Strawberry Ripple Ice Cream

Fresh strawberries taste best, but the water they add to an ice cream base can lead to the formation of large ice crystals. Freeze-dried strawberries retain the flavor of fresh berries because they aren’t heated during processing. By combining these two forms of strawberry in the blender with some sugar, we get a ripple with intense fresh strawberry flavor that remains smooth (not icy) in the hardened ice cream. Freeze-dried strawberries can be found at well-stocked grocery stores or online.
Nonfat dry milk powder supplies protein and lactose without added water. The protein helps prevent large ice crystals by binding up water. Lactose is only about 20 percent as sweet as sucrose (granulated sugar), but it depresses the freezing point to the same degree. By using a substantial amount of nonfat dry milk powder, we can make a smooth, creamy, scoopable ice cream without making it too sweet. Mixing the milk powder with the sugar in step 1 helps prevent the milk powder from clumping when it gets wet. We prefer Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk for this recipe. 
Heavy cream is our primary source of fat. This is a 14 percent fat ice cream mix, one of the most popular formulations for premium commercial ice cream. Corn syrup is about 30 percent as sweet as granulated sugar. It contains fragments of starch chains that increase the viscosity of the mix and help prevent ice crystals from growing larger and coarser during hardening and storage. Cornstarch binds up water, effectively decreasing the amount of freezable water in the mix. It also acts as a stabilizer, helping to slow the rate of ice crystal growth during hardening and storage. Jeni Britton Bauer uses cornstarch (and cream cheese) to great effect in her ice cream base recipe in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s At Home (2011).
If using a canister-style ice cream maker, be sure to freeze the empty canister for at least 24 hours and preferably for 48 hours before churning. For self-refrigerating ice cream makers, prechill the canister by running the machine for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring in the custard. 
Some ice cream base may stick to the bottom of the saucepan when pouring it into the bowl in step 3; simply scrape it into the bowl with the rest of the base and whisk until smooth. This ice cream can be stored for five days with little loss of quality.