"The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz on ice cream

[Tri2Cook]

I made the bases for the Roasted Banana and the Salted Butter Caramel after we closed last night. I haven't run 'em through the machine yet but they taste awesome. I didn't find the caramel lacking sweetness or at all bitter but, as I mentioned, I don't take my caramel to the edge of black very often so maybe that made a difference. The freebie recipes and all the good comments here have sold a book for you, I ordered it this morning. I've never bought an ice cream book before, I like making up my own, so this should be fun.

edit (update): The roasted flavor of the banana is really nice, I let a friend at work try a bite without telling her anything about it and she said "it tastes like banana bread". Good stuff.

The salted caramel, I'm waiting 'til tomorrow to let anyone try it so the praline can settle in a bit but I did take a small taste while putting it in a container and it's really good.

That put me in an ice cream mood so I made a batch of Kona coffee ice cream (my gf is a coffee ice cream addict and prefers it without add-ins so gotta keep her happy) and, since I just happened to be drinking a Guinness, I made a batch of Guinness ice cream with caramelized cocoa nibs too.

Edited May 20, 2007 by Tri2Cook (log)

[takomabaker]

I made the roasted banana ice cream this weekend with great success. I was afraid that my bananas were too ripe, but the ice cream was fantastic. I had a pineapple that was getting overripe, and I made the candied pineapple as a topping. Very, very yummy.

This weekend, for my Memorial Day cookout, I've decided to do an ice cream bar with ice cream and toppings from the book. I can hardly wait to try more. Next is either green tea or lavender-honey.

[tejon]

I made the Vanilla Frozen Yogurt a few days ago, and am really enjoying it. The drained yogurt adds a bit of tang and a wonderful, rich texture. I'm thinking of adding some cocoa powder to my next batch to make a chocolate version as well.

[bloviatrix]

I made a batch of chocolate ice cream. Unlike other recipes I've used, this one calls for both cocoa and chocolate. The result is a very chocolately ice cream. I added peanut butter patties to it to make "peanut butter cup ice cream." Quite heavenly, with good texture.

[Abra]

I'm really curious about the folks who had success with the Roasted Banana. Yours didn't get rock hard? Maybe I needed to whip it more?

[John DePaula]

I made the French Vanilla Ice Cream (p24) for Memorial Day. I served it with homemade sour cherry pie* and, since everyone wanted to try it, some Rhubarb Sorbet. Ok, I admit it David: I’ve been unfaithful to you! I made someone else's Rhubarb Sorbet. But it was for a good reason: One of my guests was allergic to strawberries. So you see, I couldn’t make your Strawberry-Rhubarb Sorbet (p129). I’ll save that one for another time. Perhaps I could have substituted Raspberries or Loganberries?

Anyway, I thought the French Vanilla was very classic. Smooth and delicious, not too sweet. Lots of little vanilla seeds floating around and a bit yellow from the yolks. Good flavor. This one must be foolproof since I did slightly overcook the custard – it was beginning to break. (I could vividly imagine Didier, my pastry chef at school, grabbing the pot, taking a quick stir, shoving it back at me with the pronouncement: ‘Refais!’ i.e. ‘Remake.’) However, I just soldiered on with the cooling and chilling overnight. As I said, it turned out fine and was very popular with my guests. I really want to compare this one side by side with the Philadelphia-style vanilla.

By the way, someone asked me today what is the difference between ‘gelato’ and ‘ice cream.’ Thanks to David’s book, now I can answer that question with some authority!

*Special thanks to Alana for helping out with a question I had about the pie. It turned out just lovely, Alana!

[John DePaula]

I'm really curious about the folks who had success with the Roasted Banana.  Yours didn't get rock hard?  Maybe I needed to whip it more?

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I haven't made this one yet but Wow! it's right at the top of the list. Especially if I get time to do all of David's suggested pairings for an updated banana split: Classic Hot Fudge sauce, Whipped Cream, or Marshmallow sauce, Candied Cherries and of course, I have to have some toasted pecans.

[nduran]

I converted the Vietnamese Coffee recipe to a Thai Iced Tea recipe but I found the amount of sugar brought in by the 1.5 cups of condensed milk to make it a little too sweet and syrupy going down. It also didn't want to freeze and took over 24 hours to really harden. I think I'm going to try it again and swap out half of that condensed milk with regular cream and see how it goes.

The Fresh Ginger recipe came out pretty well, though I let it steep for about five hours rather than one as it just didn't seem to get strong enough for my taste. Still not positive I like the combination of eggs and ginger, but a friend of mine who absolutely despises ginger liked it, so what do I know.

