Ruben Porto

Hi Jo! I've been playing around with this recipe for a while now but am still not 100% satisfied. Please give it a go and let me know what you think. Use heavy cream at at 36% fat and reduced fat milk at 2% fat – very important that you use the exact fat percentages. Let me know if you can't get these exact fat percentages in the U.S and I will calculate a new recipe with the fat content you guys get. Cream 587gMilk 303gSkim milk powder 50gSugar 169gEgg yolks 91g That will give you a 1200g mix. Make sure you use a large 23cm diameter pan and heat the mix for 35 minutes at around 71.4°C. It is extremely important that you reduce the mix by 19% to end up with 50.2% total solids, 20.21% fat, 10.16% non-fat milk solids, 15.75% sugar and 4.08% fat. Before you start heating, weigh your pan (A). Then add the ingredients and weight your mix and the pan together (B). Then heat for 35 minutes and weight the pan and ingredients together again ©. Then do the following to get a reduction percentage B-A= x. C-A=y. x-y/x times 100 = percentage reduction. If you haven’t reduced your mix by 19% after 35 minutes, whack it back on the heat for a couple of minutes and repeat the equation above until you reach 19%. Make sure you age your mix overnight before you churn it. You should get about 811g after heating. Hope that helps. Please let me know how you guys get on with this if you try it. All the best, Ruben

No problem. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi Jo, I hope your ice cream adventures are going well. I have a quick favour to ask. I have been working on a recipe that includes skim milk powder but does bring the heating time down from 60 minutes to 35. I know the 60 minute method can be cumbersome and I want to try and get it down. I'm pretty happy with the results that I have got so far but I would love a second opinion if you would like to give it a go? If so, please let me know the percentage of fat in the milk and cream that you use. All the best, Ruben

Hi horseflesh, sorry I caught this entry late. The Breville and the ICE-100 have the same capacity: both make a litre of ice cream at a time. I found that both made ice cream that was identical in texture: very smooth, creamy, and dense. I would probably go with the ICE-100 over the Breville because 1. it's cheaper, and 2. the big plastic pin in the Breville's freezer bowl makes emptying a bit tricky. Here are my thoughts on the Lello 4080: http://icecreamscience.com/lello-4080-musso-lussino-ice-cream-maker/ Hope that helps. Ruben

Jo, Is there no end to your greatness. I am working on a recipe that requires milk powder but cuts down the stirring time to 30 minutes. I haven't managed to get the same texture as the 60 minute method yet but will keep trying and hopefully post the results soon. I know that stirring a mix for 60 minutes isn't the most interesting way to spend your time.

Hi Luke, Glad to hear you got some smooth and creamy ice cream. During testing, I found that a mix heated to around 71.4°C produced the best texture and flavour. I got extremely smooth results when I kept a mix at 72°C for 60 minutes but I also got a noticeable eggy note, which I didn't like. I also found that a mix heated to 70°C for 60 minutes wasn't as smooth as that heated to 71°C. This 71°C mix was, in turn, not quite as smooth as that heated to about 71.4°C. I suspect that this was because more water was evaporated in the 71.4°C mix than the lower temperature mixes. I also suspect that heating to 70°C doesn't quite cause as much reversible denaturation of the proteins (which contributes significantly to smooth texture) as heating to 71.4°C, although I'm not 100% certain. It's also worth mentioning that you don't have to keep the temperature exactly at 71.4°C. As long as you keep it over 71 but under about 71.8°C, you will get great results. My method evaporates about 32% of the water in a mix. As long as you get the same rate of evaporation, you'll be fine. Just remember that the higher the temperature gets, the more likely it is that you will develop the eggy hydrogen sulphide note. Too high a temperature and you'll get irreversible protein denaturation, which is terrible news for air retention and texture. Let me know if you need a hand with your testing. I am also always available for taste testing if you can mail some over

