Low Carb Sweet Corn Buttermilk Ice Cream and more!

Sweet corn and low carb go together like oil and water. However, my recent procurement of sweet corn concentrate from Natures Flavors means that I can impart that wonderful essence without that starchy vegetable spiking my insulin. I decided to base my recipe on Salt & Straw’s Sweet Corn Buttermilk flavor. I liked the tanginess of the buttermilk so much that I decided to try two other buttermilk flavor combinations. Three low carb ice cream recipes for the price of one!

Salt & Straw describes this flavor on their website:

Refreshing, dense with flavor, and incredibly yummy! The corn is carefully juiced and churned with buttermilk instead of cream. We think this combination is clean and highlights fresh California corn at its best.

“True” buttermilk is liquid left over from making butter and is extremely low in fat. The stuff you buy in the stores is not a by-product of the butter-making process. Cultured buttermilk is fermented from regular milk much like yogurt. It’s approximately 1.5% milkfat, but has a very thick consistency. It’s possible he really did swap out the heavy cream for buttermilk, but I’m not convinced. I’m going to go the more traditional route and use buttermilk in place of the whole milk, not the heavy cream.

Buttermilk is relatively easy to find, but there’s another option: buttermilk powder. Two tablespoons should provide the same flavor as a cup of buttermilk. Not all buttermilk powders will work. Many are for baking and will not reconstitute when added to liquid. I suggest trying Bob’s Red Mill Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder. Keep in mind that buttermilk contains about 13 g of lactose just like regular milk. This doesn’t yield a big hit of carbohydrates per serving, but may be an issue if you’re lactose intolerant.

This low carb conversion could have been done using either my French custard or Philadelphia style base. The directions below use the latter. I would cut the flavorings in half if I were to attempt a French custard base version of this ice cream. It came out a little crumbly, possibly due to the buttermilk so I’m adding additional vegetable glycerine. Do NOT use more than a teaspoon of the concentrate. It’s very potent. I used a tablespoon the first time and it was too strong. Concentrates can withstand heat, unlike extracts, so go ahead and add it prior to heating.

Ingredients

1 cup (242 g) cultured buttermilk
1 cup (242 g) unsweetened almond milk or equivalent
1 teaspoon Sweet Corn Concentrate
2 tablespoons Truvia
Big pinch salt
1 level scoop (36 g) unflavored whey protein isolate
1 level scoop (28 g) unflavored micellar casein
28 drops EZ-Sweetz
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum or ½ teaspoon Dixie Diner’s Thick It Up Low Carb Thickener
3 tablespoons (57 g) vegetable glycerin
1 cup (238 g) heavy cream

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients except the heavy cream to the 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup.
   
   
   
   
   Beat with an electric mixer at maximum speed for approximately one minute.
2. Add the heavy cream and stir with a silicone spatula gently. Do not use an electric mixer while the heavy cream is cold.
3. Transfer mix to a small pot (preferably non-stick) and heat on medium to medium-high while constantly stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot using a heat resistant silicone spatula. Monitor the temperature. When it reaches 161 °F, lower the heat, start a cooking timer, and keep stirring for five more minutes. Do not allow the temperature get much hotter or cooler. Remove pot from the heat source temporarily while stirring, if needed.
4. Transfer mix back to the 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup and beat with an electric mixer at maximum speed for approximately five minutes.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in a refrigerator for 4-6 hours, but preferably overnight.
6. Remove from the refrigerator. The mix will be thick and slightly gelatinous. Mix by hand with a silicone spatula or whisk before transferring to the ice cream maker. The mix should be homogeneous.

I used the base above (with the buttermilk, but minus the sweet corn concentrate), added roasted strawberries, and LorAnn Oils Flavor Fountain Flavorings, Strawberry ice cream flavoring.

Another great buttermilk combo is paring it with vanilla. I could have added real vanilla extract, but I decided to use LorAnn Oils Flavor Fountain Flavorings, French Vanilla ice cream flavoring since most vanilla buttermilk ice creams use a lot of egg yolks.