Home Ice Cream Machine - "Water Ice" or Italian Ice

[ltjazz]

Hey all,

 

I've made thicker and creamier sorbets with 25% to 35% sugar strained fruit purees and sugar, syrups, and other stabilizers that have worked well. However, because it's so much fruit and little to no water it can be an expensive project.

 

I am trying to make "Water Ice" or "Italian Ice" in my home ice cream machine. Think of textures similar to Rita's Water Ice, Court Pastry Shop, or Miko's in Chicago. It eats much lighter than a sorbet but isn't really icy, but it's also not thick like sorbet. Ritas uses "flavoring" and sugar, while the other two use fruit juice. I'm thinking of thinning the strained fruit juice with water and adding a stabilizer, but I'm having trouble getting this in my home ice cream machine without it freezing solid like granita.

 

Can anyone suggest a way to use real fruit juice, water, and a combination and concentration of stabilizers to get a looser, frozen fruit dessert that isn't icy?

[oferl]

I didn't exactly understand your direction, as of course fruits are mainly water :-) At summer i almost don't bother with "cooking a sorbet" as i usually did in the past with pectin or combo of stabilizer+something else "startchy" like tapioca meltadoxterin.. I just juice whatever i have, blendered well with some orange juice and a bit of sugar, a drop of orange flower extract ( or rose water ) and put it just like that in the machine, at some point, quite early and should be "monitored carfully" :-) It gets to an excellent runny "fruit ice" water that is really good, and i think it is close to what you are looking for, but cannot be sure of course, worth experimenting. If churned too much, and in a very good home machine, it gets almost to a more "frothier" sherbet/ice cream consistency, good of course only out of machine, later in home freeze degrees it has of course zero chance to remain something reasonable other then a block of icy fruit..

Have to remark that i do use for that matter a very good home machine ( musso lussino 4080 ), so should be taken into consideration, it has it's own abilities and spinning rate etc... It's also Italian made, so i guess the final product can hold the title "italian ice" "-)    

Edited May 11, 2017 by oferl (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Are you monitoring the brix? Your mix should be as close to 26 as possible.

[ltjazz]

Lisa, I actually had not considered monitoring the brix. You think a brix around 26 will get me closer to water-ice consistency without turning into a solid block of ice?

 

oferl, that runny "fruit ice" water you mentioned is exactly what I want. It can be achieved fresh out of the machine at a certain point, but put it in the freezer and it turns to solid ice. I'm looking for a way to maintain something close to that texture with a stabilizer if possible.

[Lisa Shock]

Yes, much higher, say 30, and sugar syrup will pool on top.

[Alex]

You know about Miko's!

[ltjazz]

Love Miko's.

 

I will try to hit 26 brix. I'm hoping this will give me Miko's texture and not a fruit sorbet texture

[pastrygirl]

3 hours ago, ltjazz said:

Lisa, I actually had not considered monitoring the brix. You think a brix around 26 will get me closer to water-ice consistency without turning into a solid block of ice?

 

oferl, that runny "fruit ice" water you mentioned is exactly what I want. It can be achieved fresh out of the machine at a certain point, but put it in the freezer and it turns to solid ice. I'm looking for a way to maintain something close to that texture with a stabilizer if possible.

 

There's only so much that stabilizer can do.  If you don't have enough sugar, it's going to freeze harder.