Ice Cream Maker Question

[Talat_kas]

My ice cream maker has nothing written on it that says that it can be kept in a freezer for sometime . Is it safe to keep it there or should I use the old method of adding ice cubes in its outer bucket ?

[Mayhaw Man]

I don't understand. That machine is designed to run with salted ice. With the exception of the metal container in the middle (the one that holds the mix) none of that should be put in the freezer, especially the motor. If you really wanted to, after you have frozen the cream, you could remove the motor and put the whole thing, ice and all, in the freezer, but I can't really see any advantage to that.

I usually repack in plastic containers, covering the surface with saran before I put on the lid, and then put it into my freezer.

Hope this helps.

[Octaveman]

The metal container could be put in the freezer I suppose but it would do little to freeze your ingredients without using ice/salt. Certainly the motor should not be put in the freezer. BTW, it's not the "old" method to use ice/salt...it's the ONLY method with your particular unit.

[Talat_kas]

The metal container could be put in the freezer I suppose but it would do little to freeze your ingredients without using ice/salt.  Certainly the motor should not be put in the freezer.  BTW, it's not the "old" method to use ice/salt...it's the ONLY method with your particular unit.

←

The only thing that I do not like about this machine is that I have to keep adding ice and I can not do other work while the mixture is getting mixed

[Toliver]

The only thing that I do not like about this machine is that I have to keep adding ice and I can not do other work while the mixture is getting mixed 

←

That's why God invented kids and grandkids.

When I first started making homemade ice cream with a machine similar to yours (but in a lovely from-the-'70's avocado green color), I drafted my niece to "help" me make the ice cream. She add the ice and the salt. Now that she's older, she does it all on her own leaving me free to do other things.

[Talat_kas]

I finally made some ice cream with this machine today . It was not a very finest one but good enough . I was helped my by younger cousins . It took me more time to convince them than to make ice cream . Oh boy where is this young generation going NOW

[Toliver]

One incentive to garner help in making ice cream is that the assistants get to clean up the paddle when the ice cream is done.

When the ice cream finishes, I take the container into the kitchen, remove the paddle and scrape a lot of the ice cream off but leave enough on to make it a treat. I put it on a paper plate and hand out spoons to the assistants. It's enough to satisfy them and still not ruin their appetites for the main meal. I put the lid on the container, wipe down the exterior and put it in the freezer to ripen/harden.

One caveat, though: I only make ice cream recipes that are either eggless or call for the egg mixture to be cooked. Some no-cook ice cream recipes do use eggs and in that case, I wouldn't recommend anyone be allowed to lick the paddle.

[Octaveman]

Some no-cook ice cream recipes do use eggs and in that case, I wouldn't recommend anyone be allowed to lick the paddle.

←

This may be a stupid question to some but why not? What's the difference between ice cream on the paddle versus ice cream from the freezer when it comes to raw eggs?

[Tri2Cook]

This may be a stupid question to some but why not?  What's the difference between ice cream on the paddle versus ice cream from the freezer when it comes to raw eggs?

←

Sounds like a reasonable question to me, I was wondering the same thing.

[Toliver]

This may be a stupid question to some but why not?  What's the difference between ice cream on the paddle versus ice cream from the freezer when it comes to raw eggs?

←

Sounds like a reasonable question to me, I was wondering the same thing.

←

Because when the ice cream has been cranked and is done and is ready to go into the freezer, it's not frozen. It's just very, very cold. Any egg that didn't get blended in properly, and that may still be lingering on the paddle, will warm up rather quickly when exposed to the air. Note how fast the ice cream melts/drips off the paddle when you take it out. We usually make ice cream when the weather is quite hot in our area (Memorial Day, Juy 4th, Labor Day). It's a possible risk of salmonella (from raw eggs) that I wouldn't take with any child eating/cleaning off the paddle.

That's why I switched away from any non-cooked ice cream recipes calling for raw eggs. Granted, I may be overly cautious but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Tri2Cook]

That's why I switched away from any non-cooked ice cream recipes calling for raw eggs. Granted, I may be overly cautious but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

←

Fair enough but I'm fairly certain (as in I've read it and been told so in food safety classes but never actually went in a lab and tested it myself) that salmonella isn't destroyed by freezing. Not by the freezing that can be achieved in the average freezer anyway. Maybe there's some super-chilling method that will kill the little buggers, I don't know. Personally, I figure millions of sunny-side-up/over easy/soft-poached eggs are eaten everyday without any major outbreaks of egg related illness but everybody has to draw their own lines.

[feedmec00kies]

That's why I switched away from any non-cooked ice cream recipes calling for raw eggs. Granted, I may be overly cautious but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

←

Fair enough but I'm fairly certain (as in I've read it and been told so in food safety classes but never actually went in a lab and tested it myself) that salmonella isn't destroyed by freezing. Not by the freezing that can be achieved in the average freezer anyway. Maybe there's some super-chilling method that will kill the little buggers, I don't know. Personally, I figure millions of sunny-side-up/over easy/soft-poached eggs are eaten everyday without any major outbreaks of egg related illness but everybody has to draw their own lines.

