Home Made Ice Cream (2015– )

[paulraphael]

On 1/8/2025 at 10:55 AM, Tropicalsenior said:

Ever since you mentioned this I have been absolutely dying for one but living in Costa Rica I figured that it was a total impossibility. However, my grandson is here visiting and we checked the internet. It is available in Costa Rica. Today he went into San Jose and he bought me one. I am in 7th Heaven. At least I am right now. I'm still going to have to verify that will work on my machine. It says it will but I don't trust it. I have to see for myself.

Yesterday in preparation we defrosted one freezer and rearranged two others so that I now have a dedicated spot just for it, ready to freeze the bowl and make ice cream tomorrow.

Now I have to locate all those great EG threads on making ice cream.

If you can set the freezer you chill the bowl in to -4°F /-20°C, or even a bit lower, you can get extremely good results. I've had freezing times under 8 minutes. Lower is always better, all else being equal. You have to pay lots for a compressor machine with this kind of power.

[Tropicalsenior]

On 1/11/2025 at 5:53 PM, SLB said:

Anyway, I am very excited about everthing except all of these egg whites

I feel like I'm late to the party because I just found out that all our posts had been moved to this topic. I wondered where they went.

I use whole eggs in my custard. I don't know what difference it makes but I have been happy with the ice cream results so I'm not going to change.

On 1/14/2025 at 11:41 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

wonder if your new KitchenAid works as well or better than the Cuisinart ICE-100?

I don't know if you saw my answer to this or not. I've been reading through the ice cream topics and it sounds like you have this down to a real science. I'm just fumbling around experimenting with an initial base that I can add flavors to.

I have developed a sensitivity to sugar so I'm not able to eat much of it and my purpose in making ice cream is mainly for my housemate, Carlos. He is lactose intolerant and has never been able to eat ice cream before. He's not a connoisseur and he has been enjoying it immensely. For him it doesn't have to be perfect. He's happy with however it turns out.

[Tropicalsenior]

I just made my third batch of ice cream in my KA ice cream accessory. I'm trying to get a creamier, more scoopable result. This time, I used a cornstarch base. I also added a little cream cheese. I also increased the mixer speed slightly. The only non lactose Dairy product that I can get here is non lactose whole milk so I have to base my recipe on that. I made a BlackBerry ice cream with Blackberry nectar that I can buy at the grocery store. I've just now put it into the freezer to harden and I will see whether my new effort paid off.

[JeanneCake]

blackberry and  passionfruit are an amazing combination, just sayin'... one scoop each, in a bowl = heaven!

[Tropicalsenior]

It's only been 2 hours in the freezer but I couldn't resist taking a test taste. I think I might be on to something. It's smooth and creamy with it absolutely no Icey crystals. It is still scoopable but that remains to be seen if it stays that way. The Taste is wonderful.

[Tropicalsenior]

Okay, I've got a winner. It's been 5 hours in the freezer and it's still creamy and scoopable with not an ice crystal in sight. I know now that making the premix with cornstarch instead of eggs is the way to go. Now I have two beautiful mangoes sitting here getting ripe enough for the next batch.

[Smithy]

13 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Okay, I've got a winner. It's been 5 hours in the freezer and it's still creamy and scoopable with not an ice crystal in sight. I know now that making the premix with cornstarch instead of eggs is the way to go. Now I have two beautiful mangoes sitting here getting ripe enough for the next batch.

 

Congratulations! Please consider posting your recipe and method to RecipeGullet so folks can find it easily in the future.

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Congratulations! Please consider posting your recipe and method to RecipeGullet so folks can find it easily in the future.

I will do that. I want to get it down on paper for myself so I don't forget it.

[Darienne]

I've been dragging this forum and not reading it for some time now.  Today I did.   Great fun.  I've used a cornstarch base for many years now with great success.  paulraphael was my first ice cream mentor. Two years ago a friend from NJ gave me the Cuisinart Commercial Quality Ice Cream &  Gelato Maker.  She had no intentions of ever using it.  And I gave away my much used second-hand machine with the bowl you have to freeze first (can't remember its name, purchased  for $5 in Moab, Utah, our old stomping grounds, at our favorite second hand store).