[tejon]

I made Salted Butter Caramel ice cream this last weekend. I got the caramel reasonably colored without going to more of a bitter edge (personal preference). The base ended up tasting like a really rich caramel sauce, very smooth and creamy in texture already. Here's what it looked like before chilling:

Once I put the base in the ice cream maker it didn't get as firm a I would have expected, but it did firm up a good bit on sitting in the freezer afterwards. The resulting ice cream was unbelievably good. The only thing I'd change is the amount of salt in the praline. I'm assuming I should have used 3/4 tsp of a coarser salt (which would have been less in terms of actual sodium content) versus the finer salt I used. Next time I make it (which will be soon!), I'll use a rounded 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt.

[John DePaula]

I made Salted Butter Caramel ice cream this last weekend. I got the caramel reasonably colored without going to more of a bitter edge (personal preference). The base ended up tasting like a really rich caramel sauce, very smooth and creamy in texture already. Here's what it looked like before chilling:

Once I put the base in the ice cream maker it didn't get as firm a I would have expected, but it did firm up a good bit on sitting in the freezer afterwards. The resulting ice cream was unbelievably good. The only thing I'd change is the amount of salt in the praline. I'm assuming I should have used 3/4 tsp of a coarser salt (which would have been less in terms of actual sodium content) versus the finer salt I used. Next time I make it (which will be soon!), I'll use a rounded 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt.

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Oooo that looks just great, Kathy! I did end up enjoying the last batch of this that I made (more than I did at the start) but think I'll prefer to not take it so far, i.e. a lighter caramel, next time.

BTW, I served mine with a scoop of Chocolate Sorbet and it was really good together.

[John DePaula]

OK, now I have a bumper crop of very fragrant (and very tiny) strawberries.

These little guys took forever to pick; they're only about 1/2" in diameter, at best, but especially tasty and aromatic.

So I will try David's Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (p90). My berries are macerating right now and I'll freeze tonight.

I'll let ya know...

By the way, the Rhubarb Sorbet is especially tasty with the French Vanilla Ice Cream. Sorta like Raspberries and Cream, but with Rhubarb.

[Kerry Beal]

OK, now I have a bumper crop of very fragrant (and very tiny) strawberries. 

These little guys took forever to pick; they're only about 1/2" in diameter, at best, but especially tasty and aromatic. 

So I will try David's Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (p90).  My berries are macerating right now and I'll freeze tonight.

I'll let ya know...

By the way, the Rhubarb Sorbet is especially tasty with the French Vanilla Ice Cream.  Sorta like Raspberries and Cream, but with Rhubarb.

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Those little frais de bois are going to make some fabulous ice cream.

By the way - my copy arrived last week, I have it beside my bed and I'm starting through it. So far the recipes calling out most to me are malted milk and Guinness Milk Chocolate.

[John DePaula]

OK, now I have a bumper crop of very fragrant (and very tiny) strawberries. 

These little guys took forever to pick; they're only about 1/2" in diameter, at best, but especially tasty and aromatic. 

So I will try David's Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (p90).  My berries are macerating right now and I'll freeze tonight.

I'll let ya know...

By the way, the Rhubarb Sorbet is especially tasty with the French Vanilla Ice Cream.  Sorta like Raspberries and Cream, but with Rhubarb.

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Those little frais de bois are going to make some fabulous ice cream.

By the way - my copy arrived last week, I have it beside my bed and I'm starting through it. So far the recipes calling out most to me are malted milk and Guinness Milk Chocolate.

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Oh, those do sound good, Kerry. I keep thinking that I'll make this one or that one next but then I see beautiful avocados at the grocery store, or the berries ripen, whatever... it's all good!

Let us know how those two turn out. I think that David says that the malted milk one is his favorite and I really want to try the Guinness one too if I can smuggle some Guinness out of a bar rather than using the dreck that comes out of the cans...

[bloviatrix]

I made the strawberry sour cream ice cream. It seems very soft because of all the sugar and the vodka - not firming up. I like the flavor, but I was expecting more of an interplay between the sweet of the fruit and the tart of the sour cream.

[Kerry Beal]

Well here is the malted milk ice cream. I didn't add the malted milk balls, since I didn't have any. It is amazingly smooth and creamy. The flavour is excellent.

I'll let you know how it holds up after a night in the freezer.

I have been giving some thought to the Guinness Milk chocolate ice cream and realize that John is right, I have to get Guinness draught rather than the canned stuff. So I'm going to have to do some smuggling myself. I wonder if I know anyone who owns a bar?