Hi Luke, The sansaire thingy looks cool, although I haven't tried it myself. If you are going to heat the mix in a sealed bag, you won't be able to evaporate any of the water and concentrate the mix but you will still hopefully encourage the proteins to undergo reversible denaturation, which is a big plus. Because you won't be able to evaporate any water and concentrate the mix, it might be a good idea to use skim milk powder to increase the percentage of protein; both protein and fat play an important role in the development of smooth texture. Try this recipe: use cream at 48% fat and milk at 1.7% fat. Cream 363g Milk 347g Skim Milk Powder 54g Sugar 157g Egg yolks 79g This will give you a 1000g mix consisting of 18% fat, 15.7% sugar, 10% non-fat milk solids, 3.79% egg yolks, and 47.51% total solids. It would be interesting to see the results so please let me know how you get on. Let me know if you need a hand. All the best, Ruben

Hi Tim, the temperature probe does feed the temperature back to the machine for a more accurate and constant temperature of the liquid. You don't have to use one as the machine also adjusts the temperature based on how hot the plate is. This way isn't as accurate as using an external probe but still does the job. Hope that helps.

Looks good Tim. I'm getting magnetic stirring hot plate envy. Did you not get an external temperature probe that connects to the machine with yours?

I thought it was you who first told me about the stirring hot plates. Is there no end to your brilliance Jo! I have indeed been using a magnetic stirring hot plate to make my mixes and it has proven indispensable. I use the IKA C MAG 7 and will be getting another one shortly. I'd recommend looking on e-bay for a cheaper used model. http://icecreamscience.com/2013/10/02/innovation-in-the-kitchen/ I use a stainless steel pan, which is fine as long as it isn't magnetic. I have used a glass container but prefer using a larger stainless steel pan. I have had to tweek my technique slightly as the stirring hot plate doesn't evaporate as much water as manual stirring does, probably because it agitates the mix less than manual stirring. I have also had to buy a larger triangle-shaped stirring bar to increase the stirring rate. Let me know if you decide to get one and need a hand setting it up.

Jo, have you considered using a magnetic stirring hot plate for ice cream making? It stirs the mix and keeps it at a constant temperature, meaning that you don't have to stand around stirring for an hour. I don't think a rotovap is a necessity in the ice cream kitchen. Although not the cheapest piece of equipment, a magnetic stirring hot plate might is a must in my opinion. http://ika.com/owa/ika/catalog.product_detail?iProduct=3487000&iCS=1&iProductgroup=188&iSubgroup=1 I have also seen some cheap IKA hot plates on e-bay.

Hi everyone, This is a bit strange but has anyone ever tried an ice cream made with insects? I know the guys at Noma in Copenhagen use ants in some of their salads but i don't know whether they've ever experimented with them in desserts. I'm considering making caramalised ant ice cream! What are your views on using insects in ice cream making???

It involves a bit of work Luke but the texture of the finished ice cream is definitely worth the effort. I'd recommend sticking to the exact measurements in the recipe though.

No problem Smithy. I think the ICE-30 is better because the quality of the ice cream it makes is exactly the same as the ICE-100 and it is more than half the price. You can also make about 1.4 litres at a time using the ICE-30, whereas you can only make 1 litre per batch using the ICE-100. The ICE-30 requires the bowl to be frozen overnight before you make your ice cream; the ICE-100 comes with an in-built compressor, which means that the machine freezes the bowl as it churns ice cream. I don't think the extra money is worth the convenience of not having to freeze the bowl. You are simply paying extra for the compressor, not for better quality ice cream. If you are just starting out as an ice cream maker, I would certainly recommend starting with the cheaper ICE-30 and then move up to the more convenient ICE-1OO. I guess the ICE-100 would be better if you are making a lot of ice cream at a time, for a large party for example, as it allows you to make batch after batch. But then again you can do the same on the ICE-30 as long as you start 3-4 before your party. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

The ICE-100 is a good bet if you are after a machine with an in-built compressor: http://icecreamscience.com/2014/03/29/cuisinart-ice-100-compressor-ice-cream-gelato-maker-review/ I still think the cheaper ICE-30 is better though.