 

I've no idea any more of where I found my recipe originally and of course I've changed it somewhat to satisfy my ice cream loving husband.  I couldn't begin to tell you how many hundreds of batches of ice cream I have made.  

 

Go for it eGers!

[Tropicalsenior]

16 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Congratulations! Please consider posting your recipe and method to RecipeGullet so folks can find it easily in the future.

I posted it just now in eGullet recipes.

[paulraphael]

On 1/11/2025 at 6:53 PM, SLB said:

Anyway, I am very excited about everthing except all of these egg whites.  I make frittatas flotsam-n-jetsam literally every week; but I have no words for how much I hate eating egg whites sans yolks.  

 

I don't recommend using egg whites in the ice cream. Texture will always be better without them.

 

Some things you can use the whites for: financier*, merengue, traditional chocolate mousse. I'm sure you'll get pages of advice on this. You probably also won't have to look too far for a health fanatic who throws out all their yolks—you should be able to work something out!

 

Another option is to make ice cream without the yolks. I find traditional "Philadelphia-style" recipes lacking in god texture, but there are modern approaches that let you have the best of all worlds. Add some other stabilizing ingredients, and an alternative emulsifier, like lecithin or buttermilk. Personally, I prefer chocolate and fruit flavors without any yolk. Other flavors I never put in more than a couple of yolks per quart. 

 

*Financier is my favorite use for whites. You don't have to make the traditional form. Think of it as the ultimate pound cake batter. Bake in any kind of loaf pan, bundt pan, or muffin tin. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My first batch in the new KitchenAid ice cream attachment.  I chilled the bowl to -39C, the best my blast freezer could do.  For the recipe I went back to old times:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/152508-home-made-ice-cream-2015–/#findComment-2033500

Except that I used 8 yolks and a drop of Polysorbate 80. 

 

 

I cooked an hour and 15 minutes at 72C, to pasteurize and get a reduction of about 15%.  This stirrer/hotplate controls temperature to +/- 0.5 degree C.  Then I strained the mix and homogenized as usual.  I refrigerated the mix overnight and then spun it for 10 minutes -- longer than necessary.  Six minutes would have been OK.  I portioned the finished ice cream into Nija Creami cups, and back to the blast freezer they went.  I licked the dasher without getting anything in my hair.  I call that success.

 

Next time I might use less mix.  I'd suggest leaving the volume well under a liter so the mix doesn't try to escape the bowl.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I did a comparison of my most recent ice cream (not the same batch as in the post above) with Haagen-Dazs.  Both vanilla.  Same five ingredients except that my recipe has a drop or two of Polysorbate 80.

 

Both were good.  My ice cream won on color (vivid orange), texture (in comparison Haagen-Dazs was slightly thin and icy), melt down (probably due to the Polysorbate 80).  Flavor and scoopability were similar.  Haagen-Dazs won on cleanliness on the palate.

 

[paulraphael]

On 1/25/2025 at 9:02 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

My first batch in the new KitchenAid ice cream attachment.  I chilled the bowl to -39C, the best my blast freezer could do.  For the recipe I went back to old times:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/152508-home-made-ice-cream-2015–/#findComment-2033500

Except that I used 8 yolks and a drop of Polysorbate 80. 

 

 

I cooked an hour and 15 minutes at 72C, to pasteurize and get a reduction of about 15%.  This stirrer/hotplate controls temperature to +/- 0.5 degree C.  Then I strained the mix and homogenized as usual.  I refrigerated the mix overnight and then spun it for 10 minutes -- longer than necessary.  Six minutes would have been OK.  I portioned the finished ice cream into Nija Creami cups, and back to the blast freezer they went.  I licked the dasher without getting anything in my hair.  I call that success.

 

Next time I might use less mix.  I'd suggest leaving the volume well under a liter so the mix doesn't try to escape the bowl.

 

Interesting that you're getting so much overrun that it's filling up the bowl. My experience is with the old version of the attachment, but I assume the size is similar. I typically got about 20% overrun, sometimes a little more. Nothing that would fill the bowl.

