randomwalk

This is interesting. I haven't had any issues with ice crystals and I haven't used any stabilizers -- I have typically made a custard base for ice cream but have also done sorbets. The only time I get any iciness is when I scoop the (unprocessed) sides. The spun material in the middle is always near-perfect.

Wow, that looks delish! I am feeling inspired and hoping I can get my act together to try something similar.

Well, I called Ninja today, and they confirmed I need my machine replaced...but they said the charge would be $21 to send it back. That was a little frustrating, since I have been pretty darned diligent about following the instructions, etc, so I don't feel this issue is a result of the way we have been using the machine. (seems like a defect to me....) Nonetheless, I had initially ordered it from Costco, so I declined & will just do an exchange. (Thank goodness for Costco's return/exchange policy.) Hopefully things fare better with machine #2! But, this leaves me temporarily without a way to spin the frozen desserts to which I have become accustomed....!

Oh wow -- thank you so much! I had no idea. I'll try to find time to call them later this week to see what they say.

Hmm, I was just hand-drying a pint container, and I noticed some lines on the inside. They feel like etches/scratches in the plastic on the inside. It kinda seems like the blade may have run up against the inside of the jar... Anyone else seen this happen in their jars? I am kind of perplexed. The placement makes me wonder if we used it once with the jars not quite properly in, so that the pint was not perfectly centered on the blade, but that seems really hard to believe!

With one of our remaining vanilla pints, I used this approach -- use the mix-in function, but then also hand-stir in some brittle for a less even distribution. It worked really well! An excellent rendition of a favorite yet discontinued ice cream flavor.

We tried two more ice creams this weekend, both delish. #1 Blood orange ice cream (custard base) -- this was sensational. The recipe called for vanilla, and I doubled it, and it was so perfect. All four of us were really surprised, this was among the top results we've had so far. It felt like eating a creamsicle (which we love....but if you don't care for creamsicles, this would not be for you!). #2 Macadamia Brittle Ice cream. (As a kid/young adult, the haagen dazs mac brittle was my favorite ice cream, it was crushing when they discontinued it!) So, we decided to make some mac brittle, and some vanilla ice cream, and use the mix-in feature. This was also fabulous! As has been noted before, the mix-in function is extremely even, so if I had it to do over again, I think I would still use the mix-in function, but then to stir in some by hand so hopefully you could get some bites with a lot and some with less, rather than the perfectly even distribution. Right after spinning when the ice cream is soft, this might be easy enough.

Update on the chocolate -- good, intense flavor! It doesn't seem to have mattered that much that I used half milk chocolate instead of all bittersweet. Whew. However, the texture is really thick and I think it's because I let the mixture get too hot. (That happens to me sometimes -- I get the milk/cream too hot, temper the eggs, pour them into the pot, and then realize the whole thing exceeds my target of 170ish.) Too bad! But it's still really good, and should be still great for milkshakes. We also made mint ice cream this weekend, using the mint ice cream in Perfect Scoop. When I tasted the mixture, I was worried it was going to be too vegetal -- that's how we felt about the ginger ice cream from PS, it was eery because it tasted exactly like ginger but had the texture of ice cream instead of the stringy, woody texture of ginger... But, thankfully, it wasn't too vegetal at all. It felt like a very pure mint flavor, not at all artificial. Hubby declared it his favorite yet. We also put some cacao nibs on top (I think I remember Blue Dolphin doing the same and I'd been meaning to try) and it was delicious. I overcooked this mixture too, a little, but it didn't have the same effect as with the chocolate. Maybe the solids of the chocolate also play a role? Hubby said that each ice cream is better than the last, and asked me how I got so good at ice cream. 🤣 It's obviously just the ninja creami and benefiting from some good cookbooks as well as this helpful community, but it's nice to feel appreciated at home! Gosh, I'm so bad at taking pictures I almost don't want to post this!

We've been using our Creami regularly -- at least a couple of pints a month, sometimes more. A few highlights: * Sorbets!! Generally speaking, we have found the sorbets to have amazing texture. Our favorite so far has been blood orange sorbet. My dad (a chef) instructed me to first make a sugar syrup (bring it to 240F) and then add the blood orange juice. It was divine, and I think less icy than sorbets we've made without that trick. We also enjoyed lemon-lime sorbet. *Butterscotch ice cream. Hubby demanded a re-make of butterscotch ice cream (used the recipe from HMNIIC) for his birthday and he was thrilled with it (as he was the first time, hence pulling in the birthday favor). I thought it was good (great texture) but the flavor was SUPER intense. I thought it might have been more enjoyable with a mix-in, like a toffee-based mix-in, but he didn't share or leave it around long enough for me to try it out. * Chocolate ice cream -- OMG. Well, I have long not liked chocolate ice cream, but the kiddos and hubby joined forces to demand it. So, I made the basic chocolate ice cream from the Perfect Scoop, and it totally converted me. A few days later, my kiddos asked for milkshakes using that ice cream, so we did -- and it was the best milkshake I've ever had. Rich, decadent, thick & intense, it felt like the kind of thing you would get 2 ounces of at a very fancy restaurant for dessert and you'd be thrilled. I snuck my own milkshake using the remainder of the choc ice cream later that same night 🤣 (This weekend, I wanted to make the ice cream again, but I didn't have enough dark chocolate so I used some milk chocolate for about half of the called for chocolate, figuring I like milk chocolate and have a sweet tooth....I haven't frozen it yet so not sure how it'll turn out, but so far the base seems, predictably, less intense. I don't think it will be as good, but I'm hopeful it'll be good enough.) It is so much easier to make ice cream in a quart-sized volume that that's what we've been doing, dividing up the mixture between two pints. But, that means our 6 pints (4 that came with it when we purchased from Costco, and the 2 I sweet-talked Ninja into sending based on the misleading "2 free pints" offer) really don't go as far! I saw that Kohl's has a set of 4 for $30, and is currently offering 20% off, bringing the price down to $24. Sharing in case anyone else is in the market for more pints!

