Home Made Ice Cream (2015– )

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I'm interested in what appears to be a pierced spoon in weinoo's linked Dana Cree's ice cream tutorial.    Anyone know this tool?

[DesertTinker]

2 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I'm interested in what appears to be a pierced spoon in weinoo's linked Dana Cree's ice cream tutorial.    Anyone know this tool?

It appears to be the JosephJoseph Dimple Non-drip Ice Cream Scoop (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) with a goodly smear of chocolate ice cream on it.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Thumbing through my ice cream file I came across this superb chocolate sherbet.    It is that wonderful paradox of lean and luxurious.    A great dinner party finale.

[Synerge]

12 hours ago, weinoo said:

Is there any need to use an homogenizer when starting with homogenized milk?

 

I don't believe I use any emulsifiers either. I've pretty much settled on Dana Cree's methodology.

 

 

 

Homogenizer, not really. Not even ice cream shops use them. They are only used on industrial scale

But all of them use Mixers. Doesn't matter if the milk is homogenized, what you want to do is actually do a really good mixing, where everything becomes one thing, or you will notice how ingredients split. And its quite a difference to be honest, before I got my mixer to now that I use it

I actually homogenize the mix a few times as recommended in some books, and thats it, first for the liquids and then when you add the solids at max speed. Then when you have the mix at 85ºc when pasteurizing, and one more time, a fast one when you are about to put it in the machine, so you are sure that there are no harden surfaces due to contact with air while it was in the refrigerator

 

About emulsifiers, they are needed because milk fat and water reject each other. They are basically oil and water, you cannot blend them together, so you need an emulsifier as it absorbs the water drops and it binds fat with water, and the result is far better. The basic emulsifier, and the only one that was used and known some years ago are the eggs. Then you have lecitine. And then you go to monodiglicerides and monoesterates, and their complexity is in that order aswell. All the pro ice creams use monodiglicerides, but they are really hard to get, at least here, in small amounts. They are basically for industrial use

 

But well, I've been doing the ice creams with great results without using emulsifiers, but I will get some as soon as I go to the main city. I do use stabilizers though, 3 of them actually, carrube, guar and carrageenan in really small accounts, 2.5g total. They are all natural anyway, as they are got from plants

Every single step and addition matters to the quality of the ice cream, be it in texture and in flavor. Some are also for longevity, as you can have the ice cream for many days, weeks, even months without losing its structure. If you dont use any, it wont last more than 2 days I believe. I know its not common to have the ice cream for many days, many consume the batch in one single day. For me it lasts some days as I live alone and I only do 1 flavor at the time, so you get tired rather quickly

 

So yeah, I recommend using a mixer, is like 1 minute and it improves the mix a lot in general. Emulsifiers and stabilizers are optional. They depend on how good you want your ice cream to be, or if you are like me, that even when not doing it commercially, I'm putting lot of time and effort on this as I really like it, so I'm trying to achieve a professional result as much as I can

[Synerge]

  

11 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

No stabilizers, yes second photo where I dig it out before putting in freezer - leaving my homogenizer in the drawer!

 

And its it good? I mean the taste and texture

I'm asking because the second picture, when the ice cream has finished churning, looks too soft and a little grainy. With that I mean that its surface is not smooth, but it looks that it had balls that could be sugar or something else

The final result doesn't look grainy, but maybe a little dry? Its like the oposite appearance

It could be completely ok in both matters though, despite on how it looks, thats why I asked

 

I have made some batches that looked like that, but I believe it changed when I started homogenizing the mix. The stabilizers could have help. Not sure

 

For example look at this texture when it comes out of the machine. This is obviously the most perfect texture you can actually get, and its impossible for us because we dont have the right equipment, but its a guide of what we could aspire to achieve, or well, somewhat close to that

 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/97/55/00975594f3a303dbe813b4cbd9b0c84d.jpg

For some reason I cannot post any image. I dont see any button for that. Maybe its because of my post count?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If I haven't convinced people to homogenize their mix by now I suppose never will.

 

[weinoo]

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

If I haven't convinced people to homogenize their mix by now I suppose never will.

 

 

You won't convince me. But... Ms. Cree and Jeni both make you homogenized if I were to buy and use Creamline milk.

 

Or when I start entering competitions, which will happen never. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

Or when I start entering competitions, which will happen never. 

