Kitchen Tables and Ice Cream Socials
History, Joy, and Nostalgia
I talk a lot about ice cream. A lot.
I have been a pastry chef for most of my adult life. My first kitchen job was in Svendborg, Denmark.. I spent time in the pastry kitchens of Campanile, Grace Restaurant, Beso Hollywood, and Bouchon. The incredible woman who ran the pastry programs of Grace restaurant and Campanile taught me how to make ice cream.
Inside and outside of the kitchen, ice cream has always been part of my world.
When I became a Culinary Director for a local creamery (where I created over 300 ice cream flavors) I started to explore food nostalgia. Many of those ice cream flavors were made to accompany a composed dessert for a restaurant; others scooped right onto a cone. I think the real reason I made so many flavors is because I am such a sucker for food nostalgia. It’s powerful and can evoke many, many emotions and memories.
Who was Sarah Estell?
I was born and raised on the West Coast. My move to Tennessee taught me about the food culture and preservation of the South. I am constantly digging through old cookbooks to look for old and forgotten recipes or asking strangers for their first ice cream memories. It was a single email that significantly changed how I came to understand the power of ice cream. In the fall of 2019, I was contacted with a request to make an ice cream in honor of Sarah Estell. Who was Sarah Estell?
I went down a rabbit hole.
Estell was a free, Black, woman entrepreneur who owned and operated an ice cream saloon, and a boarding house from 1840-1860 in Nashville, Tennessee. Estell made custard-like ice cream with dairy, sugar, and eggs. Popular flavors of that era were Rye and Parmesan. I couldn’t believe it. This meant that 179 years later, I was a Black woman making ice cream in the same city. One of my favorite lines from an 1848 Tennessean Article about Sarah Estell says “A plentiful supply of the best Ice Cream will be furnished during the evening”.
She had the best ice cream in town! This fueled my quest to create a brand and space filled with food history, joy, and nostalgia.
A book is born
In the summer of 2020, I opened my own plant-based ice cream company. At the time, I felt that intention, nostalgia, and African American ice cream history were missing in the ice cream world. After learning about Sarah Estell, I craved more information and history about ice cream. Who were the makers, owners, and innovators? What were the traditions and how far back did they date? By the end of 2020, I was deep into the throws of an ice cream cookbook manuscript. I filled the manuscript with African American food history and my original recipes. Many hours were spent researching African American ice cream makers of the past century reminding me of the rich history tied to ice cream. Nostalgia is the core of my ice cream brand. Without it, it doesn’t tell quite the same story.
What makes ice cream so special?
It is one of the few foods that always brings a smile. Ice cream evokes feelings of joy that you have hidden deep away. A simple mixture of cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar, and whipped air creates one of the most delicious treats we all know and love. Throughout my life, I have come to learn how ice cream brings people together. As the days of the pandemic and social distancing become distant memories, the present has created space for us to spend more time together. The weather is warming up, the trees are blossoming, and all the delightful and delectable fruits and vegetables appear at local farmers’ markets. Seasonal fruits we have anticipated all winter are finally baked into pies, and pastries, and folded into ice cream. With anticipation building through the cold and rainy seasons, there is nothing like that first bite of ice cream in warm weather.
The kitchen table
Last summer I had a thought-provoking conversation with a friend about the power of the kitchen table. We spoke about how we sat at the table as children and how that gave us a bird’s eye view of family and community. We enjoyed eavesdropping on the adults’ conversations and hearing about the weather and the events of someone’s day. This conversation sparked an idea. What can we learn from the past that we can apply to the future? Over the years ice cream has become a vessel for the past and a connector. So I asked myself, how might I bring together a group of strangers from different backgrounds to make connections?
Ice cream is intersectional, it brings people together and is loved.
Ice cream socials
The answer was an ice cream social. My ice cream social concept was to gather to enjoy a joyful moment. The phrase “Ice Cream Social” first appeared around 1870. The original definition of ice cream social is
“A social gathering, usually to raise money for a local church or school, where ice cream is the principal refreshment.”
