Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

[Ruben Porto]

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.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The fate of my condensed milk ice cream is that I just poured it down the drain.  It made a passable ice cream soda, but that is about it.  Very sad.

[Luke]

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.

 

I have just purchased a Sansaire (http://sansaire.com/) and one of my intentions is to make your ice cream using the device to hold the temp to 71.4 deg C, placing the mixture in a sealed bag.

 

Have you tried something like this?

 

Luke

[dcarch]

Lilacs are blossoming.

 

Anyone has a recipe for lilac ice cream?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

dcarch

[Ruben Porto]

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

[Luke]

Thanks Ruben.

 

An alternative to bagging the mix, would be to suspend a bowl in the water (bai-marie style). I tested the Sainsaire out last night with some poached eggs, and it's temperature control is amazing. Once it reached 63.0 deg C it occaisionally fluctuated +/- 0.1deg C. The sainsaire has a strong pump, so it ensures enough turbulence in the water to get an even temperature distribution.

 

While I'm keen to try your modified recipe, I'd rather start with the standard one. I have found a suitable sized rectangular plastic container to hold the water and have a stainless bowl sit on the lip of the container. This would ensure the bulk of the mixture is below water level. If the container floats, I could do the same with a heavier glass bowl. I'll let you know how I go.

 

Luke

[timpoblete]

I think the main concern would be that the liquid is not circulating? Would there be an issue with the liquid at the surfaces solidifying? The reason the stirring magnet is needed is to move the liquid around so that the liquid at the bottom of the bowl doesn't sit there and solidify.

[paulraphael]

Lilacs are blossoming.

 

Anyone has a recipe for lilac ice cream?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

dcarch

My starting point with herbal flavors is 7g herbs /L.  I use leaves and stems, if the stems are flavorful. I assume with lilacs you'd use petals? Coarsely cut, and infuse first into the milk + trimoline. This helps disolve the syrup, and aromatic oils are more soluble in a sugar syrup than in plain water or a fatty emulsion. 

[dcarch]

My starting point with herbal flavors is 7g herbs /L.  I use leaves and stems, if the stems are flavorful. I assume with lilacs you'd use petals? Coarsely cut, and infuse first into the milk + trimoline. This helps disolve the syrup, and aromatic oils are more soluble in a sugar syrup than in plain water or a fatty emulsion. 

 

Thank you!

 

I make it. Posted here:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147685-back-yard-foraging/?p=1968880

 

dcarch

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thank you!

 

I make it. Posted here:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147685-back-yard-foraging/?p=1968880

 

dcarch

 

Recipe?

[fvandrog]

I made this years' second batch, a rhubarb (fresh) strawberry (frozen from own garden last year). Served it with some creme anglaise and pistachio. 

 

Amazingly good and fresh!

[dcarch]

Recipe?

Sure.

 

What i did:

• 3 cups lilac florets (no leaves or branches)
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 large egg yolks
• 9 ounces inverted sugar
• small pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

   

·       The Steps:

·      

·       Heavy cream, half&half, inverted sugar, salt and lilac florets in a container into sous vide cooker set at 150F for 5 hours.

·       Remove from sous vide cooker and strain off lilac florets.

·       Beat egg yolks.

·       Pour slowly mixture into egg yolk, stir while pouring.

·       Put mixture with egg yolk back in sous vide cooker and set temperature to 170F for 2 hours.

·       Leave in refrigerator overnight. You should also have your ice cream maker container in the freezer overnight.

·       Add vanilla and follow ice cream maker instructions and make ice cream.

 

dcarch

[Luke]

Ruben et al,

 

I made your chocolate ice cream using a double boiler method using the sansaire as described above. It worked well. The ice cream was great, definitely the smoothest mouth feel of any of the ice creams I have made.

 

I need to tweak a few things. The stainless saucepan was not a good fit with the container that I had the hot water in. My thermometer is not accurate enough, but I was able to keep the mixture around 70 deg C to 71 deg C for the 60 minutes.

 

Two questions:

 

(1) You note 71.4 deg C is the ideal target temp for the 60 mins, but what is the impact of lower temps? ie: if held at 70 deg C instead of 71.4 deg C, is that 20% less effective ?

 

(2) Lots of your recipes call for skim milk powder, but I have full cream milker powder? I can I still use it, but low the cream content to keep the fat content of the overall mix the same?

