocus). The stigma of the flower is hand-harvested and dried, which then becomes saffron.

What does saffron taste like?

The taste of saffron is highly subjective. If you ask a hundred people, you’ll probably get a hundred different answers. Most commonly, people say it tastes sweet with a bitter aftertaste. Some people find it repugnant, while others (like me) absolutely love it. My husband says it tastes like rain. Whatever it tastes like to you, a little goes a long, long way. 

What does saffron cost?

Notoriously known as the most expensive spice in the world, Saffron can definitely be on the pricey side. You can expect to spend about $10-20 for a gram of saffron—unlike most spices it is not sold by the ounce because the price would be much higher—about $300 per ounce! Remember, it is very potent and a little goes a long way.

If you want to try out the flavor of saffron, Trader Joes sells Spanish saffron for about $7. 

So, how did I get started on my saffron kick?

When I was a young kid my mom’s family mostly lived on the East Coast. I’m half Persian and my Persian family knows how to throw a good party! Whether it was a birthday, a holiday, or just a Tuesday there was always laughter spilling over, conversations ringing through my grandmother’s house and lots of dancing.

And the food. Goodness. Sometimes I literally ache for those days where my closest friends were my cousins and we all lived minutes from each other and my entire family gathered at least weekly. Now we are spread all across the world and celebrations are closer to every couple of years than every couple of days. Lately I had been feeling more nostalgic than ever for my Persian heritage and set out to create one of my favorite treats from my childhood—saffron ice cream.

Scott’s first experience with saffron ice cream was when we went to my cousin’s graduation at UCLA Law school. My family took a detour to the Little Tehran area in LA and we all beelined into a Persian ice cream shop. To me, all the flavors were completely normal—rosewater undertones, chopped pistachio toppings, drinkable yogurts and saffron-spiced cream. I suggested Scott try the saffron (I did as well!) and he was hooked. I’ll admit it…we went back for a second scoop.

I finally ordered an ice cream making attachment for my KitchenAid and set out to recreate saffron ice cream for myself. It was fabulous. Take our orangey-red-stained lips for it. You can do it too. Really, you can simply take your favorite vanilla recipe and sub out saffron for vanilla. But a lot of those recipes require cooking the ingredients, then letting them chill for eight hours and that’s a long time to wait and plan ahead. So I like this no-cook version myself.

To start simply assemble your ingredients and pour the milk and cream into a blender.

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Now we need to add the saffron. If you have never worked with it before you’ll probably be surprised at how expensive it is and how different it looks than most spices. With saffron a little goes a long way so start with a bit under a tsp. To make sure the saffron mixed well with the cream I took a few tablespoons of the cream mixture and mixed it with the saffron threads in a mortar and pestle.how to make saffron ice cream...click through for instructions_0006

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You want to get as few saffron threads as possible, so keep grinding them with the pestle. Once it’s as smooth as you can get it, add it into the blender.

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Then add the rest of your ingredients.

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At this point blend them together and add to your ice cream maker. Follow your manufacture’s instructions from here.

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When it was done mixing, it was a soft-serve texture so we froze it all in a pyrex dish for a few hours.

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Then we topped with pistachios and mint. NOM NOM.

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Try this tasty treat…you won’t be disappointed!how to make saffron ice cream...click through for instructions_0023

Saffron Ice Cream
inspired by this vanilla ice cream recipe via The Prairie Homestead

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or table sugar)
1/8th tsp sea salt
1 tsp saffron
Optional toppings: pistachios and/or mint

Place cream and whole milk in a blender. Use a clean tsp to remove 2-3 tsp of the cream mixture into a mortar bowl. Add the saffron and use the pestle to grind the saffron into the milk in the mortar.

Add the saffron mixture back into the blender and add the other ingredients. Blend well. Pour into your ice cream mixer and follow instructions from your manufacturer.

Top your ice cream with pistachios and/or fresh mint, and enjoy!

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Tania Griffis is an accomplished writer, blogger, and interior designer with a Journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. She started her popular blog, Run to Radiance, in 2011, demonstrating her design expertise through the personal remodeling of six houses to millions of readers across the globe.

Tania also owns The Creative Wheelhouse, a respected ghostwriting agency for bloggers, further showcasing her talent for creating engaging and informative content.

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14 Comments

  1. I am glad you guys made it home! This recipe sounds intriguing! LOVE homemade ice cream! So delighted to meet the two of you and to enjoy such a lovely conversation! I hope you have a great weekend,
    Kathy

  2. I am definately making this for the next indian dinner party! I think the flavours would be perfect. Indian desserts are usually a bit hit and miss and I havent had much luck before but this looks rather delicious 🙂

  3. oh gosh, i’ve been thinking about making ice cream for a while, but saffron sounds over-the-top-chef-like-and-delicious. but i should expect that from you – always such creative ideas 🙂

  4. I just found your blog and so happy I did! You’re very close to me…I live in Euless…a short distance from DFW airport. 🙂 The ice cream looks and sounds delish ~ thanks for sharing!

    I’ve been having a LOT of technical/computer issues so just now able to get back in blog land and visit. I hope you’ll stop by and say hi when you can!

    xo
    Pat

  5. Tania, I am as attached to fresh peach ice cream as you are to saffron. I have a question: so many herbs aspices are available as ground or powdered, yet I have never seen saffron or mint except as strands and stems, respectively.

    1. Computer glitch. To continue, saffron and mint release their scent and flavor when crushed, but do you know any other reason they should not be available in ground or powdered form? I get only a few springs of mint in the grocery store, often for $4, and it is wilted and has few leaves that can be used as garnish. Other then growing my own mint, do you know of sources for ground or powdered saffron or mint? Thank you for Run to Radiance.

  6. Yum! Thanks for linking up to last week’s Tasty Tuesday. I have pinned your recipe to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board. I hope that you’ll join us again this week! Have a great day.

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