I have found that sometimes this happens to me, and if my ice cream is still crumbly after a respin, I either let it sit a little or scoop it. At least when this happens to me, it seems to mean the mixture is colder than usual and either sitting a couple of minutes or the act of scooping warms it enough to fix the texture. But, it doesn't sound exactly like what you experienced because you had ice. (One more thought...sometimes if my scoop scrapes the side of the pint container, it gets ice in it because the sides don't seem to get processed well.) However, one time I tried to make olive oil ice cream, and it turned out crumbly, so I re-processed. Then I scooped, and the whole thing seemed to have turned to butter! Not sure if I just exceeded the amount of fat this method can support?! I vaguely wanted to try again but haven't had the energy to do it when I suspect I'll face the same results.

I made the cinnamon ice cream from Perfect Scoop, primarily because husband *loves* cinnamon ice cream. I guess I shouldn't say I made the version from PS -- since I actually more followed the quantities in Hello My Name is Ice Cream (without any additional "texture agents") but then followed the steps for the cinnamon ice cream in PS. I wanted a less rich ice cream than I found the vanilla from PS to be. It was a success! Well -- husband said it was the best yet. It was again astonishingly smooth. Very nice cinnamon flavor. Very creamy. Neither daughter cared for it. (they made do with leftover vanilla ice cream, cherry sorbet and/or lemon sorbet). I found the cinnamon delicious but a little monolithic to have just on its own, so I dug out some of that cherry sorbet to go with, without much hope. I was happy to be proven wrong, it was actually a really nice combo. Husband had a double serving without any counterpoint, although those who know him would not be surprised. I still find myself wanting to go less rich, less cream more milk, so maybe my next step is to do a deeper dive into the ratios chapter in Hello My Name is....but that might wait for next weekend! Maybe between now and then, I can experiment more with frozen yogurt or sherbet.

Oh! Very interesting! Any additional sugar or just the vinegar? I'll have to try that next time.

Yes, no way around it, you've got to go for the 3-way comparison! I'll look forward to your results & thoughts, if you do it. I really love haagen dazs vanilla too, but it is getting pretty pricey and I am hoping to get the hang of custard bases to feel confident branching out into more interesting flavors (family very interested in cinnamon, and butterscotch). I am also really interested in something ginger, based on your (@blue_dolphin's) ginger fro-yo, particularly with the crystallized ginger bits! I was so inspired I bought a whole bag of crystallized ginger, but haven't yet had the free pints to get it going. Will need to decide btn ice cream and fro-yo.

Oh! Forgot to mention. I saved the cherry matter that didn't make it into the sorbet (for proportional reasons) -- very delicious on top of the vanilla ice cream! Also, I'm trying this cherry pit syrup using my discarded pits, although my amount of cherry pits (2oz) seems pretty laughable -- so, a teeny amount of syrup will result. But, for a product that was going to go straight into the compost, maybe it's still a good thing? I'll let you know if it was worth it.

Update on revised cherry sorbet, as well as results of a custard vanilla. Both very soft after spinning -- funny how some takes are so crumbly and desperately need re-spinning, and some are overly soft. Not sure if this is where they are in my freezer cycle or based on the nature of the frozen contents? Probably both! Cherry sorbet: Tasted suspiciously like the cherry sorbet from the previous day, despite more juice and less fruit matter. I'm guessing this was so soft both times because of the high (even in the second batch) levels of fruit matter? Does that make sense? Husband still loved it, one daughter loved it, other daughter did not. Update this morning: differences much more apparent between the two batches. Second batch icier and yet more refreshing. Not sure family's take since I am sneaking bites in the morning! 🙃 I like the refreshing nature but wish it were less icy. This feels like progress, but any further progress is probably going to have to wait until I progress from beginner to at least low intermediate! Vanilla ice cream using custard method in Perfect Scoop. The base tasted amazing after chilling, before freezing. Very soft after spinning in the creami. Too creamy for me, husband incredulous that I didn't think it was among the best ice creams I'd ever tasted. It was extremely smooth -- astonishingly so. That's an upside! I think I like a more refreshing ice cream so am going to try again with more milk / less cream. Both daughters loved it. Update this morning: more appealing with the harder freeze -- scoops like butter. Still a little too creamy, so am still looking forward to adjusting the fat levels. Went well with the refreshing icier cherry sorbet. Picture is from last night right after scooping. You can see how soft it was, significant melting within a minute or two!