[weinoo]

I have a question - perhaps David can chime in. Has anyone tried making ice cream with Lactaid - or lactose reduced milk? Shirley Corriher, in Cookwise, states that if there is too much lactose in cold ice cream, it will crystallize and cause the ice cream to feel sandy with gritty crystals. Cream, on the other hand, has much more fat and less lactose than milk. So it would seem to me that by using a product like Lactaid, one is much less likely to run into the "gritty" ice cream problem.

[Kerry Beal]

I have a question - perhaps David can chime in.  Has anyone tried making ice cream with Lactaid - or lactose reduced milk?  Shirley Corriher, in Cookwise, states that if there is too much lactose in cold ice cream, it will crystallize and cause the ice cream to feel sandy with gritty crystals.  Cream, on the other hand, has much more fat and less lactose than milk.  So it would seem to me that by using a product like Lactaid, one is much less likely to run into the "gritty" ice cream problem.

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That's interesting. I've made ice cream with milk and cream treated with lactaid for lactose intolerent friends but I never noticed any difference in the texture. But then I wasn't really looking. Sounds like a side by side test needs to be done. I'd try it with a recipe that uses a high proportion of milk to cream, because as noted, there is a lot less lactose in cream.

[Kerry Beal]

Well here is the malted milk ice cream.  I didn't add the malted milk balls, since I didn't have any.  It is amazingly smooth and creamy.  The flavour is excellent. 

I'll let you know how it holds up after a night in the freezer. 

I have been giving some thought to the Guinness Milk chocolate ice cream and realize that John is right, I have to get Guinness draught rather than the canned stuff.  So I'm going to have to do some smuggling myself.  I wonder if I know anyone who owns a bar?

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After a night in the freezer the malted milk ice cream is still gloriously smooth and creamy. Not an ice crystal in sight.

My hubby gives it 2 thumbs up, noting only that it is a bit sweet - I felt that was the case too. Now I know that I need a certain amount of sugar for texture, but I think I'll try replacing part of the sugar with some glucose and see what comes of it.

I made only half a recipe and plugged it in to mastercook as 6 servings. Works out to about 9 weight watcher points per serving, so I figure I sampled about 5 points last night while making it. I'm going to have to be careful with this cookbook's experiments! Perhaps I'd better get myself into the sorbets.

[weinoo]

I made only half a recipe and plugged it in to mastercook as 6 servings.  Works out to about 9 weight watcher points per serving, so I figure I sampled about 5 points last night while making it.  I'm going to have to be careful with this cookbook's experiments!  Perhaps I'd better get myself into the sorbets.

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That would be great, but I end up eating twice as much sorbet as ice cream!!

[John DePaula]

I tried the Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream last night. Very tasty. No problems with it firming up, though I do agree I'd like a little more tart action going on there. Maybe different brands of sour cream yield different results?

[gfron1]

I wonder if you could use quark or one of the Middle Eastern thick yogurts to get a tart-er taste.

[John DePaula]

I wonder if you could use quark or one of the Middle Eastern thick yogurts to get a tart-er taste.

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That's a great idea. I will give that a try... that is, once my stock of ice cream dwindles down a bit!

[Kerry Beal]

Just made the mango sorbet. I had an overripe mango on the counter, I pureed it with a little less than the called for sugar, the water, a bit of key lime juice (I have some in the freezer, but no regular limes in the house) and a couple of capfuls of dark rum.

Lovely! A bit of extra bite from the key lime juice and the rum adds a wonderful depth to the flavour.

[McAuliflower]

I made the Vanilla Frozen Yogurt a few days ago, and am really enjoying it. The drained yogurt adds a bit of tang and a wonderful, rich texture.

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I just made up a half sized batch of the Frozen Yogurt using David's recipe as a guide. The recipe is found on 101 Cookbooks.

I used Greek Yogurt (the full fatty one with cream and whole milk), added a vanilla bean and instead of using granulated sugar I used sugar syrup left over from making candied orange peel.

The yogurt mixed up wonderfully and tastes fantastic. However, the texture after an over night stay in the freezer is not so great. Now its crumbly and icy. Even with letting it soften up at room temperature, it seems to go straight from icy crumble to liquid- no smooth creamy mouthfeel stage unless its melting.

Did my use of sugar syrup cause this?

It strikes me as a problem in the microstructure- like the ratio of air/ice crystals/fat is off. Or a problem in emulsifying?

At least it tastes great

[tejon]

I had the same problem after storing the frozen yogurt. I used full fat yogurt and the amount of sugar recommended, too. Still delicious, but not smooth.