Make The Strawberry MixtureWash and trim the green tops off of the strawberries. The berries can be left whole or sliced. Add the strawberries, 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to a 2-3 quart saucepan with a wide bottom.

Cook the berries on medium-high heat until a lot of juice has released and started simmering. Reduce the temperature to medium heat and simmer the mixture for 6-10 minutes, until the berries are very tender, stirring occasionally. Use a fork or potato masher to break up the berries into small pieces.

Cook for another 5-8 minutes, stirring often, until the compote has thickened slightly, the berries are broken down (no big pieces) and the bubbles have started to look syrupy.

Strain the berries through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup. Press the mashed berries to get out as much strawberry syrup as possible. You should have ½ a cup of strawberry juice.

Transfer the mashed berries to one container and the strawberry syrup into another. Let them cool.

Make The Ice Cream BasePlace a 2-quart metal bowl in the freezer and fill a larger bowl with ice.

Combine the milk, heavy whipping cream, and corn syrup in a 2 quart saucepan. Heat over medium to medium-high heat until consistently steaming and reaches 175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Stir occasionally.

While the cream is heating, combine the 4 egg yolks and ¼ cup of sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until combined and light yellow–about 30 seconds.

Once the cream mixture is hot, remove ½ cup of the cream from the pot and slowly whisk it into the egg yolks to temper. 

Add the egg and cream mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick and simmer bubbles just start to form. The temp should read 185-190 degrees F. 

Remove the base from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Grab your small freezer bowl and set it inside the large bowl filled with ice. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer into the small freezer bowl. This will remove any bits of egg yolk that may have cooked.

Add the cooled strawberry syrup to the vanilla custard and stir. Cool the strawberry base to room temperature (15-20 min) and then transfer to the fridge until cold for 6 hours or overnight.

Churn The Ice CreamWhen the strawberry ice cream base is cold, pour it into an ice cream machine. Churn per the manufacturer’s directions. On the last 1 minute of churning, add the mashed strawberry bits to the ice cream machine. Let the ice cream churn until the berry bits are fully incorporated.

Serve immediately for soft serve consistency or transfer to a loaf pan or shallow dish and freeze for hard serve. Press plastic directly onto the ice cream surface and cover it with an additional lid to prevent ice crystals from forming.