Boston Tea Party-Inspired Ice Cream Flavors

Nothing says summer or spreads the love like a Joy Cone filled with a scoop of homemade ice cream (or two). This summer, engage your family and friends by tempting them with something new like tea-flavored ice cream.

Enjoy all the flavor of your favorite teas mixed with the cold creaminess of ice cream. You can simultaneously inspire brains and bellies by throwing in some historical trivia about the Boston Tea Party. How much do you know about one of the most famous events leading up to the formation of the Continental Congress?

Using an Ice Cream Maker

If you have an ice cream maker, use this recipe from Epicurious to make green tea ice cream. The flavor will dazzle your guests!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 cup of whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 6 large eggs
• ⅔ cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of matcha (powdered Japanese green tea)
• Ice Cream Salt (if needed for your ice cream maker)
• Ice

Directions:

• Combine cream, milk, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Then remove from heat.
• In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and matcha. Add one cup of hot cream mixture slowly while whisking to create a “custard”. Add the “custard” back to the remaining cream mixture in the saucepan and cook over low to medium-low heat while stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. (Use an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature if you have one – it should reach 170 degrees).
• Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a metal bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
• Chill for at least an hour.
• Freeze in an ice cream maker, then put all of it into a freezer safe container and freeze until hard.

No Churn Ice Cream

You don’t have to miss out on the fun of homemade ice cream just because you don’t have an ice cream maker. Think creatively and try a no-churn technique while you read up on the Sons of Liberty. They were really thinking outside the box when they protested “taxation without representation” by dumping 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of Earl Grey tea leaves
• 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

• Use a saucepan with medium-heat underneath to heat cream until it bubbles (just a little–you don’t want to boil the cream). Stir in tea leaves and let sit for half an hour. Strain and cool cream until chilled.
• Place bowl and mixer attachment – paddle, whisk, or beater – in the fridge. The cold bowl and cold stirring implement help get the ice cream to the right consistency.
• Remove everything from the fridge and combine the infused cream with the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in the chilled bowl. Use the chilled attachment to whip the mixture until soft peaks form. Put mixture in a freezer safe container and freeze for at least six hours.

Kick the flavor up even higher with two tablespoons of honey like in this recipe from Port and Fin.

Celebrate the Boston Tea Party

How much do you really know about what caused the Boston Tea Party? Do you know when it happened or who was responsible? Brush up on your knowledge and share it with your friends and family while you devour your frozen delights.

• The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773.
• The Sons of Liberty were a secret society which included some well-known patriots of the time.
• Tea from three ships–the Dartmouth, the Beaver, and the Elanor—were dumped into the Boston Harbor.
• The men who boarded the ships were dressed like Native Americans to hide their identity.
• To this day, we still don’t know the names of all the people involved in dumping the tea.
• Approximately 92,000 pounds of tea belonging to the East India Trading Company were destroyed.
• It took more than 340 chests to hold all the tea that was dumped in the harbor.
• The estimated destruction of property equals about $1 million in today’s currency.
• George Washington and Benjamin Franklin both spoke out against the destruction of property.
• The incident wasn’t named the Boston Tea Party until more than 50 years later.
• There was a second Boston Tea Party in March of 1774.
• The incident wasn’t about a tax hike, but a corporate tax break for the East India Trading Company.
• The colonists (and future Americans) weren’t mad about being taxed, but about the tax laws being made without anyone in Parliament representing the colonies–also known as “taxation without representation”.
• King George III closed Boston Harbor as a result and it was just one of the “Coercive Acts” (later known as the Intolerable Acts) that was enacted.
• Benjamin Franklin offered to pay for the damages in order to re-open Boston Harbor and was refused.

Create Joy

Homemade ice cream and Joy Cones go together like peanut butter and jelly. Create fun flavors for your family and friends and #BringJoyHome while learning more about American history. Discover more fun by signing up for our emailed newsletter which keeps you up-to-date on all the latest news, promotions, and discounts!