Appreciate the feedback! I had leftover cherries, so I tried again using 1.5 pounds cherries, and kept everything else the same. Then, I put all the juice in the pint, and enough cherries to go to the max fill line. Hoping that's a more balanced result -- I'll know more tomorrow! In an update, I had a scoop of the original cherry sorbet, along with a scoop of a mandarin orange creamsicle frozen yogurt I also made in the creami. The cherry sorbet was actually better tonight than yesterday, and went smashingly with the creamsicle fro-yo. The sum seemed better than its parts.

I am the lucky recipient of a Creami for Xmas. Never got really good at making frozen desserts in the past, in large part because I found it so inconvenient to use the frozen bowl cuisinart we had (esp with our small and overstuffed freezer), and I was never particularly happy with the results, which didn't encourage me to get any better. I've been really pleased with how approachable the Creami is, makes it a lot easier to try out different approaches! Most recently, we tried a cherry sorbet, using the recipe from Perfect Scoop. The results were good, with high cherry flavor and very smooth texture. My husband truly loved it, but I felt I actually missed the more icy texture that you get with something like lemon sorbet, or a really good cherry italian ice. This felt a little too close to a smoothie that's been frozen.... So, I want to try again. I'm thinking that more juice and less actual fruit matter might get me closer to what I am looking for, but I am not totally sure how to play with proportions to get that. The PS recipe starts with a pound of cherries (well 2 pounds but I halved it to make a pint). Now to my question. Would you start instead with something like 1.5 pounds cherries, but then use more of the juice and less of the fruit matter? Keep the sugar levels the same? If no one here has answers, I'll play around but I thought some informed guidance might save me some wasted ingredients Thank you for any guidance!

Ok I just did some searching and it looks like those thermos are in the range of $1500-$3000. That will be a REALLY REALLY long con over here Do you have an opinion on this? http://www.kuchef.com.au/product-categories/multi-cookers/thermo-cook.html%C2'> $350? Still a pretty hefty investment but it does look versatile. But at this point, for now, I just have to see how my PC goes and here's hoping it scratches any itch I have for fancy kitchen equipment!

Interesting! Those sound pricey. We just sold our baby food maker which was a cooking food processor too ($100), but probably not what you're thinking of. Took a while to convince my husband that a PC was worth it so the thermomix may need to be a long con. But you have planted a seed!

Why do you think I want a pressure cooker?! I'm ecstatic at the idea of making quick work of long meals.

This is late, but I had so much sympathy for your braising troubles I wanted to comment. A few years ago, I too became interested in stews and braises, and yet following the recipes left me with tough and stringy meat. What I do now, instead, is completely ignore temperatures, and just make sure the pot is always at a low simmer. If it is completely still, it's too cold, and if it's boiling, it's too hot. My hunch is that so few ovens are calibrated that using oven temperatures can lead you astray! Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, I'm just a home cook so advanced cooks may have reasoned disagreement, but changing my practice here worked like a charm for me. I usually do braise-y things on the stovetop, but this "method" also works for the oven, if you're willing to be a bit hands-on. Also relatedly, my go-to recipe for pasta sauce involves pork spare ribs (along with sausage and beef chuck). I brown them, and then braise everything for 2-3 hours. It never takes 2 days (!). They are not falling off the bone--they are tender but also have some resistence--which is how I like them. I have ordered a pressure cooker (just yesterday) and am super excited--that's how I stumbled on this thread. I can't wait to try out all the things that take me hours a day. I have twin babies so no time for the old ways!

I would like to second the request for suggestions for ground lamb! We got several pounds of ground lamb in our meat CSA delivery this month. My hubby did not like lamb burgers (I guess they tasted too strongly of lamb for him?), so I need another option. Thanks in advance for any ideas. (I'm not big on some of the more traditional lamb pairings either, like yogurt or curry, so maybe we are just a lost cause.)

I just tried the google search for this, but I'm not sure that this recipe's still out there. Anyone have a copy? Much appreciated! Margo

yes......see http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/200...adbury_cre.html ← although, this is more current info from their website, lol. Why has the size of the egg changed? As the world's largest confectionery company, Cadbury Schweppes is committed to developing great-tasting products that consumers love. Since people's preferences vary from market to market, so do our products. This is reflected in the broad variety of sizes and flavors of products that we offer our consumers worldwide. If you're eating a Cadbury Crème Egg in the UK or Canada - nothing has changed, they're the same size as ever. However, in the United States, our business partner, Hershey, elected to reduce the size of the crème egg. Cadbury Eggs remain a consumer favorite and continue to be an excellent value. We apologize for any confusion or misleading information. ( http://www.cadburyschweppes.com/EN/Brands/...et_cremeegg.htm )

yes......see http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/200...adbury_cre.html