Sour Orange Ice Cream

Third day of exploring the orange and marmalade culture of Central Florida, and we tasted wild orange ice cream at the Hemlock Inn in the Highlands Hammock State Park (floridastateparks.org/highlandshammock/). The ice cream was the bribe to convince my ten-year-old to go for another walk in the forest where we thought we encountered a Florida panther three days before. She wasn't too keen to return (neither was I). We did not run into a panther on the return visit, but did encounter a wild pig rooting around for oranges dropped from the wild orange trees growing amongst the palms and other trees. (Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the wild pig, as I was too busy walking away--quickly.)

In my family ice cream is what you always have in moments of crisis, so we went to the Hemlock Inn, as I said, and ordered our ice cream. (They make sour orange cheesecake and sour orange pie, too, but the woman at the counter said it hadn't set up well that day, so they couldn't sell it.)

It had a lot of ice crystals in it (that happens when you freeze homemade ice cream) but it had a nice, subtle orange taste--like a really good Creamsicle. The woman who served us didn't know, but I suspect they made the ice cream from those Calamondin oranges, because there was a huge tree nearby loaded with them.

I think I shall have to try making some when we get home. Maybe some marmalade ice cream too.