Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

[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 587g

Milk 303g

Skim milk powder 50g

Sugar 169g

Egg 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 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Ruben, I am confused by your paragraph:

 

"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."

 

Fat appears twice in the list at two different percentages.  Sugar at 15.75% sounds sweeter than I would like.

 

I don't have the technology to weigh my pan unfortunately.

 

I would like some ice cream though.

[Ruben Porto]

Hi again Jo!

 

My bad. '4.08% fat' should read 4.08% egg yolk.

 

Try the following recipe if 15.75% sugar is too sweet:

 

 

Cream 621g

Milk 278g

Skim milk powder 49g

Sugar 161g

Egg yolks 91g

 

This will give you a mix containing 50.40% total solids, 21.32% fat, 10.05% non-fat milk solids, 14.96% sugar, and 4.07% egg yolks.

 

I haven't tried this recipe yet but I suspect it will be quite rich because of the increase in fat from 20 to 21.32%, which may not actually be a bad thing. Just remember to use cream at 36% fat, milk at 2% fat, and reduce your mix by 19%.

 

Please let me know the outcome if you give it a try.

 

Feel free to send questions my way if you need help.

 

All the best, Ruben

[Ruben Porto]

Hi Jo,

 

Any luck with the recipe?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have been remiss.  I have not made any ice cream all fall.  It's not just laziness, its been a matter of freezer space.  If I can get rid of a certain turkey perhaps I can return to ice cream.  (Giving up my ice for mai tais is non-negotiable.)

 

But more on topic, dried milk powders seem to very in quality and availability.  What do people use?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

It's been a long time since I've made ice cream.  However having come by some freezer space I made up a batch of vanilla, using Ruben's old-fashioned, tried and true, back breaking procedure.

 

My mix was:

 

heavy cream 750 ml

whole milk 250 ml

large egg yolks 6

sugar (sucrose) 90 g

trehalose 20 g

kosher salt pinch 

vanilla paste 1 tablespoon

 

 

I spun for 18 minutes and pulled the product at 25 deg F (-4 deg C).  After twelve hours of hardening the ice cream was harder than I expected.  Fortunately the Belle-V scoop, with some effort, was able to dispense the product.  A lesser tool would have been out of luck.

 

Accompanied by a slice of munavalgekook.  Then I remembered why this is all worthwhile.

[Ruben Porto]

Hi everyone,

 

After much trial and error, I've finally managed to upload a recipe for homemade lemon curd ice cream - http://icecreamscience.com/lemon-curd-ice-cream-recipe/.

 

I'd be forever grateful for any feedback if anyone does give the recipe a go.

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Ruben

[Perrin]

Looks like a good recipe, Ruben. I see that you've started using milk powder in your recipes too.

[Ruben Porto]

Hi Perrin,

 

Yes at a relatively short 25 minutes heating time, I've found it dalmost impossible to get smooth and creamy texture without the increase in protein from the skimmed milk powder.

 

Any feedback on the recipe if you do give it a try would be much appreciated!

[Luke]

 

After much trial and error, I've finally managed to upload a recipe for homemade lemon curd ice cream - http://icecreamscience.com/lemon-curd-ice-cream-recipe/.

Ruben

Ruben,

 

Could you provide more guidance on the quantity of lemon juice? Juice of six lemons could end up wildly inaccurate based on the size and juice content of the lemon.

 

Thanks

Luke

[Ruben Porto]

Hi Luke,

 

That's a very good point. Please use 110g of finely grated lemon zest and 170g of lemon juice.

 

All the best,

 

Ruben

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A very nice write up, Ruben!  I confess I have not made ice cream all winter...for various reasons related to the beverage forums.  I almost bought a second freezer last month, and I still might if I can save up for a couple months.  I miss my ice cream.

 

If I do make some, and can find good powdered milk, I will try your recipe.

[Luke]

Rubén,

I made the lemon curd ice cream tonight. It is ageing overnight in the fridge.

