Home Made Ice Cream (2002–2012)

[chefpeon]

And all this time, I've been making ganache and freezing it (don't ask me about the logic of using the cream and chocolate just to "save" the cream - there isn't any logic in this thinking)!  Thanks for the tip, Annie

Hey no problem. Remember, if you have extra cream there's lots of things you can do with it besides making ganache! My favorite.....either a fruit trifle or an ice cream base.

[bibbotson]

One concern besides texture or flavor is health and sanitation.

The base isn't going to be reheated or cooked in any way, so the cycle of thawing and refreezing strays into the gray zone for bacterial danger. It won't necessarily be bad, and you may have seen it done or will do it in the future many times without incident. But the risk is significant and food sanitation is all about pushing risk at each stage to its minimally achievable level.

Here in New York, you'd certainly run afoul of the health inspector.

[chefpeon]

The base isn't going to be reheated or cooked in any way, so the cycle of thawing and refreezing strays into the gray zone for bacterial danger.

That would only be if you are thawing it at room temperature my dear!

It is always recommended you thaw in the fridge and there's no danger of it ever being in the "danger zone".

[UnConundrum]

I made some ice cream using the recipe found here: http://www.recipesonrails.com/recipes/show...olate-ice-cream and it seems to develop a strange consistency. Although very well frozen, it doesn't "feel" cold. If left in a dish to melt, it holds its shape and doesn't ment. When eaten, it has the mouth feel of a mousse. Should I reduce the cream/milk ratio? Any othe suggestions?

[gfron1]

Be sure to check out some of these topics in the index, some of which might be useful HERE.

[alanamoana]

I made some ice cream using the recipe found here:  http://www.recipesonrails.com/recipes/show...olate-ice-cream and it seems to develop a strange consistency.  Although very well frozen, it doesn't "feel" cold.  If left in a dish to melt, it holds its shape and doesn't ment.  When eaten, it has the mouth feel of a mousse.  Should I reduce the cream/milk ratio?  Any othe suggestions?

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it can depend on how you're freezing the base...what kind of ice cream machine are you using? if your machine pumps too much air into the base while churning, this could be more of a problem than your ingredients. this is also a problem with a machine like the pacojet, unless you know to keep the air valve pushed in so that excess air isn't incorporated while the ice cream is being processed.

[djyee100]

This is an unusual ice cream recipe, not the classic chocolate ice cream with a straightforward egg custard base. This is really a chocolate-caramel ice cream recipe. You realize that, yes?

When I eyeball the recipe, I'm struck by how much sugar is in the recipe, more than I would expect for that amount of milk, cream, or even bittersweet chocolate. The large amt of sugar, plus the fact that you're stirring caramel in the base, may account for the ice cream's strange texture.

The last time I made caramel ice cream, it froze on the soft side, and I had to season it in the freezer for over 24 hours before it crystallized enough into a typical ice cream texture.

My honest opinion? This ice cream came out the way it's supposed to. It's just an unusual recipe. My favorite dark chocolate ice cream recipe is from Lou Seibert Pappas' Sorbets and Ice Creams. If you want the recipe, PM me with your email address and I will send you the recipe in a PDF file.

[sygyzy]

Hi,

My roommate got an ice cream maker for Christmas (actually her bf and I gave it to her) and we are starting to make various treats. I have a large container of molecular gastronomy type of additives and I'd like to use them if they can improve the texture, flavor, or storage of the ice cream.

So far the only thing I can find to use is pectin. I have pectin NH. Can anyone tell me the amount (empirically or ratio), to use in ice cream? I want to make mint ice cream tonight using this recipe I found and would love to have it come out smooth, with no crystals.

2 1/2c. heavy cream

1c. milk

1c.fresh mint leaves

1 1/4c. sugar

5 large yolks

pinch kosher salt

Thanks!

[Sethro]

The pectin is going to do nothing to minimize ice crystals. In fact it won't even activate at 180 degrees and with no acid.

What else do you have in your big bag of additives?

Edited December 29, 2007 by Sethro (log)

[sygyzy]

The pectin is going to do nothing to minimize ice crystals. In fact it won't even activate at 180 degrees and with no acid.

What else do you have in your big bag of additives?

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Hi,

I have:

Acacia Gum

Sodium Citrate

Sodium Alginate

Egg White Powder

Xanthan Gum

Isomalt

Glucose

Pectin NH

Calcium Lactate

Maltodextrin

Soy Lecithin

Calcium Chloride

Versawhip 600K

Citric Acid

Agar Agar

Carregeenan

Methocel F50

What can I use to improve ice cream, in any way?

[Nathan Kurz]

What can I use to improve ice cream, in any way?

←

First, the recipe you have should come out pretty good. Crystallization is generally a problem only after you store the ice cream for a while. Stabilizers will change the texture when it comes out of the machine, but not necessarily for the better. The best thing you can probably do is to age the mix overnight after you pasteurize.

If storage is your concern, the main thing to do is to add some sugars of other sizes so that the sucrose (table sugar) can't form crystals as easily. Subbing glucose (dextrose or syrup) for about 1/3 your sugar would probably help. The isomalt and maltodextrin would probably work too, but I haven't played with them.