Is THAT what much of this is about/

Edited July 13, 2021 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Kerry Beal]

14 hours ago, Synerge said:

  

 

And its it good? I mean the taste and texture

I'm asking because the second picture, when the ice cream has finished churning, looks too soft and a little grainy. With that I mean that its surface is not smooth, but it looks that it had balls that could be sugar or something else

The final result doesn't look grainy, but maybe a little dry? Its like the oposite appearance

It could be completely ok in both matters though, despite on how it looks, thats why I asked

 

I have made some batches that looked like that, but I believe it changed when I started homogenizing the mix. The stabilizers could have help. Not sure

 

For example look at this texture when it comes out of the machine. This is obviously the most perfect texture you can actually get, and its impossible for us because we dont have the right equipment, but its a guide of what we could aspire to achieve, or well, somewhat close to that

 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/97/55/00975594f3a303dbe813b4cbd9b0c84d.jpg

For some reason I cannot post any image. I dont see any button for that. Maybe its because of my post count?

yes it is

[Margaret Pilgrim]

What is confounding on this and many specialty food threads (eg pizza) is that we each have in mind's eye a model we consider perfect, a goal.    And they are each idiosyncratic.   Like the original shaggy dog story. 

[rascali]

5 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

"You won't convince me. But... Ms. Cree and Jeni both make you homogenized if I were to buy and use Creamline milk."

 

I have been incorporating the Kalona Dairy non-homogenized product line into Dana's recipes and am experiencing buttering difficulties. Are there any steps I'm missing that might lessen this effect?

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by rascali (log)

[Synerge]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

You won't convince me. But... Ms. Cree and Jeni both make you homogenized if I were to buy and use Creamline milk.

 

Or when I start entering competitions, which will happen never. 

 

Are you entering competitions? Of ice cream making?

I completely missed the point here

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, rascali said:

I have been incorporating the Kalona Dairy non-homogenized product line into Dana's recipes and am experiencing buttering difficulties. Are there any steps I'm missing that might lessen this effect?

 

Homogenization?

 

1 hour ago, Synerge said:

Are you entering competitions? Of ice cream making?

I completely missed the point here

 

No.  The point a few of us are making and have made here is that what's good and delicious for me, maybe you don't like as much? Or maybe that there is not any "best" this or "best" that after all?

[Synerge]

21 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Homogenization?

 

 

No.  The point a few of us are making and have made here is that what's good and delicious for me, maybe you don't like as much? Or maybe that there is not any "best" this or "best" that after all?

 

That happens with basically everything. Probably the point for most of the people that make ice creams at home is to actually change the recipes and adapt them to their own liking

For me its something different. The gelatos that are made in my country are way too good, so the reason is price, it cost me about 1/5 1/6 of the price of the gelato shop, and thats a lot. I also like all this. Although I find the entire pasteurization and rapid freezing process exhausting and messy. The aging and churning process is rather simple

 

I do understand everyones points of view and reasons, but mostly for flavor. For texture, I dont think you can go better than what a pro machine can offer. Its extremely smooth. And if you talk about overrun (air), you can control that, so there is really much point on arguing about that

I dont know, for me its always trying to improve and get better. And no, I'm not talking about appareance, as I'm not a gourmet chef, unless it looks disgusting, there is no point on working on that, flavor and texture are everything in ice cream

 

I think I will go for a banana ice cream next, and a lemon sorbet as I bought way too many lemons :P. Sorbets are usually the hardest to make, specially those that have really low solid percentage like lemon

A really good advice that I found while trying, is to freeze the mix before churning as much as possible. If you can, leave it in the freezer until it reaches 0ºc before putting it in the machine. The result will be much better, as it will reach the desired temp a lot faster and the machine will suffer less. That means smaller ice crystals, and better texture as soon as you get it out of the machine

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Synerge said:

For texture, I dont think you can go better than what a pro machine can offer. Its extremely smooth.

 

I think I do pretty well at home, my ice cream is very smooth and I'd also be willing to say that it's better than some of what's offered professionally. 

 

I'm not doing better than Il Lab, but I like my ice cream more than Ben & Jerry's, for example.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, Synerge said:

 

That happens with basically everything. Probably the point for most of the people that make ice creams at home is to actually change the recipes and adapt them to their own liking

For me its something different. The gelatos that are made in my country are way too good, so the reason is price, it cost me about 1/5 1/6 of the price of the gelato shop, and thats a lot. I also like all this. Although I find the entire pasteurization and rapid freezing process exhausting and messy. The aging and churning process is rather simple

 

I do understand everyones points of view and reasons, but mostly for flavor. For texture, I dont think you can go better than what a pro machine can offer. Its extremely smooth. And if you talk about overrun (air), you can control that, so there is really much point on arguing about that

I dont know, for me its always trying to improve and get better. And no, I'm not talking about appareance, as I'm not a gourmet chef, unless it looks disgusting, there is no point on working on that, flavor and texture are everything in ice cream

 

I think I will go for a banana ice cream next, and a lemon sorbet as I bought way too many lemons :P. Sorbets are usually the hardest to make, specially those that have really low solid percentage like lemon

A really good advice that I found while trying, is to freeze the mix before churning as much as possible. If you can, leave it in the freezer until it reaches 0ºc before putting it in the machine. The result will be much better, as it will reach the desired temp a lot faster and the machine will suffer less. That means smaller ice crystals, and better texture as soon as you get it out of the machine

 

As I've said before, for me ice cream -- whether commercial or manufactured in my kitchen -- is all about texture and mouthfeel.  I am happy to eat unflavored.  Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or garlic.