 

Thanks

Luke

[Tri2Cook]

What i did:

 

 

Interesting, gonna give your recipe a try when the lilacs start blooming here. I made a lilac ice cream several years ago with less spectacular results. All was well until egg yolk entered the mix. Your obviously didn't encounter the same problem so I'll give it a go.

[Ozcook]

·       Put mixture with egg yolk back in sous vide cooker and set temperature to 170F for 2 hours.

 

Well this got my attention. I always thought that the custard had to get to 175-180F. I would really like to know why you chose this temp and time.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I would be comfortable with a temperature as low as 150 deg F for custard.  If you like an eggy taste cook longer at a higher temperature.  With sous vide you get to choose!  But, please, if you are serving others at least, try to make sure your mix is pasteurized.

 

http://www.cookingissues.com/2009/06/24/creme-anglaise-sous-vide-vs-low-temp/

 

http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html

 

 

The best source of ice cream pasteurization information that I have found is Modernist Cuisine volume 1.

 

I can't say enough good things about Ruben's method:  by the time the mix has evaporated by a third, the mix is pasteurized.  Note ice cream base tends to pasteurize at shorter times and lower temperatures in the US than in Britain.  Not sure about Australia.

[paulraphael]

Custard actually sets at a wide range of temperatures, depending on the concentration of egg yolks, the final thickness you want, and possibly other factors also. The sense we get from traditional custard making that it just snaps into being thick at a certain temperature isn't quite right.

[paulraphael]

Michael Laiskonis has a new blog. Here's one of the best summaries of ice cream science I've seen. Michael taught me a lot of what I know about ice cream. I'm happy to see him in a primarily educational role now at ICE.

[Ruben Porto]

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

[Ruben Porto]

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.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Michael Laiskonis has a new blog. Here's one of the best summaries of ice cream science I've seen. Michael taught me a lot of what I know about ice cream. I'm happy to see him in a primarily educational role now at ICE.

 

Interesting article, particularly the part about homogenizing the base with an immersion blender.  The idea of using an immersion blender has occurred to me (since I have one!) though I have never tried the immersion blender because I didn't think it would work that well.  Alas, a real homogenizer remains outside my grasp.

 

As a counter viewpoint, here is an article that espouses not homogenizing the base:

 

http://modernfarmer.com/2013/06/farmivore-ice-cream-thats-based/

 

 

In reading up on homogenization this afternoon I came upon something else unrelated.  Apparently the special technique Jeni uses for her Splendid Ice Cream is to concentrate the mix by removing 60 percent of the water from the milk by nanofiltration.

 

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lessons-from-jeni-britton-bauer

 

This seems in the same ballpark as reducing the total volume of the mix by a third from evaporation.  I'm not sure how practical nanofiltration is at home.  Modernist Cuisine has suggestions for filter gear.  Something to look into further.  Or perhaps there is still hope for a condensed milk based recipe with a bit of tweaking.

[paulraphael]

Interesting, Jo, thanks for posting. When I was corresponding with him about ice cream the blender never came up, so I'm guessing it's a new trick of his. I haven't tried it.

 

I'm not feeling a lack of smoothness and creaminess, anyway. An extra blending step isn't high on the list.

 

Really cool about J.B.B.'s ice cream. I wonder if she got the concentrated skim milk technique from commercial ice makers (like Hagen Dazs, who don't use stabilizers).

 

I'm curious about the pasteurization laws the Modern Farmer article complains about. Most ice cream making methods re-pasteurize the ingredients. Maybe the authorities don't count this.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

To follow up on Jeni's secret method, according to Wikipedia:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafiltered_milk

 

 

this stuff:

 

http://www.tuscandairyfarms.com/over-the-moon/

 

 

is ultra filtered milk protein concentrate.  And according to the Over the Moon store locator, it is waiting at my local market.  Hmm.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Really cool about J.B.B.'s ice cream. I wonder if she got the concentrated skim milk technique from commercial ice makers (like Hagen Dazs, who don't use stabilizers).

 

I wonder what Haagen Dazs is doing.

[BeeZee]

To follow up on Jeni's secret method, according to Wikipedia:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafiltered_milk

 

 

this stuff:

 

http://www.tuscandairyfarms.com/over-the-moon/

 

 

is ultra filtered milk protein concentrate.  And according to the Over the Moon store locator, it is waiting at my local market.  Hmm.

Interesting idea...I have had the Over the Moon milk product and they do manage to make skim milk taste not watery...