The taunting tune of Mr Whippy's van
There was one sound that was synonymous with summer when growing up in suburban Melbourne in the late 70s and that was the taunting tune of Mr Whippy's ice cream van.
Nanette Johnson
Back then there was no home made gelato or sorbet, as domestic ice cream machines were virtually non-existent in white Anglo-Australia. Hence, if you were hankering after ice cream on a hot summers day, you had to either walk to your local milk bar in order to satisfy your craving or you had to patiently wait for the sound of Mr Whippy's ice cream van.
As kids we had this uncanny, innate sense (or maybe it was just wishful thinking) when it came to Mr Whippy, as we could hear that jingle, jangle miles away as that blessed van drove up and down neighbouring streets serving gelato and soft serve ice cream to the masses.
The minute we caught sound of that faint jingle, jangle in the distance, we would stop whatever we were doing and drop what was in our hands and run straight to mum, begging for mercy and gelato. It still amazes me how powerful that crappy, jingle, jangle tune was at drawing out all the neighbouring kids from their back yards as that 'sound of summer' used to tempt both adults and children alike with the promise of sweet, sugary, chilled bliss.
As a child my favourite flavours were lemon and chocolate gelato, as I loved that perfect sweet, sharp contrast. To this day they are still my two preferred gelato flavours. Ever since acquiring my ice cream machine last year, I have been happily testing and churning out numerous gelato, sorbet and ice cream recipes. Yet, give me lemon and chocolate gelato any day - minus the annoying jingle, jangle Mr Whippy tune!
Gelato al Limone
Adapted from Italian Easy: Recipes from London River Cafe
Ingredients
3 large organic lemons, zested
600ml full fat organic milk
600ml cream
4 organic egg yolks
½ cup castor sugar
½ tsp sea salt
Method
1. Put the lemon zest and castor sugar in a food processor and blend until the lemon zest is very fine. Put the egg yolks, sea salt and lemon sugar in a bowl and beat with a whisk until they are creamy and form pale ribbons.
2. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a saucepan, then add it to the beaten yolks, trickling it in slowly and steadily and mixing it in with the whisk. Turn the heat to medium, and stir with a heatproof spatula until all components of the mixture are well amalgamated and the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
3. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely. Place in an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Nanette Johnson is a food and travel writer from Australia and Editor-in-Chief for Gourmet Worrier. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter
