Oyster Ice Cream
I’m making oyster ice cream inspired by one of the most famous White House hostesses of all time Dolley Madison. Yes, that’s oyster flavored ice cream. Dolley Madison has a long standing association with ice cream, and there are several stories stating that oyster ice cream was her favorite. Whether it’s just a myth or it really was Dolley’s favorite…it was too strange to pass up!
Dolley Madison was quite the hostess. With her flashy feathered turbins and low cut gowns, you really couldn’t miss her. All of Washington gathered for Dolley’s Wednesday night parties. The drawing room at the White House, or the President’s House as it was known then, was so packed with men and women alike, of all walks of life…that these parties were nicknamed squeezes because of the sheer number of bodies in the room. Dolley was a political asset to her husband, using her hostessing skills to their advantage.
Dolley Madison has a long standing association with ice cream. She served it at James Madison’s second inaugural ball at the White House. She served it at the many dinners she co-hosted with Thomas Jefferson. Ice cream was her dessert. She was famous for it. Though not the first to serve it. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both served ice cream during their administrations. Dolley is certainly noted for serving ice cream, notably fond of apricot and pink peppermint ice cream but what about oyster ice cream? Is it one of those strange food myths? Was it a one time thing? While there are no known accounts of Dolley serving oyster ice cream… cook book author, Mary Randolph certainly did. This recipe comes from Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook,The Virginia House-Wife. Among her standard ice cream recipes is this…she suggests taking her recipe for oyster soup and turning it into ice cream. Mary Randolph was friends with James and Dolley Madison, visiting their plantation, Montpelier several times and even gave them a copy of her cookbook containing the recipe for oyster ice cream. I think its safe to say that at the very least Dolley was aware of this ice cream. Whether its just a myth or she really did enjoy this flavor…its too strange to pass up.
Let’s make some oyster ice cream… First I’ll start by shucking these oysters and adding them to a bowl, making sure to reserve all the oyster liquid. We want all the flavor from these. I’ll bring water, chopped onion and the oysters to a boil and reduce to a very concentrated stock. Strain out the solids and return the liquid to the pan. You can eat the oysters as a little treat. We wont need them again. Then I’ll add flour, cream and egg yolks as the recipe suggests but I’m going to add a step: tempering the egg yolks by slowly mixing in some of the warm soup first. Once the soup has thickened, I’ll cool it down completely before the ice cream process. SO! Taking a look at Mary’s ice cream tips, we see that she suggest we scrape the sides of what she is calling the freezer. So remember 1824…obviously not a modern freezer. She’s likely referring to a pewter or tin cylinder that goes into chipped ice. This was before the invention of the hand crank ice cream machine. To recreate this method, I’m going to freeze a copper bowl and set it in a bowl of ice with salt. I’m going to set it in my freezer and then scrape down the sides and stir the ice crystals every 15 minutes. In 1824, this would have gone into an ice house with roughly the same method. I’ll repeat the process until a soft serve consistency and then transfer, cover and freeze it for several hours until i can scoop it. Another option is a really simple way to make any ice cream…just a large ziploc bag with ice and salt. The base goes in a smaller ziploc. Roll it, shake it or give it to a small child with a lot of energy…voila ice cream in about 10 minutes. It will be the texture of soft serve. Then you can freeze that solid for a few hours in another container and it should scoop nicely. You can also use an electric or crank ice cream maker at home, although I cannot guarantee that your machine wont smell or taste like oysters afterward… so beware. Stick around to the end because I will taste this outrageous ice cream.
So that’s how it was done in 1824 or before, like in Dolley’s day. In 1832 Augustus Jackson, a free black chef from Philadelphia invented a prototype for the crank churn ice cream maker. Augustus had previously worked at the White House for 20 years, making ice cream for James and Dolley Madison. Although he failed to patent his invention, he did run a very successful ice cream and catering business in Philadelphia and became one of the cities wealthiest residents. Not every chef was free however. The Madisons were slave owners. Enslaved cooks on their Virginia plantation, Montpelier, were crafting ice cream for their many events. The Madisons brought enslaved people to work at the White House, including Paul Jennings, who helped Dolley Madison save the famous portrait of George Washington during the White House fire set by the British in 1814. That evening Paul Jennings & Dolley had planned and prepared what they believed would be a celebratory dinner. As the British approached, they were forced to flee. The British barged into the empty white house to find a beautiful dinner. the British soldiers stopped to sample the food, made a toast to madison’s health before smashing the windows and setting fire to the White House
Oyster Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 12 oysters raw
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- pinch salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon flour
Instructions
- Shuck all the oysters. Add oysters and their liquid to a bowl.
- In a pot, bring 2 cups water, diced onion, all the oysters and liquid and a pinch of salt to a boil. Reduce by half and strain. The strained liquid should equal 1 cup.
- Return the cup of oyster broth to a clean pan over medium heat. Discard or eat the cooked oysters and onion. To the oyster broth, add 1 teaspoon of flour (this was in Mary’s cookbook. It did immediately clump up so whisk or press out any solids). Then add the cream. Whisk all together until smooth. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and add a ladle full of the oyster/cream mixture into the bowl of yolks. Whisk that together very well then add everything back to the pot. This tempers the egg yolks to prevent them from scrambling.
- Turn off the heat. Whisk the oyster soup very well. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 30 minutes at least before starting the ice cream process.
- Ice cream options: 1. Use an electric or crank ice cream machine to freeze the base. 2. Use a gallon ziplock bag filled with ice and a tablespoon of salt. In a smaller ziplock bag, add the ice cream base. Seal very well. Put small ziplock bag into the large back of ice. Roll or shake for 10 minutes. When the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, transfer it to another container and freeze for a few hours until ready to scoop. 3. Using a small metal bowl, add the ice cream base. In a larger metal bowl, add 1 tablespoon salt and ice. Place small metal bowl inside the large bowl of ice. Place the bowls in the freezer for 15 minutes. Take the bowls out. Scrape the sides of the bowl containing the ice cream. Stir. Repeat the freezing and scraping process until the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, transfer it to another container and freeze for a few hours until ready to scoop.