Charleston Ice Cream “Carolina Gold Rice”
There are few ingredients that are as ubiquitous to low country cooking as Carolina Gold Rice, and one of its most iconic dishes is “Charleston Ice Cream”. Now if your new to low country cuisine you may be confused because how on earth did a rice dish get the name ice cream? Well its simply that when cooked right the resulting rice is so creamy and delicious that is that it can resemble ice cream. Additionally when plated in a bowl it can look a lot like an delightful bowl of ice cream
One of my first bowls of Charleston Ice Cream at home with carrots, beats, and micro-greens.
This dish has really became popular again over the last few years due in large part of Chef Sean Brock putting his spin on it during his time at McCrady’s and Husk in Charleston, SC, and most recipes that you find today are variations of his in fact my video is based on the recipe from his first book Heritage.
But I would remiss if I didn’t speak of origins of Carolina Gold Rice, and how it made it’s resurgence it the modern world. Historically speaking what is now known as Carolina Gold Rice was originally from West Africa and made it’s way to the Carolina’s via the slave trade. Because of the swampy areas in the low country made prime rice fields slave traders brought over the rice from West Africa along with large numbers of slaves who knew the farming techniques to make this rice grow. These slaves are the ancestors of the Gullah Geechee who still reside throughout the low country. Post civil war Carolina Gold Rice as a cash crop all but disappeared, with the only real traces of it being the Gullah Geechee who remained in the area and were able to farm the areas for themselves. In 2000 Carolina Gold Rice began to reemerge onto the culinary scene thanks to Glenn Roberts creating Anson Mills. He made it his mission to reestablish heirloom grains and put Carolina Gold Rice front and center of this effort. The Anson Mills recipe can be found at: https://www.ansonmills.com/recipes/518?recipes_by=grain
What really sets this recipe apart from most rice cooking you see is that you only par cook your rice in the water and then finish it in the oven. By doing this you dry out the rice and allow each grain to separate, and the last step of adding butter coats each individual grain and gives it the unique texture and taste that will make you want to eat this again and again.
A more refined plating of Charleston Ice Cream
Other ideas of how to use this rice:
Cajun BBQ shrimp and rice (pictured)
Hoppin’ John
Almost anything else you want to add rice with.