←

Yes, you are correct: freezing does not kill the bacteria. The purpose of freezing -- storage below 40 degrees Farenheit -- is to stop the bacteria from multiplying. I don't know about Salmonella, but I know from my younger, nerdier days that E.coli bacterium multiply at a rate of once per 20 minutes. IIRC, at least most strains of Salmonella bacterium are a danger when consumed in large quantities (likes hundreds of those little buggers), so while freezing will not get rid of them, it will keep them at bay and make food that has them from becoming as dangerous as if it were left outside.

(If you're curious, this page on Salmonella has a section entitled, "Pathogenesis of Salmomella Infections in Humans.")

Edited August 3, 2008 by feedmec00kies (log)

[Darienne]

We have a Cuisinart Ice Cream machine and here is its dasher.

And here is my question. Has anyone a really clever idea of how to get the ice cream off the dasher and into the storage container? I use a variety of wide and narrow soft and harder utensils and then give up. And lick the rest off, of course.

Who has a good idea of how to get it off without resorting to the old-fashioned lick method?

Added: Actually, the real dasher has even more little jutting in and out pieces than this photo shows...

Edited October 11, 2009 by Darienne (log)

[nassaumary]

When I was given my kitchenaid, it had an ice cream making attachment. I found it clumsy - and in the end, it broke. I would now like to make ice cream, and am wondering about the need for a special container to store it in the freezer. The recipes I've seen do not require a special machine to 'make' the ice cream, but they all require a specific container to put in the freezer. Is there a way around more contraptions? Does anyone have any experience in making the ice cream and just putting it in the freezer in a metal container?? Thanks...

[pastrygirl]

You need to churn it somehow to incorporate air and produce the smallest size crystals of ice. If you just make the base and stick it in the freezer you will get a hard, icy block instead of scoopable ice cream. By specific container to put in the freezer, do you mean the Donvier/Cuisinart type where you freeze the bowl then churn your base in that frozen bowl? There are small machines available that have a compressor and are able to freeze batch after batch with no frozen bowl, but those tend to be much more expensive than the frozen bowl machines.

[andiesenji]

When I was given my kitchenaid, it had an ice cream making attachment. I found it clumsy - and in the end, it broke. I would now like to make ice cream, and am wondering about the need for a special container to store it in the freezer. The recipes I've seen do not require a special machine to 'make' the ice cream, but they all require a specific container to put in the freezer. Is there a way around more contraptions? Does anyone have any experience in making the ice cream and just putting it in the freezer in a metal container?? Thanks...

You can make a granita or sorbet by allowing the stuff to partially freeze, then scraping it with a sturdy fork, putting back in the freezer and repeating this process several times.

It is labor intensive but doesn't require a "machine."

I've had an ice cream machine for 35 years - originally a Simac, now I have Lello Gellatos (2).

The machine is always ready - turn on and allow it to chill (ten minutes) put the bucket in the machine, fit the dasher and turn it on and it will run for the time you have pre-set. (Usually 25 minutes).

[Rodi]

I got the Whnter SNO 2 Liter Machine. The first one had to be returned, the second one I just got and it seems really good, but so was the first. I tried canisters for years and hated them, just not enough ice cream But a little is better than none!

[Trev]

We have a Cuisinart Ice Cream machine and here is its dasher.

And here is my question. Has anyone a really clever idea of how to get the ice cream off the dasher and into the storage container? I use a variety of wide and narrow soft and harder utensils and then give up. And lick the rest off, of course.

Who has a good idea of how to get it off without resorting to the old-fashioned lick method?

Added: Actually, the real dasher has even more little jutting in and out pieces than this photo shows...

I've got the same one and use the same methods you use, with the exception of wanting to get it all off and leaving none to be licked. I don't have a solution, I never thought of it as a problem. I'm just happy if I don't get any in my hair.

[andiesenji]

To get the ice cream off the dasher, I use a silicone basting brush - reserved for that use only.

Years ago, before silicone brushed were available, I used synthetic brushes but they had to be carefully cleaned immediately after use.

[paulraphael]

A regular freezer isn't suitable for making ice cream, even if you make it exceptionally cold, because air just conducts heat too slowly. Canister machines have a liquid within their walls that has a lot of themal mass and that melts at a very low temperature—an endothermic physical reaction that draws huge amounts of heat from its surroundings. Notice that it takes many hours in the freezer to suck the heat of the canister and get it ready to make ice cream; the canister will then suck the same amount of heat out of your mix in 20 minutes or so.

Salt and ice work on a similar principle to the melting fluid in the canister. Ice draws heat rapidl when it's melted by brine, and can drop the temperature of the brine well below 0°C.