John Hainkel’s Famous Fig Ice Cream

WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD’S BEST HOME-MADE ICE CREAM? Just follow this recipe by the late Speaker of the Louisiana House, John Hainkel.

[Editor’s Note: It’s 2 p.m. on Monday, July 4, 2011, and we’re at the house peeling figs to make a batch of fig ice cream, in accordance with John Hainkel’s recipe.  The squirrels got almost all our figs this year, but one of our sweet daughters supplied us with figs from her yard.  Thought you might enjoy this article I wrote in 2008 about my friend, the late John Hainkel, and his fig ice cream.  — Story by former Rep. Woody Jenkins, editor, Liberty Today and Central City News.]

NEW ORLEANS — On a 4th of July in the early 1980’s, then-Speaker of the House John Hainkel invited several of us who served in the state House of Representatives with him to stop by his home in New Orleans to try a “special delicacy” he had concocted.

Not knowing what it was, we reluctantly agreed.

It was a sizzling summer afternoon.  We had attended a 4th of July celebration, and everyone was hot and exhausted.

The four of us walked into the Hainkel home. Someone hollered that we should sit down and wait for John, who was ‘working on it’ in the backyard. A few moments later, Hainkel walked in, laughing, waving his arms, and calling each of us by the crazy nicknames he had assigned us.

He had on a white shirt, rolled up to his elbows, and an apron wrapped around his pants. Missing were the white linen jacket and white tie he sometimes wore at the State Capitol.

“Are you ready to try the world’s best ice cream?” he asked, then laughed like a wild man.

“What kind is it, Hainkel?” someone asked.

Hainkel’s YAT accent melted  into a low Southern drawl. “Well, you know, this is ice cream, made from figs grown right here on the Hainkel farm,” he said. Only Hainkel could have a ‘farm’ in uptown New Orleans! (Note: YAT is what Louisianians from outside New Orleans sometimes call New Orleans residents.  It comes from the New Orleanians’ unique greeting: “Where’re at?” instead of Hello or How are you? When they say “Where’re at?” it sounds just like “YAT”)

“Ow!” I said, “Fig ice cream sounds terrible. I’ve never even heard of fig ice cream!”

“Relax, you’re going to love it,” he said. Hainkel had a special recipe for fig ice cream, and he had been perfecting it for years.

The ice cream was still soft when he dished it up for us.  I took one bite and instantly knew this would be the best ice cream I would ever eat.  It was rich and smooth and had a light flavor that was absolutely delicious. I ate a bowl. Then another… and another!

We sat around and talked politics and enjoyed a hot summer afternoon that John Hainkel made more special with his home-grown figs and home-made ice cream.

***

John Hainkel was a young New Orleans attorney when he was elected to the Louisiana House in 1967. He and a small band of reformers were dubbed the Young Turks by the press.

When I arrived as a newly-elected 24-year-old freshman in 1972, Hainkel was already a seasoned veteran. He was loud, rollicking, and irreverent.

Although a conservative, he made friends with all legislators, whether they were black or white, liberal or conservative. A man with few enemies and many friends, he was someone who was always in the middle of things, whether it was a debate on the floor of the House, an early  morning study group of the Conservative Caucus, or a cookout at the Belle-mont. When Dave Treen was elected governor in 1980, Hainkel, then a conservative Democrat, was elected Speaker of the House. A few years later, John was elected to the state senate, switched to Republican, and ultimately was elected Senate President, the only person in American history to serve as Speaker of the House and President of the Senate in his state legislature. Wikipedia.com refers to Hainkel as “a gregarious, ruffled, and raspy-voiced legislator from New Orleans”. “Hainkel, who maintained a front-row seat in the chamber, was one of the legislature’s most colorful figures. He wound up his career as a ‘bridge-building’ Republican who put the interests of his state ahead of party.”

“‘A New Orleanian by birth, demeanor, appearance, and conduct, he was really a good ol’ boy in lifelong disguise,’ recalled then State Sen. Jay Dardenne, a Baton Rouge Republican, another of Hainkel’s close legislative allies.”

“In the words of Ed Anderson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, ‘Hainkel was a legislative leader and deal-broker who could be moved to tears when recognizing an old friend or meeting a disabled child.’”

“Anderson continued, ‘He moved at ease between the world of gentility and the tobacco-chewing country store crowd. He frequently wore madras clothes with mismatched shirts, whether he was in the halls of power or at his St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church parish.’ ”

“‘He knew almost all the roadside stands, bars, and restaurants in the district. He had a flair for making a point during debate, punctuating his speeches with animated arm-flailing and near-screams. He once brought raw pork chops to the Senate floor when he went on a tear against pork barrel-spending in a bill.’”

“Anderson added that Hainkel ‘had a joie de vivre. . . . He embraced enemies as friends after a day of legislative battle, literally — sometimes hugging them as his hoarse laugh filled a room.’”

Hainkel served in the Louisiana Legislature for 37 years. He died April 15, 2005.

***

It is worth noting that John Hainkel was a strong supporter of Central. He often attended Rep. Donald Ray Kennard’s annual Legislative Luncheon in Central and was an early supporter of the Central school system.

***

Last year on the 4th of July, we had a bumper crop of figs at my house, and I started thinking about Hainkel and his famous fig ice cream. I called his long-time friend, June Peay, who gave me the recipe.

June said, “John was the No. 1 fig picker! We picked our figs each year, always around the 4th of July, on his tree in the backyard of Coliseum Street in uptown New Orleans, in Spanish Town, in Thibodaux, and anywhere else we could find a good tree. In 1995, we made our first batch of fig preserves and gave these to about 200 of his oldest friends and supporters right before New Year’s. This tradition continued through 2004.

We made thousands of jars. For each friend, we filled a grocery bag with black eyed peas, a cabbage, a cauliflower, sweet potatoes, a jar of fig preserves, a sheet of recipes, and some Louisiana citrus.

These bags were hand delivered each year. Needless to say, when friends moved out of the district, they begged to be kept on John’s ‘basket list.’ This was John’s way of saying thank you and promoting our Louisiana products. He was quite famous for his fig preserves, and it was a labor of love. And his fig ice cream, oh my, it was the nectar of the gods!”

***

Last year I followed Hainkel’s recipe precisely, and mine came out even better than I remembered!

Thanks for the memories, John… and for the fig ice cream!

JOHN HAINKEL’S FAMOUS RECIPE FOR FIG ICE CREAM

One 14-ounce can of Eagles brand condensed milk

Two 12-ounce cans of evaporated milk

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Three pints of peeled fresh figs, mashed

Two cups of sugar

2 eggs, beaten

Whole milk — fill to level that freezer calls for

If figs are ripe, use less sugar.

Makes six quarts, serves 20

© John Hainkel

Editor’s Note: In early 2012, Sen. John Alario was elected President of the Louisiana Senate.  He previously served two terms as Speaker of the House.  So John Alario and John Hainkel now share the honor of having served as both Speaker of the House and President of the Senate.