 

 

[Synerge]

8 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I think I do pretty well at home, my ice cream is very smooth and I'd also be willing to say that it's better than some of what's offered professionally. 

 

I'm not doing better than Il Lab, but I like my ice cream more than Ben & Jerry's, for example.

 

Thats quite impressive. Although I cannot imagine it at all, because I have no idea what those shops are, but it's great that you achieved so much progress

[Kerry Beal]

 

Lemon Sorbet - a recipe from one of those California Culinary Academy cookbooks from the 80's - this is essentially an Italian Meringue with lemon juice added at the end, then spun in the machine. Only thing it needs is a raspberry coulis and to be shaped in quenelles!

[Synerge]

22 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Lemon Sorbet - a recipe from one of those California Culinary Academy cookbooks from the 80's - this is essentially an Italian Meringue with lemon juice added at the end, then spun in the machine. Only thing it needs is a raspberry coulis and to be shaped in quenelles!

 

Looks good! It actually looks like a lemon ice cream. I believe that it means its' correctly done.

I made one batch yesterday and it looked like that too. I didn't took any photos though, I was in a rush making ice cream to take to a reunion

[ElsieD]

Is there any reason why I can't make half batches of custard based  ice cream?  We love ice cream but it takes a while to get through a full batch.  Plus, I'd like to have two options to choose from rather than one.  I have a Breville ice cream maker with a built-in compressor, if that makes any difference.

Edited July 26, 2021 by ElsieD
Added reference to Breville (log)

[Kerry Beal]

26 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Is there any reason why I can't make half batches of custard based  ice cream?  We love ice cream but it takes a while to get through a full batch.  Plus, I'd like to have two options to choose from rather than one.  I have a Breville ice cream maker with a built-in compressor, if that makes any difference.

Don't see any reason why not!

 

The advantage of the compressor you can make batch after batch.

 

K

[Synerge]

5 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Is there any reason why I can't make half batches of custard based  ice cream?  We love ice cream but it takes a while to get through a full batch.  Plus, I'd like to have two options to choose from rather than one.  I have a Breville ice cream maker with a built-in compressor, if that makes any difference.

 

There is a minimum on every machine, be it homemade or commercial, usually its 50% of the capacity or maybe 60%, so you should be able to make half batch

[ccp900]

On 7/26/2021 at 10:19 PM, ElsieD said:

Is there any reason why I can't make half batches of custard based  ice cream?  We love ice cream but it takes a while to get through a full batch.  Plus, I'd like to have two options to choose from rather than one.  I have a Breville ice cream maker with a built-in compressor, if that makes any difference.

no reason why you cant. with your machine you can probably batch 400/450g and with overrun thats a little over a pint so totally doable. with my old ice 100 i ran 500g batches for testing and it worked well. 

 

your churn time will be faster which is good too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[weinoo]

The problem I run into when making half batches (expecting about a pint of ice cream) is that between the stuff that I really can't get out of the ice cream container and the stuff that remains on the dasher (which, by the way, all gets eaten while I'm "decanting") is that I really only end up with about 2/3 of a pint.  

 

I've taken to doing either 2/3 or 3/4 of a recipe. Works well for me.

[Synerge]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

The problem I run into when making half batches (expecting about a pint of ice cream) is that between the stuff that I really can't get out of the ice cream container and the stuff that remains on the dasher (which, by the way, all gets eaten while I'm "decanting") is that I really only end up with about 2/3 of a pint.  

 

I've taken to doing either 2/3 or 3/4 of a recipe. Works well for me.

 

But if that is the case, then you also lose quite a lot when doing a full batch.

Have in mind, that if you pasteurize the mix, a good portion will evaporate. That will mostly depend on the method used and how efficiently/fast you are making the whole process, but I think is quite normal to lose 10% of the mix or even more just by pasteurizing

You can also lose a little part of the mix when transfering from one container to another one. And maybe a little more when withdrawing the ice cream from the machine

Improving all this steps makes you lose less percentage of the final mix, and that is obviously good as you get more ice cream in the end, and have a better cost use. Although, most of what evaporates is water anyway