 

Are you getting that volume with the polysorbate 80?

 

Also, is there such thing as a lid / stopper for a beaker like that, preferable already with a hole for a temperature probe? I only see them for thin-necked flasks.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, paulraphael said:

Interesting that you're getting so much overrun that it's filling up the bowl. My experience is with the old version of the attachment, but I assume the size is similar. I typically got about 20% overrun, sometimes a little more. Nothing that would fill the bowl.

 

Are you getting that volume with the polysorbate 80?

 

Also, is there such thing as a lid / stopper for a beaker like that, preferable already with a hole for a temperature probe? I only see them for thin-necked flasks.

 

I don't think it's overrun.  How can I explain it -- the frozen mix gets pushed up.

 

To my knowledge there is no such thing as a stopper for a beaker, particularly as beakers have a pouring spout.  Though from my time in a biochemistry, I know there are many strange types of glassware.  I have a vacuum flask and I've been thinking to rig up something whereby I could heat my mix under vacuum for increased concentration.  I got stuck on a way to get the temperature probe into the flask and still maintain the vacuum.  If there's anyone who could help with your question it's probably @Kerry Beal

 

And I have a related question.  I don't own a copy of Modernist Cuisine (although I have read it).  Could you, or anyone with a copy of MC, tell me the minimum pasteurization time (at least in the United States) at 72C, from the ice cream pasteurization time/temperature graph in volume 1?

 

[gfweb]

Flasks can have stoppers with a hole. No reason that I see that you couldn't use an Erlenmeyer flask.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I've been reading Nicola Lamb.  She made me realize that in my homemade/Haagen-Dazs comparison I should have said "mouthfeel" rather than "texture".

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

38 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Flasks can have stoppers with a hole. No reason that I see that you couldn't use an Erlenmeyer flask.

 

Would a stopper with a hole for the temperature probe still allow for pulling a good vacuum?  When I stopper my vacuum flask I use a ground glass stopper.

 

[gfweb]

15 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Would a stopper with a hole for the temperature probe still allow for pulling a good vacuum?  When I stopper my vacuum flask I use a ground glass stopper.

 

A rubber stopper will hold a vacuum and you could seal the probe hole with parafilm

[paulraphael]

20 hours ago, gfweb said:

Flasks can have stoppers with a hole. No reason that I see that you couldn't use an Erlenmeyer flask.

I looked at those, but they seem like they'd be harder to clean out and would lead to more waste. With a beaker or pan, you can easily scrape out the sides with a spatula. Ice cream is pretty viscous.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, paulraphael said:

I looked at those, but they seem like they'd be harder to clean out and would lead to more waste. With a beaker or pan, you can easily scrape out the sides with a spatula. Ice cream is pretty viscous.

 

That's true.

[sverreef]

On 3/16/2025 at 8:27 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

And I have a related question.  I don't own a copy of Modernist Cuisine (although I have read it).  Could you, or anyone with a copy of MC, tell me the minimum pasteurization time (at least in the United States) at 72C, from the ice cream pasteurization time/temperature graph in volume 1?

 

 

I find the time scale on the FDA time and temperature curve in MC1 difficult to get an accurate reading from, but it seems to be somewhere around 6 minutes. This matches The Simplified Dairy Pasteurization Recommendation table in the same chapter, which claims that ice cream and sweet/high-fat dairy products needs 6 minutes and 11 seconds at 72C.

[paulraphael]

On 3/18/2025 at 6:07 PM, sverreef said:

 

I find the time scale on the FDA time and temperature curve in MC1 difficult to get an accurate reading from, but it seems to be somewhere around 6 minutes. This matches The Simplified Dairy Pasteurization Recommendation table in the same chapter, which claims that ice cream and sweet/high-fat dairy products needs 6 minutes and 11 seconds at 72C.

 

6:11 is right, if you can be sure the mix is that hot all the way through. If you're doing anything commercial, you still need to check with the local health whoevers. The rules aren't always based on the best science.

 

There are benefits besides safety to holding at temperature longer, or also using a higher temperature. To get the milk proteins working for you.