The Cuisinart ICE-100 is the best machine with an in-built compressor that I have tried http://icecreamscience.com/2014/03/29/cuisinart-ice-100-compressor-ice-cream-gelato-maker-review/ Although I do think that you can save yourself a lot of money and go for the cheaper ICE-30. It makes ice cream that is just as good as the ICE-100 but does mean that you have to freeze the bowl overnight before you make your ice cream. Hope that helps!

Hi Perrin, A good indicator of when your ice cream is done is how wet or 'shiny' it looks. When it is done, your ice cream should have a dry look and should not have a wet shine. If you notice that your ice cream looks wet and shiny, this is a good indicator that not all of the water has frozen so leave it in for a bit longer. When you remove the dasher, the ice cream should also stick firmly to it. If the ice cream drops off too easily from the dasher, leave it churning until it has a sticky consistency (so many adjectives). The quantity of the mix that you put in your machine will have an effect on the churning time. The more mix you put in the machine, the longer it will take to churn. My Cuisinart ICE 30 takes between 22-25 minutes to churn a 1 litre batch and about 18 minutes to churn an 800g batch. The temperature of your freezer will also have an effect on churning time if you use a machine that requires the bowl to be frozen overnight; the colder you can get your freezer, the colder your freezer bowl will be and the faster it will churn your mix. Hope that helps.

Hi maxmillan, if you're set on a machine with an in-built compressor, I'd recommend the Cuisinart ICE100. It's the best compressor machine that I've tried because of the quality of the ice cream it makes and because it comes with a 1.5 litre bowl, which I think is the largest of any domestic compressor machine. I personally don't think the compressor machines are worth the extra money. I'm still in love with my Cuisinart ICE30, which comes with a bowl that you need to freeze, and haven't found a compressor machine that makes better ice cream yet!

Hi Jo! Good to see you still going strong on the ice cream front Just wondering whether you have ever tried making Indian ice cream flavours before? I need to get my ice cream making on after a long absence! There are some Indian flavours that sound interesting.

Great to see you keeping the ice cream dream alive Joe! I've been meaning to update the vanilla recipe to cut out the skim milk powder. Give the recipe for vanilla ice cream without an ice cream maker a go, but ignore the stuff about not using an ice cream maker and use yours. The vanilla extract and the bean together work really really well. The butterfat content in the recipe for vanilla without an ice cream maker is also higher.

Hi Jo, whynut.co.uk does some good nut pastes here in the UK and sell 110g pots, which aren't too expensive. I don't know whether they ship to North America but you could send them an e-mail and ask. Their pistachio paste is quite strong, with a slight bitter hint, but their hazelnut and almond pastes are good. I thought I replied to your question about which thermometer I use but turns out I didn't so my bad. I must be losing my mind in my old age. I use the Gourmet Folding Probe Food Thermometer by ETI. I got it from amazon for about £19 and it is accurate to 0.5°C. Regarding the taste of cooked milk issue, heating to 71.4°C does not result in a cooked milk flavour. Hope that helps.

Hi guys, here is my recipe for pistachio ice cream: http://icecreamscience.com/2013/02/12/roasted-pistachio-ice-cream-recipe/ Would be great to get some feedback if anyone does give it a try. Hope this helps!

Hi jjahorn, many thanks for the Heston recommendation. I've been reading Heston's The Fat Duck Cookbook for a few days now and found his sugar, water, and Total Solids ratio helpful. Have you used the thingy that he recommends for measuring the sugar content in fruit? I'm very interesting in buying one and giving it a go. I'm working through a mango sorbet recipe at the moment and will post my results as soon as I am happy with the texture.

Jo, you are a king amongst men, or a queen amongst women if Jo is short for Joanne - my bad. Many thanks yet again.

Jo, Tri2cook, Eric, and Kerry, Many thanks for the helpful feedback. I came across Migoya's Frozen Desserts a while back but never gave it a try; sounds like there is some interesting stuff in there so will give it a go. Might have to be a lot of experimentation to get sorbet right. I'm going to try some mango sorbet tomorrow and will let you guys know once I have a recipe that I am happy with. Many thanks again.