U.S. Navy Banana Nut Ice Cream

Banana Nut Ice Cream topped with chopped walnuts

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1945

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The U.S. Navy went to great lengths to provide morale-boosting ice cream for its men in WWII. From the War Department’s Ice Cream Report which put the treat at a high priority to pilots attaching makeshift ice cream churns to plane wings and flying them high enough to freeze (sky-ce cream anyone?). The original cookbook includes several flavors of ice cream including cherry, coffee, date nut, pistachio, and two versions of chocolate, all using the same vanilla ice cream as a base. So many to choose from! While I haven’t tried all the flavors, the banana nut is definitely worth making. Made with wartime-friendly powdered eggs and milk, this surprisingly delicious ice cream would have certainly reminded the boys of home.

“Yield: Approx. 5 gallons.
Cornstarch………………...…8 oz
Sugar…………………………5 lbs
Salt…………………………...1 ½ oz
Eggs, whole, powdered…...…11 oz
Milk, whole, powdered…...…4 lbs
Water, cool……………....…...3 ¼ gallons
Vanilla………………….…….2 oz
Mix together cornstarch, sugar and salt. Combine powdered eggs and milk.
Reconstitute with water the same as for powdered milk or eggs (pages 20 and 21). Stir in to cornstarch mixture.
Cook over boiling water or in steam-jacketed kettle about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cool completely. Add vanilla. Freeze
NOTE—1. 12 vanilla tablets, reconstituted, may be used in place of vanilla.
2. Mixture may have curdled appearance while cooking. This will disappear in freezing.
3. This Ice Cream formula can be used as basis for other flavors.

Banana Nut Ice Cream
To 2 ½ gallons of mix, add the following:
4 pounds 8 ounces (12 to 16) ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon yellow coloring
12 ounces (1 ½ pints) English walnuts or pecans, chopped or ground
NOTE—Peel and mash bananas just before using to prevent discoloration.”

— The Cook Book of the United States Navy by the United States Department of the Navy Bureau of Supplies & Accounts, Washington, D.C. 1945

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Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons (10 g) corn starch
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (115 g) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons (15 g) powdered eggs*
• 3/4 cup (90 g) powdered whole milk*
• 2 3/4 cups (650 ml) cold water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 g banana, about 1 large
• 1/8 cup (17 g) chopped walnuts

• 5 drops yellow food coloring

  *See notes below.

Instructions:

1. In a large, wide, heat proof bowl, whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and salt together.
2. In a separate medium bowl, slowly add the powdered milk to the cold water while beating with an electric mixer on medium speed. Once it’s completely mixed, add the powdered egg and beat until combined. 3. Pour the reconstituted milk and egg into the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly.
3. Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil, then place the wide bowl on top of it, creating a double boiler. Stir constantly with a spatula, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
4. After 20 minutes, or when the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spatula, prepare a large bowl of ice water and place another metal bowl on top of it. Transfer the custard to the cold bowl on top of the ice bath and stir to bring the temperature down quickly.
5. When the custard is room temperature, pass it through a sieve to get it nice and smooth.
6. Mash the banana and add it and the vanilla to the strained custard and stir until smooth. Add the yellow food coloring and stir until the color is uniform, then stir in the walnuts.
7. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
8. Pour the chilled custard in an ice cream mixer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. For soft serve ice cream, enjoy right away. For firmer ice cream, cover and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Scoop and serve it forth.

Notes

• Most of the powdered milk you find at the grocery store is nonfat, but you want whole for this. If you can’t find it in the store, it’s available online (King Arthur is a good source).
• I got my dried egg at the camping store.

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