Weekend Cooking...Root, Root, Root..for Root Beer!

"I don't know of a more divisive soda than root beer, and I get it; "rootsy" "medicinal" and "minty" may not be what you want from a soft drink."

Do you like root beer? It seems it is one of those things you either love or hate. Until recently I never knew it was an issue. But from what I read, some people, maybe a lot of people, hate it! If you Google it you will see many articles about why Europeans and the Japanese hate the stuff. Really, all Europeans and all the Japanese? Sure, you can't believe everything you read online..but I am talking a lot of articles. Can anyone out there confirm or disagree with this?

But the brown beverage has it's fans, a special place in the soda world. According to a NY Times article, Root Beer: A Flood of Memories, A Sip of Foam...

"In much the same way that micro-breweries have sprung up in the shadows of assembly-line-produced beer, small root-beer makers, like Triple XXX in Houston and Cable Car Beverage Corporation in Denver, have sprung up between the cracks of the cola giants. And while the big cola companies, with their seemingly bottomless advertising budgets, have battled on the grounds of catchier sayings and sunnier life styles, root-beer companies seem united in their intent to sell their beverage as a nostalgic reminder of simpler times and summers past. Some root beers now come in old-fashioned brown bottles, with slogans like "Tastes like root beer used to taste" or "Taste the legend.""

The Root Beer Root Beer Float

Well, I like root beer and it's close cousin, birch beer.
Pizza and birch beer on the boardwalk = Summer.
And if you grew up on the US East Coast, where root beer and especially birch beer seem to be most popular, you are probably familiar with the delightful ice cream concoction, the Root Beer Float, one variation on the Ice Cream Soda.

Get a tall glass. Add a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream. Fill with root beer. And a straw and a long spoon.
Or, if you are really daring, go for the chocolate ice cream version, the Black Cow. Or the Brown Cow, depending on where you live.

But why stop there? If you like root beer, what if you take it one more step and add root beer ice cream to the root beer?
Root Beer Squared!!
So we must make the ice cream. Gather the ingredients! Get the ice cream maker!

Root Beer Ice Cream
from Serious Eats

• 2 cups root beer, chilled
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled 
• 1 cup "light" (clear) corn syrup 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together root beer, cream, corn syrup, sugar, and vanilla until very well combined. Whisk in salt to taste. The root beer bubbles may form a fizzy raft in the bowl when combined with the cream; this is fine, and churning will fully incorporate it into the base.
If root beer and cream were not chilled, refrigerate mixture for 2 to 3 hours until very cold.

Churn mixture according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a container and chill in freezer for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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