Blackberry Ice Cream (primal : grain-free : gluten-free : GAPS option)

Creamy, beautiful, and smooth: this blackberry ice cream is so good!  I combined blackberries, a touch of lime juice, raw milk and cream, and unrefined sweeteners to make a great, fresh taste.  This is our new favorite flavor of ice cream.

Blackberry Ice Cream
Makes about 5-6 cups of ice cream

• 1 pint cream, preferably raw and definitely not ultrapasteurized*
• 1 cup whole milk, preferably raw*
• 3 raw egg yolks, preferably from pastured hens**
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup of mild raw honey and maple syrup (honey and maple syrup combined give the ice cream a great flavor; for GAPS, use only honey)
• 1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
• 1 Tb fresh lime juice
• 1 Tb organic vanilla extract
• 10 oz frozen blackberries***
• Needed equipment: blender, fine-mesh strainer, and optional ice cream maker

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.  
2. Whir for several minutes, until well-combined.
3. Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Strain the liquid to remove the blackberry seeds. As the strainer gets clogged with seeds, you may need to stir the liquid and seeds around a bit to get the rest of the liquid to strain through. 
4. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can follow these instructions to make ice cream without a machine.
5. If you do have an ice cream maker, pour the beautiful purple liquid into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your maker.  I use the Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker attachment, and it works great! NOTE: if you use frozen blackberries, it will set up VERY quickly in just a few minutes.
6. Transfer to the fridge to freeze solid for several hours. Enjoy!

*Coconut milk can be substituted for the raw milk and cream to make this recipe GAPS-legal.  But, most people can also enjoy raw milk and raw cream on the GAPS Diet once they can well tolerate fermented dairy (such as kefir and yogurt).  On her FAQ page, Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride says, "The GAPS patients cannot drink raw milk right from the beginning: they have to introduce all fermented dairy products (gradually and slowly) first before trying the raw milk. Large percent of recovered GAPS people can introduce raw milk without any problems (having introduced all the fermented dairy first)."
**Since the egg yolks in this recipe will be consumed raw, it is a good idea to make sure the eggs used are from a trusted source.  Salmonella is typically only an issue with unhealthy hens.  Washing the eggs before you crack them will also reduce any potential salmonella risk, since it actually comes from bacteria on the OUTSIDE of the egg shells. 
***Except during our local berry season, I find that frozen blackberries have far superior flavor to the fresh ones sold in grocery stores.