Blueberry Habanero Ice Cream

Cut a slit in the habanero from the tip almost to the stem. You want it to remain in one piece.

Heat blueberries in a sauté pan over medium heat. Once they begin to break down, add cane sugar and habanero. Taste frequently and remove the habanero if it gets too spicy.

Reduce to low heat and simmer until the blueberry mixture coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a mesh sieve into a container to cool (doesn't need to cool completely, you just don't want it to be too hot).

In a small bowl, combine cane sugar, dextrose, salt, locust bean gum, guar gum, carrageenan. Mix ingredients to combine and set aside.

Blend freeze-dried blueberries on medium speed to convert them to powder. Let sit for a minute so the airborne particles have time to settle.

In a blender, combine cream, milk, egg yolks, and reserved blueberry syrup. Mix on medium speed then lower the blender to the lowest speed and keep it running to create a vortex. Slowly pour in the dry ingredients to combine. Turn the blender to high for 10 seconds, then shut it off.

Add blended mixture to saucepan over medium-low heat and gently bring up to 170°F / 77°C and hold it there to denature the whey protein, hydrate the gums, and reduce the mixture. Once the mixture coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and transfer to a sealable heat-resistant container.

Place in a refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop fully and cool down to 40°F / 10°C - approximately 4 hours. When the mix is down to temp, transfer to a pre-chilled ice cream maker and run the ice cream maker until the ice cream is fully thickened.

Transfer ice cream into a sealable container and freeze for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight). Allow ice cream to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping.