Banana and Rum gelato

This is actually a classic Italian gelato even though it may invoke images of Caribbean pirates having a good time. The recipe is well worth trying: easy to make, no eggs, and very tasty! The banana is nice in its own right, but the rum does add a pleasantly adult Caribbean touch! 

“Long John Silver and his Parrot” by James Edwin McConnell. The iconic book “Treasure Island” (first published 1883) is, of course, written by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Bananas and Rum – Carribean cousins

Originating in Southeast Asia, the first bananas came to Europe around the time of the Roman Empire, but major trading only took off much, much later. Spanish and Portuguese colonialists brought the bananas to the Carribean in the early 1500’s, starting on the island of Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican republic). The Carribean climate turned out to be ideal for bananas, and they rapidly became a staple crop of the region.

(“Banana woman”: photo by Gunnar Mallon from Pixabay)

About 100 years later, in the 17th century, rum was invented in the Carribeans. It is believed that slaves were the first to discover that molasses, a by-product of refining the newly introduced sugar canes, could be fermented and distilled into alcohol. But what about the pirates? Well, they probably had their fill too, as the invention of rum pretty much coincides with the “Golden era of Caribbean piracy”. But the famous “Yo, Ho, Ho And a Bottle of Rum” has actually only been around since 1883, when the then-fictional song first appeared in “Treasure island”, and firmly established Rum as the pirate’s drink of choice. 

However, neither Long John Silver nor any of his less-fictious pirate brethren had access to the freezing techniques required for ice cream making. But if they would have had it, this gelato combination would probably have become an instant Caribbean favourite!

Taking all cues from the late, great Italian food icon Marcella Hazan, her gelato recipe does not use any eggs and no cream but milk: the consistency is mainly ensured by the bananas and the sugar.

In case you wonder if the sugar might be excluded, the answer is a “Yes but …”: removing the sugar from the equation would still net you something akin to ice cream (“nicecream”, as some would label it) and likely enjoyable if eaten right after the churning. However, as typically is such cases, this “nicecream” would soon freeze solid if left in a freezer.

Banana and rum gelato, in principle as per Marcella Hazan’s recipe.

Doing the gelato

Marcella Hazan’s recipe is very straightforward: Peel and purée the bananas, mix them well with the sugar, the milk and a little rum rum – you’re done. Churn and enjoy! A blender could be very useful for the mixing, and if you have no ice cream machine – use your freezer to still-freeze the gelato!

As always with banana ice cream, go for ripe bananas! They can even verge on “over-ripe” – while they may look a bit ugly on the outside, they taste great and are ideal for all types of banana desserts!

On the dairy, Hazan only uses milk but I replaced some of it with a little crème fraiche: I generally like the slight tart touch this tends to give to dairy mixes (and here also adds a little bit more fat to an otherwise not-very-fat mix).

What if you don’t want to add any alcohol? Well, you may try to replace the (alcoholic) rum with some (non-alcoholic) rum essence or similar – or simply settle for the banana, perhaps in combination with some chocolate sauce?

Pureeing the bananas – together with the rest of the ingredients!

The base is blended – time to add a Caribbean touch of pirate-adequate dark rhum!

f

Just churned … and delicious!

The final result – not just for pirates

Banana and rum gelato

Few things could be easier than making this banana gelato. Yet, despite the super-easy steps to make it, the ice cream is seductively good – provided that you like the banana flavour, of course. The bananas are rich in fiber and do a good job of keeping the gelato structurally sound even without any eggs. The rum adds a delicious, mature touch to the overall flavour and goes very well with the banana.

Just out of churning, the ice cream consistency can come across as a bit on the soft side: for a firmer ice cream, just leave it the freezer for an hour or two.  Personally, I’m extremely fond of the soft, just-churned variety so if you’re like me, there might not always be anything left to freeze in the end :-).

The banana and rum gelato also goes well with chocolate sauce!

– HEY! You were supposed to mix that rum with the bananas!