This is without a doubt the best ginger ice cream I've ever had. Very strong ginger spiciness and a lovely creamy texture. We served it with a pear upside-down cake. It's from the November '98 issue of Gourmet, via Epicurious.
(Note: the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of grated fresh ginger root. I upped that to 1/2 cup and it came out very nicely.)
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger root (I used 1/2 c.)
2 tablespoons water
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crystallized ginger (I was able to get a "Baker's Cut" product, which was pre-chopped and worked well.)
In a large bowl lightly whisk yolks. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook sugar, fresh ginger root, and water over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Add hot half-and-half mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil.)
Pour custard through a sieve into cleaned bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Cool custard. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.
Finely chop crystallized ginger (not necessary if you get the "Baker's Cut" ginger). Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker, adding crystallized ginger three fourths of way through freezing process. Transfer ice cream to a container and put in the freezer to harden.