The lecithin is an emulsifier, and might help make things smoother, but the amount of egg yolks you have added should create the same effect. Carageenan could certainly produce a good result, but there are many different types and I don't know the differences. Agar (and gellan) probably has potential, but I've mainly used them with sorbets.

But if you were to play with some additives, a pinch of xanthan (maybe 1/4 tsp for your recipe) should make the ice cream feel a bit smoother in the mouth as well as increasing the amount of air that gets whipped in. Added to the amount of cream you have, this might be cloying, though.

(I'm not so sure that the pectin wouldn't have an effect. The milk is acidic, and the stuff I have seems to dissolve pretty well at 180F if you hit it with an immersion blender. Are you sure, Sethro? But I've never tried it with anything dairy.)

Tell us how it goes!

[sygyzy]

Well, since I hadn't made ice cream in a number of years, I wanted to just try the recipe without alterations. When I was heating the mixture for it to thicken, I guess I looked away for too long because the next thing I knew, there were chunks in it! I turned off the heat and starting whisking rapidly which dissolved most of it. I strained the rest and some chunks remained. The end texture is very good and has a slight hint of mint (tastes very fresh but I will use more mint next time). However, it smells very eggy. Like I am drinking eggnog or something. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I'd like my ice cream to smell like the flavor or vanilla, not like eggs.

[alanamoana]

Well, since I hadn't made ice cream in a number of years, I wanted to just try the recipe without alterations. When I was heating the mixture for it to thicken, I guess I looked away for too long because the next thing I knew, there were chunks in it! I turned off the heat and starting whisking rapidly which dissolved most of it. I strained the rest and some chunks remained. The end texture is very good and has a slight hint of mint (tastes very fresh but I will use more mint next time). However, it smells very eggy. Like I am drinking eggnog or something. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I'd like my ice cream to smell like the flavor or vanilla, not like eggs.

←

sounds like you overcooked your anglaise. this will affect texture. not unlike the pastry cream thread you started, there is a delicate balance of cooking the egg protein enough to thicken but not to break down. when egg protein overcooks, the strands of protein shrink and squeeze out moisture so you'll see eggy bits in a watery mess. yes, whisking while cooling or blending with an immersion blender etc. can 'fix' the appearance, but it will never thicken to the same extent that a correctly made anglaise will. unlike with pastry cream, there is an exact temperature you can use as a guide: 180F-185F. it should then be strained immediately into an ice bath and be stirred occasionally while cooling.

edited to add: custard bases benefit from at least overnight aging to allow the egg protein to absorb additional moisture from the mix and thicken further. this will reduce iciness in your ice cream along with other factors like how much sugar you have in your recipe, etc.

i'm pretty sure this is also why you get an eggy flavor. i've never really tasted egginess when the anglaise is properly made, but it could be subjective (see the thread on creme brulee experimentation). are you using vanilla bean or extract? if using extract, when are you adding it to the mix? extract should be used at the end so as not to cook off all the flavor while vanilla beans (split, scraped, seeds and pods added) should be started in the liquid to infuse as long as possible.

oh, never leave an anglaise (don't look away). you should be stirring gently but constantly with either a wooden spoon or rubber spatula so that you can be in constant contact with the bottom of the pot. you'll feel the subtle change in consistency there at the bottom first and will notice the thickening quickly after that. of course, you can also use a thermometer, but that doesn't preclude you from stirring constantly.

Edited January 2, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[sygyzy]

alanamoana - You are quickly becoming my cooking fairy godmother .. or something like that. Thank you for your patience and wealth of information. I didn't know about the temperature thing. Now I will use my thermometer to guide me. I did leave the anglaise (thanks, I forgot the word) overnight. And honestly, the texture is not that bad. There aren't any crystals or anything. The only con is perhaps it froze too hard so when you are scooping it, it's not a nice smooth curl like you see in the commercials.

I did not use any vanilla, bean or extract. I used fresh mint for the flavor. I did strain into an ice bath and stirred while cooling. Looks like I did everything mostly right except for the anglaise. I will try again soon once this batch runs out.

[alanamoana]

alanamoana - You are quickly becoming my cooking fairy godmother .. or something like that. Thank you for your patience and wealth of information. I didn't know about the temperature thing. Now I will use my thermometer to guide me. I did leave the anglaise (thanks, I forgot the word) overnight. And honestly, the texture is not that bad. There aren't any crystals or anything. The only con is perhaps it froze too hard so when you are scooping it, it's not a nice smooth curl like you see in the commercials.

I did not use any vanilla, bean or extract. I used fresh mint for the flavor. I did strain into an ice bath and stirred while cooling. Looks like I did everything mostly right except for the anglaise. I will try again soon once this batch runs out.

