Lemon Kefir Icecream

This deliciously addictive recipe has done the rounds on the internet. The online English version originated with Clothilde Dusoulier at Chocolate and Zucchini. We’ve adapted it to our own resources (home-fermented kefir, no agave, no icecream maker) and our own needs (two family members don’t like bits of lemon zest in their ice cream!)

Ingredients
4 small lemons
1 1/2 cups fermented milk kefir
1/3 cup sugar

To make
Peel the lemons.

Squeeze the lemons into a pot, and add the peel and the sugar.

Gently heat the pot, stirring till the sugar melts.

Turn off the heat, cover, and leave to cool, with the peel still in.

Put the kefir into a bowl.

Strain the cooled lemon/sugar mix into the kefir, and stir well.

To freeze without an ice-cream maker
Put the bowl in the freezer and leave for an hour or so.
When the edges are freezing, push the frozen bits down into the unfrozen bits and stir briefly and gently.
Repeat approximately every hour for about four hours. (Actually, as time goes on you may need to stir it a little more frequently than every hour, as the freezing picks up speed ... it depends on the temperature in your freezer.)

To serve
This can freeze very hard, so I usually leave it out of the freezer for 10 mins or so before serving.
The texture is sometimes crumbly, so when you scoop it out, you may need to do a bit of compressing as you scoop!

Variations
* You can use buttermilk or yoghurt instead of kefir.

* Honey is nice instead of sugar. You can just heat the peel in the honey without the lemon juice, and add the lemon juice to the kefir after, without heating it. (I like the mildness of clover honey for icecream recipes.)

Getting hold of milk kefir
Contact your closest Weston A Price Foundation chapter and ask about it.