This was fitting for the era. The first recorded ice cream social dates back to 1744 when Governor Thomas Bladen of Maryland threw an ice cream party. During the 18th century and early 19th century, ice cream socials were held as fundraising events. At one point in time, ice cream was only for the wealthy. But, by the Victorian era fancy ice cream molds, ice cream saloons, ice cream forks, cream ice, sorbet, and water ice were widely in vogue.
7-course ice cream tasting
With the idea of enjoying ice cream as a joyful and communal experience, I gathered 20 people for a seven-course ice cream tasting on a Monday evening in August 2023. My “kitchen table” was decorated to the nines, with antique Victorian candlesticks and dripping taper candles. The centerpiece was inspired by a Frida Kahlo painting and contained fresh zig-zag-cut watermelons, kiwis, papayas, pineapples, whole cherries, and wayward vines. Each place card was a vintage photo of African American children eating ice cream. The menu was an ode to the young Black entrepreneur Alfred L. Cralle who invented the mechanical ice cream scoop. Strangers sat side-by-side in conversation basking in a glow of candlelight. I passed around a bowl with paper and pens for guests to write their first ice cream memories.
Over the years ice cream has taught me that it is a marvelous vessel for history, joy, and food nostalgia.
Ice cream art and rituals
The “kitchen table” is a metaphor for gathering together. This can create a desire to make, share, and enjoy homemade ice cream. Making ice cream to celebrate small and large occasions is pure joy.
The art and rituals of ice cream making are simple and intention-filled. You start with a family recipe for a good base, or a recipe that has been tried and true. The ideas begin to churn. You think of flavors you love and those you want to try. What seasonal fruits are available? Perhaps you remember a flavor that a grandparent made and you want to recreate it. Or you start a new tradition of bringing ice cream to a family reunion. Taking your ice cream out into the world is sublime. There is nothing like meeting friends or family in the park on a hot summer day to enjoy a cool refreshing treat on a tattered old blanket or a worn wooden picnic table bench. Imagine carrying a freshly churned batch of ice cream to share with a neighbor. Something about this seems magical, creates anticipation, and of course, a cherished memory.
In partnership with Tovolo.com
Even when an actual table isn’t involved, ice cream becomes the ‘kitchen table’ and we gather around it to experience joy.
Strawberry & Honeycomb Ice Cream
That moment when food nostalgia awakens a sense. It’s truly incredible.
Strawberries are the ultimate sweet taste of summer. And the taste evokes memories of summers past. The most fascinating part of ice cream is how it makes others feel. You cannot buy that. I love invoking the beautiful memories that come with ice cream. It means so much when people say, ‘This [flavor] reminds me of something.”
Ingredients
For the honeycomb candy:
- •198 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- •59 ml (¼ cup) light corn syrup
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) baking soda
For the ice cream:
- •473 ml (2 cups) whole milk
- •355 ml (1 ½ cups) heavy cream
- •147 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- •5 egg yolks
- •5 ml (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
- •7.5 ml (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- •177 ml (¾ cup) strawberry preserves
- •118 ml (½ cup) honeycomb candy, broken into small pieces
Preparation
For the honeycomb candy: Prepare a half baking sheet (46 x 33 cm/18 x 13 inches) with a silicone baking mat.
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 59 ml (¼ cup) water, and attach a candy thermometor so it is submerged in the mixture without touching the bottom. Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to 149°C (300°F). The mixture will start to bubble and slightly caramelize. Quickly stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam and start to grow and caramelize. Pull the pot off the heat and carefully pour the mixture onto the silicone mat.
Let the honeycomb cool completely before breaking into pieces to use for the ice cream base.
For the ice cream: Crack the egg yolks into a medium stainless steel bowl and set aside.
Prepare an ice bath and place a stainless steel or glass bowl over the ice.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream and sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. When the sugar has dissolved, temper the milk by whisking a small amount into the egg yolks. When the mixture comes together, add it back to the saucepan. Reduce the heat down to low and stir constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure the mixture doesn’t curdle.
Bring the mixture to 71°C (160°F), and strain the mixture into the bowl. Cool the mixture to 4°C (39.2F ). Let the mixture chill in the fridge overnight.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the strawberry preserves. Spin the mixture until it looks thick, 20-25 minutes. Add the honeycomb, spin until combined. Scoop the ice cream into an ice cream container. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 4 hours.