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sorry about the flavoring...i forgot that i read that you used mint. thanks for the thanks! i'm actually a beginning teacher, so this gives me practice and reminds me of how much i don't know!

oh, if your ice cream freezes too hard (eliminating your freezer temperature as a factor) you can do several things:

1) sugar doesn't freeze, so you can up the quantity of sugar

2) if you don't want your ice cream too sweet, you can use some of the additives mentioned that don't have the perceived sweetness of sugar but act the same way in raising the freezing temp of the base: glucose, corn syrup, etc

3) alcohol doesn't freeze either, so you can add a complementary alcohol. we used to always use a little vodka in our vanilla because it is relatively neutral

4) after perfecting your anglaise technique, you can start using the other additives to adjust texture. to be honest, in working in fine dining, we never used anything but sugar and alcohol in our ice cream bases. not that there's anything wrong with stabilizers and such, but we would just melt and respin ice creams every day for service so there was never a worry about shelf-life. after one re-spin we'd toss any leftovers and start fresh.

edited to add: oh, you did mention

However, it smells very eggy. Like I am drinking eggnog or something. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I'd like my ice cream to smell like the flavor or vanilla, not like eggs.

that must be where i got confused. Edited January 2, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[sygyzy]

1) sugar doesn't freeze, so you can up the quantity of sugar

Hmm I have plenty of alternate sugars. What's the ratio for substitution, by weight?

[sygyzy]

I wanted to report back on some findings. After much help from eGullet members, especially alanamoana, I think my technique has improved.

I recently made Olive Oil ice cream using a slightly modified David Lebovitz recipe. I mostly just used less eggs. Anyway, the two major changes I made were:

1. I used a thermometer and only heated the anglaise to ~183 F. alanamoana said it should be 180-185 and Leovitz advises 170 (or 175?) max. I am going to use the latter recommendation now since I still received some curdling. I think that the reduced heat and MUCH more active stirring while heating can reduce the scrambled eggs affect entirely.

2. I added about 1.3% of a rice starch called Novation 8600 from the National Starch company. I added it after I removed the anglaise from the heat and rapidly stirred it in to dissolve. Then I dropped it in the ice bath. I can say this definitely improved texture, mouthfeel, and eliminated all iciness/crystallization.

[phan1]

I know there is a perception that this type of ice cream is inferior because it's cheaper and full of air compared to dense, premium ice creams, but I disagree. After a meal, I prefer ice cream that is light, fluffy, and easy to eat, especially for a la mode applications. I want my desserts to feel like it's being perfumed with cold ice cream rather than feeling like it's being enriched by ice cream to an already rich dessert. So here's what I think I can do to make that happen:

1) Find a good ice cream base with no eggs. I'm not going to get something light and airy if I got eggs in it.

2) froth/aerate my ice cream base before churning. I'm wondering if this is possible. I think all I would get would be a bunch of bubbles at the surface rather than a thoroughly aerated mixture. I could perhaps use a siphon to aerate the mixture, but that's just not practical for me.

3) Double-churn the mixture. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to do this. I've eaten Breyer's double churned ice cream and thought it was just what I was looking for. Any idea how it's done?

4) I still want a full fat recipe! I've noticed ice cream with little fat content just can't carry any flavor through a la mode applications. The fat really helps the flavor linger in the mouth. Without it, the ice cream flavor just disappears!

Can someone give me an ice-cream base recipe to work with or critique my thought process? Any help is appreciated!

[chiantiglace]

I dont know what is going on with the double churn. Maybe they are churning, thawing and churning again, but if its ice cream that involves proteins, I would steer clear of too much churning.

I suggest folding in italian meringue or pate a bombe after churning.

[paulraphael]

Adding some nonfat dry milk is also supposed to increase whipability. It will also suppress the freezing point, so the ice cream will be softer at any given temperature.

[Sethro]

/\ What he said, plus an eggless base will help increase overflow (and more importantly a feeling of lightness).

Stabilizers add to this effect too, although if you overshoot your mark you will get gummy instead of fluffy. Pectin and starch will also hold air.

[djyee100]

When I made this recipe, I thought that folding whipped cream into the ice cream base lightened the final result. The texture of this gelato, BTW, is closer to ice cream than typical gelato.

http://www.italianchef.com/caffelattegelato.html

[paulraphael]

The machine you use will also make a difference. Horizontal ones that spin fast give you the most overrun. I don't know what home models work like this ... maybe there's something out there.

[wannabechef]

Hey everyone,

Wondering if anyone who has experience with making homemade ice cream could help me. I got a Cuisineart Ice Cream maker over the holidays and made my first attempt last night. I made the "Decadent Chocolate Ice Cream" recipe that came in the book. It's a custard that contains cocoa powder and chocolate, and part heavy cream and whole milk. I made the mixture last night and everything seemed to be fine. It was hot when I was done so I put it in the fridge before going to bed to cool down.

This morning when I woke up to make the ice cream, the mixture had become so hard that I could barely transfer it to the ice cream maker. Once inside, it was so thick and hard that the motor was struggling to turn.

What happened here? Is it supposed to have more of a liquid consistency before freezing? It's more like fudge right now.

I'm trying to bring the mixture to room temperature to see if it softens up, then will freeze again. Any tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

~WBC

[Sethro]

Its possible that the chocolate seized, but if its that dramatically thick then its more likely you F'd up the recipe (or the recipe was F'd to begin with). Also don't put hot things in your refrigerator!