Food Sources: Sauces make ice cream a decidedly divine treat

National Ice Cream Day is July 21, proclaimed 40 years ago by President Ronald Reagan to take place on the third Sunday of July each year to honor a "wholesome and nutritious food eaten by 90 percent of Americans."

Ice cream recipes appeared in print for the first time in 1718 in a cookbook written by Mary Eales, described as the confectioner to King William and Queen Anne, rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland. Eales wrote: "to ice cream, you must have a Pail, and lay some Straw at the Bottom; then lay in your Ice, and put in amongst it a Pound of Bay-Salt; set in your Pots of Cream, and lay Ice and Salt between every Pot, that they may not touch; but the Ice must lie round them on every Side; lay a good deal of Ice on the Top, cover the Pail with Straw, set it in a Cellar where no Sun or Light comes, it will be froze in four Hours, but it may stand longer; than take it out just as you use it; hold it in your Hand and it will slip out."

That is pretty much how we will make ice cream at the Carlton County Historical Society's Get Cranky ice cream social from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 21. You can take your turn turning the crank, listen to music, play games, do chalk art and visit with friends and neighbors.

Do not miss the sundae that comes with the price of admission. You will want to drizzle both the homemade salted caramel sauce and the dark chocolate fudge sauce on your ice cream, and you can thank Larry Anderson for this delightful experience. He's the cook and he really knows what he's doing.

Anderson grew up in Cloquet and made the sauces at the Cloquet library's teaching kitchen.

"I'm so proud of this kitchen," he told me.

Larry is a numbers guy, and he knew that the budget for the kitchen was virtually non-existent. He recruited Pat McCoy, then the nutrition services director for Cloquet Memorial Community Hospital, also a wonderful cook and caterer. The two of them made sure the kitchen was cost-effective, flexibly designed and well-stocked for catering events and teaching cooking classes. Minnesota Power and CMH provided support to make their vision a reality.

When I got to the library kitchen, Larry had his ingredients measured out and sitting in its own little bowl or pitcher. Heavy-bottomed pans, a metal whisk, wooden stirring spoons and individual tasting spoons were at the ready. Then the action began.

He melted the sugar on an induction cooktop, and told me its unique design prevents burning. He stirred constantly and the sugar melted into a thick amber color. Larry stirred in the butter vigorously and then very slowly added the heavy cream as the mixture began to boil and rise in the pan. After one minute, Larry removed it from the heat and stirred in the salt. He was emphatic about using kosher salt, and at the first taste I completely understood why. The caramel and the sea salt love each other, and they adore the vanilla ice cream too.

Then he immediately started the fudge sauce, heating the sugar, milk and salt until bubbles formed around the edges, then whisking in the cocoa. He removed the pan from the heat and stirred in the chocolate. When it was melted, he added in cold butter, and the sauce took on a luxurious shine. He added pure vanilla extract, and again we tasted heaven.

The whole process took about 30 minutes. As soon as the sauces cooled, we topped our bowls of ice cream and talked about his mother, Vivian. She taught him to cook when he was seven years old. She was pregnant and on bedrest, calling out the instructions for goulash to Larry so supper was on the table when his father arrived home from work. He also helped her with her catering work, especially the many events she cooked for at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Larry's specialty was gravy, and it's clear to me his is a master emulsifier from way back.

Larry had a long career in finance, both in business and in arts and culture organizations. You can see his organizational skills in his "mis en place" - his ingredients, cookware and recipes are laid out so he cooks efficiently and quickly. And he's precise.

Here are some of his rules for making these special sauces:

1) chill the unsalted butter, have the salted butter at room temperature;

2) use Dutch processed chocolate, any brand;

3) make sure you use pure cane granulated sugar;

4) get Watkins Pure Vanilla Extract, not baking vanilla;

5) America's Test Kitchen and Larry recommend Bakers unsweetened chocolate;

6) you can substitute heavy cream (36 percent milk fat) for light whipping cream (30 percent fat) or double cream (48 percent fat), but don't use milk and be sure it is at room temperature before you start; and

7) use a high-heat resistant rubber spatula for stirring the caramel sauce;

8) use kosher salt, not table salt. As Larry said, 'You add that hit of kosher salt at the end, and it just comes to life.'

Larry has been an active member of the Cloquet Library Foundation for many years, and he's been a brilliant advisor to the Historical Society Foundation too. He's directed plays at County Seat Theater and he is pastor of Hope Lutheran in Toivola.

As soon as he finishes his pastoral duties on Sunday, he'll be racing to the Carlton County Historical Society so he can drizzle his delicious sauces on your bowl of ice cream.

Find the full recipes below:

Homemade Salted Caramel (Larry’s adaptation)

Ingredients:

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

6 T (85g) salted butter at room temperature

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream at room temperature

1 T kosher salt

Instructions:

Heat sugar in a medium heavy-duty saucepan (not non-stick) over medium heat, stirring constantly being careful not to burn it. Sugar will form clumps and then eventually melt into a thick amber-colored liquid.

Then stir in the butter. If the butter separates or the sugar clumps up, remove from heat and vigorously whisk it back together. Return it to the heat when it’s combined again.

Stir constantly as you pour in the cream, which will begin to bubble. Stop stirring when the cream is incorporated and allow it to boil and rise in the pan for one minute.

Remove it from the heat and stir in the salt. Allow the caramel to cool and thicken before you serve it.

Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce (from America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups (8.75 oz.) sugar

⅔ cup whole or 2% milk

¼ tsp table salt

⅓ cup (1 oz.) unsweetened and sifted cocoa powder

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

4 T unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions:

Heat sugar, milk, and salt in a medium heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking gently until sugar has dissolved and liquid starts to bubble around the edges. Reduce heat to low, add cocoa, and whisk until smooth.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in chocolate, and let stand for three minutes. Wisk the sauce until smooth and the chocolate is fully melted. Add butter and whisk until fully incorporated and sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in vanilla and serve.

Note: Both sauces can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. Gently reheat in a microwave (do not let it exceed 110 degrees, stirring every 10 seconds until just warmed and pourable.)

Editor's note: These recipes were corrected after print.