I was 30g short of my target weight loss after 30mins, but I suspect my thermometer might read 1 deg low.

Also, the lemon zest quantity seems wrong. Juice of 4 lemons resulted in juice close to your target but zest of 4 lemons on micro plane was only 11g.

Can't wait to churn it tomorrow. Now, back to eBay to find that magnetic stirring hot plate.

Luke

[Luke]

I churned the lemon curd ice cream tonight and I have to admit, I don't know exactly what to say.

 

Wow! Double Wow! What a texture and flavour! This is one awesome ice cream. The flavour profile is spot on, this is not "lemon" ice cream, this is "lemon curd" ice cream.

 

It puts all the effort of holding 72 deg C for 25 minutes into context. I think I just found my (new) favourite Ice Cream recipe...

 

I made only one variation to the churn. I first mixed the custard base and the curd in a seperate bowl using a stick blender. As I use a kitchen aid frozen bowl, some ice cream will always set on the sides of the bowl, as you cannot force the blade against the side like you can in a cuisinart. To avoid flecks of unflavoured base in the ice cream (which could happen while removing the ice cream at the end), I mixed both together first and then added to the bowl combined. Other than that, this recipe is a gem.

 

You have my respect Ruben, well done!

 

Luke

[ElsieD]

Can the mixture be held in a water bath for the 25 minutes rather than on the stove? It seems to me that it could be tricky to hold the temperature at exactly 72 on a stove top.

[Ruben Porto]

I churned the lemon curd ice cream tonight and I have to admit, I don't know exactly what to say.

 

Wow! Double Wow! What a texture and flavour! This is one awesome ice cream. The flavour profile is spot on, this is not "lemon" ice cream, this is "lemon curd" ice cream.

 

It puts all the effort of holding 72 deg C for 25 minutes into context. I think I just found my (new) favourite Ice Cream recipe...

 

I made only one variation to the churn. I first mixed the custard base and the curd in a seperate bowl using a stick blender. As I use a kitchen aid frozen bowl, some ice cream will always set on the sides of the bowl, as you cannot force the blade against the side like you can in a cuisinart. To avoid flecks of unflavoured base in the ice cream (which could happen while removing the ice cream at the end), I mixed both together first and then added to the bowl combined. Other than that, this recipe is a gem.

 

You have my respect Ruben, well done!

 

Luke

 

 

I love you Luke! Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm very happy to hear that the recipe turned out well; it makes the long nights writing up the recipes worth while.

 

Interesting to hear that you got 11g of zest from 4 lemons. I used a potato peeler for my lemons, which I now know removes a lot more zest and skin. I found finely grating the lemons worked better and will update the recipe to reflect this. 

 

I would like to ask whether you would mind just cutting and pasting your reply on here and popping it onto the comments section of the lemon curd recipe page on the blog if you get a minute. I think some people are put off trying the recipe by the 25 minute heating time and think that a comment reassuring them that it makes a big difference would push more people to try it. 

 

Thanks again Luke!

[Ruben Porto]

Hi Elsie,

 

The mix can be heated in a water bath as long as you use a large open pan so that it is reduced by 15%. It is indeed tricky and almost impossible to keep the temperature at exactly 72°C so don't worry if you go slightly over or under. The idea is to keep it at around 72°C and not let the temperature go higher for too long.

 

Do let me know if you give it a try. 

 

All the best,

 

Ruben

[Ruben Porto]

A very nice write up, Ruben!  I confess I have not made ice cream all winter...for various reasons related to the beverage forums.  I almost bought a second freezer last month, and I still might if I can save up for a couple months.  I miss my ice cream.

 

If I do make some, and can find good powdered milk, I will try your recipe.

 

 

Look forward to your return to the ice cream making world Jo!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Can the mixture be held in a water bath for the 25 minutes rather than on the stove? It seems to me that it could be tricky to hold the temperature at exactly 72 on a stove top.

 

For years now I have been wrestling with this question.  (And you really should try Ruben's 60 minute recipes for a full appreciation of the problem...not to mention an appreciation of great ice cream.)

 

I've considered a Corning laboratory stirring hotplate.  Kenwood makes an induction heated mixer.  Or with a big enough bath there may be some way to rig up my anova.

 

More recently Kerry posted an enticing picture:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/151070-chocdoc-goes-to-france/?p=2014107

 

...well, Kerry shares many enticing photographs, however I am referring to the one marked "KitchenAid", about halfway down the post.  Trouble is, I recall someone holds a patent on this idea, at least in the US, so we may not be seeing same in the near future.

 

 

Edit:  oh, wait!  It's here!

 

http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/-[KSM1CBL]-408088/KSM1CBL/

 

 

Sadly my Kitchenaid KSM5OP is not listed as a compatible model.  I am very sad.  Wonder if it might work anyway?

Edited April 19, 2015 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[ElsieD]

I just checked my Thermomix but the the closest temperature I can hold the mixture at is 70 C which is a tad too low. I should be able to hold it at the right temperature when I get the Paragon Induction Cooktop later this year. I do have an induction stove top so may try it out on that. It sure sounds like a lovely ice cream.

[Luke]

A few comments regarding water baths.

 

Back in June I spent some time experimenting with the water bath method using Ruben's chocolate ice cream recipe that required 60 minutes @ 71.4 deg C. I'll be honest, there was no way I was standing in front of a gas stove maintaining that temperature for 60 minutes...and I did think Ruben was a little quirky for even posting it, but being an engineer myself I appreciate sometimes you have to do what has to be done. At the time, I had just purchased a Sansaire immersion sous vide heater, so the obvious answer was to use a hot water bath for 60 minutes, with occaisional stirring to achieve the protein denaturing and evaporation. Right?

 

Here are the problems I encountered:

   - You can't use a sealed plastic bag (like you do in normal sous vide) as you wont get evaporation

   - A water bath is not like a bain-marie : so anything vessel you place in it will try and float

   - Stainless mixing bowl + the base mix did not have enough weight, but a heavy glass mixing bowl was ok (still a pain)

   - The "system" is constantly loosing heat, so it can be tricky to get the right water temp to achieve the target mix temp. A lot of experimenting was required.

   - Even tho I rate the Sansaire temp control as excellent, the reaction time to heat/cool is too slow to accurately maintain target temp

 

So I have to say my experients at using a hot water bath with immersion heater to make the temperature regulation practical over 60 mins was a fail.

 

I think however, the real game changer is Ruben's revised method of 25 mins using milk powder to compensate. I found the time bearable. I even caught up with a few episodes of fail army while doing do. I did use a metal saucepan with a solid copper clad bottom, if anything I needed a shallower pan to assist with evaporation. You need a digital thermoter that reads in 0.1 deg increments. With the smallest burner, gas on low, and the flame half-under the pot, I could without too much effort, keep the temperature between 71.0 and 72.0 deg. Yes I did need to slide the pot onto more or less flame and use the thermometer to watch the temperature trend, so you would sort of watch the temp start to fall, and pre-empt the need for a bit more heat, etc. It wasn't all that bad for 25 minutes...but I'd still like to find a better solution.

 

The only other thought I have had revolves around the magnetic stirring hotplate method...

 

Ruben, I'd love to see a revised chocolate recipe revolving around 25 mins.

 

Luke

[Jim D.]

Ruben,

I am anxious to try your lemon curd ice cream but am reluctant until I solve the problem with the Cuisinart of having a substantial amount of the base freeze on the side of the bowl.  It is very difficult to remove this frozen edge, and its texture is not pleasant--which makes the effort you put into keeping the ice cream smooth and not icy close to pointless.  I tried your suggestion of pushing the plastic blade/mixer/dasher against the side of the bowl, but this interfered with the rotation of the bowl--to an alarming degree (the motor sounded "stressed").  With my efforts at making ice cream so far, I have just waited for the frozen part to melt a bit and then used an immersion blender to mix it into the rest of the product; this is clearly counteracting the whole point of making the process as fast as possible.  Any other ideas?

 

Jim

[timpoblete]

Ruben,

How do you find the current recipe with the powdered milk differs from your standard 60min recipe? Is one better than the other. I've been using the 1 hr method for years now to the delight of everyone that helps me finish off the ice cream and if you're saying we can switch over to 25 mins without negatively effecting the final product then I'm on board.

BTW I have a spinning hot plate (per Ruben's post on his blog) and have had great results to date. I do incorporate some gelatin into the mix, per Momofuku Milk Bar (check out their Mind of a Chef episode on Netflix on desserts. Awesome stuff).

[Luke]

Ruben,

I am anxious to try your lemon curd ice cream but am reluctant until I solve the problem with the Cuisinart of having a substantial amount of the base freeze on the side of the bowl.  It is very difficult to remove this frozen edge, and its texture is not pleasant--which makes the effort you put into keeping the ice cream smooth and not icy close to pointless.  I tried your suggestion of pushing the plastic blade/mixer/dasher against the side of the bowl, but this interfered with the rotation of the bowl--to an alarming degree (the motor sounded "stressed").  With my efforts at making ice cream so far, I have just waited for the frozen part to melt a bit and then used an immersion blender to mix it into the rest of the product; this is clearly counteracting the whole point of making the process as fast as possible.  Any other ideas?

 

Jim

Jim,

 

I suspect most domestic ice cream machines have the same issue, although I dont know what you mean by "substantial". My kitchen aid leaves about 2mm on the side of the bowl. I dont try and remove it, or scrape it off and incorporate into the main mix. I leave it as a treat for the ice cream maker (unless the kids beat me to it). I still get a good chill in a short time, but my bowl is frozen to -27 deg C so that helps.

 

Luke

[Ruben Porto]

Ruben,

I am anxious to try your lemon curd ice cream but am reluctant until I solve the problem with the Cuisinart of having a substantial amount of the base freeze on the side of the bowl.  It is very difficult to remove this frozen edge, and its texture is not pleasant--which makes the effort you put into keeping the ice cream smooth and not icy close to pointless.  I tried your suggestion of pushing the plastic blade/mixer/dasher against the side of the bowl, but this interfered with the rotation of the bowl--to an alarming degree (the motor sounded "stressed").  With my efforts at making ice cream so far, I have just waited for the frozen part to melt a bit and then used an immersion blender to mix it into the rest of the product; this is clearly counteracting the whole point of making the process as fast as possible.  Any other ideas?

 

Jim

 

Hi Jim,

 

Ice cream freezing to the side of the freezer bowl seems to be a common theme on domestic ice cream makers. The Cuisinart ICE-30 is one of the better ones as the large hole in the lid does allow you to push the dasher against the side of the bowl. I understand what you mean by this interfering (to an alarming rate) with the rotation of the bowl. My ICE-30 always struggles whenever I do this and this struggle only intensifies as the ice cream hardens. I would say that I've had my ICE-30 for nearly 6 years now and it is still going strong. I don't think you should be too worried by the strain placed on the motor.

 

I've also noticed that even when I don't push the dasher against the side of the bowl, the ICE-30 still makes excellent ice cream with smooth and creamy texture. Although not ideal, a layer of ice freezing at the side of the bowl won't ruin your ice cream.

 

Are you able to use a wooden spoon to scrape off the layer that freezes to the bowl when you're emptying? It takes me a bit of effort but I've always managed to scrape everything off my bowl.

 

I wouldn't recommend using an immersion blender to mix your frozen ice cream as this is likely to cause the foam to partially collapse and the ice cream to lose some of the air that has been incorporated. 

 

So, although annoying, I've found that a layer of ice cream freezing to the side of the bowl won't mean coarse texture and I haven't found it too tricky or time consuming scraping this off when emptying.

 

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

All the best,

 

Ruben