Using commercial stabilizer in home made ice cream

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Another stabilizer experiment, this time based loosely on Lebovitz's non-Philadelphia vanilla recipe:

 

Cream 500 ml  (500 ml)

Milk 250 ml  (250 ml)

Sucrose 120 g  (150 g)

Salt 0.2 g  (pinch)

Locust Bean Gum 0.4 g  (none)

Lambda Carrageenan 0.1 g  (none)

Egg Yolks 10  (6)

 

 

Lebovitz's quantities in parentheses.  The procedure was per Lebovitz, with my stabilizers mixed into the sugar.  I homogenized my mix, of course, which Lebovitz does not specify.  Lebovitz does not suggest a temperature, but I made sure my custard did not reach 80C.  In the ice bath as we speak.

 

[paulraphael]

I suspect with that all that egg yolk and such a small quantity of stabilizer, the stabilizer won't make much noticeable difference. There's a lot of stabilizing coming from that thick custard. 

This recipe will be pretty hard to scoop at normal serving temperatures ... I like that it's not very sweet, but there's nothing picking up the slack for freezing point depression.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Don't worry, I will report back.  There are ways to deal with ice cream that is too hard.  Remember when Haagen-Dazs used to give instructions to microwave the container before serving?  Not much to be done for ice cream that is too soft.

[paulraphael]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Don't worry, I will report back.  There are ways to deal with ice cream that is too hard.  Remember when Haagen-Dazs used to give instructions to microwave the container before serving?  Not much to be done for ice cream that is too soft.

 

It's mostly about convenience. There are actually some advantages to ice cream that's too hard. It means it will be warmer when it softens enough, so flavor will be a bit more vibrant. And it means that at freezer temperatures, there will be a higher percentage of frozen water, so there will less water activity overall ... and so less tendency for ice crystals to grow and agglomerate.

 

But yeah, much of my childhood trauma comes from watching helplessly as my mom nearly set the Haagen Dazs on fire in the microwave. Night after night.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎6‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 12:49 AM, paulraphael said:

I suspect with that all that egg yolk and such a small quantity of stabilizer, the stabilizer won't make much noticeable difference. There's a lot of stabilizing coming from that thick custard. 

This recipe will be pretty hard to scoop at normal serving temperatures ... I like that it's not very sweet, but there's nothing picking up the slack for freezing point depression.

 

Now that I've had a bowl I can report back:  I agree, the stabilizer this time did not make much difference.  But the ice cream was not hard to scoop, nor was it too soft.  I measured -9.4C when it was in the bowl.

 

I'm not complaining about this batch but I think I preferred the taste and texture of the Philadelphia style I made most recently.  The Philadelphia style was creamier (not surprising as it was all cream and this batch was adulterated with milk).  The vanilla flavor came through better in the Philadelphia version.  And there was an ever so slight iciness in this batch that was not evident in the Philadelphia version.  If the overrun of the Philadelphia version was too high, this overrun was too low (but here I'm being picky).  I was afraid if I added as much stabilizer to the custard as I had to the Philadelphia version I would make a mess, so I thought to err on the side of too little.

 

I don't have much experience with these modernist emulsifiers and stabilizers, and I don't yet know what does what.  To my perception iciness in ice cream is the major defect.  Something (or things) in the Philadelphia version killed the iciness, and I'd like to understand what that was.

 

Oh, and by the way, the Philadelphia ice cream was easier to make.

 

[paulraphael]

If you're warming your ice cream to -9°C, then it makes sense that it's fine. My software estimates 76% ice fraction at that temperature which is just slightly high for scooping. But most home freezers are below -16, and standard temperature for a scooping cabinet is -12 to -14. So right out of the freezer that formula would likely be cement-like. 

 

Here's the breakdown:

Total Fat: 21.9%        (very, very high.)
Milk Fat: 17.9%         (pretty damn high)
Total Solids: 42.7%        (upper end of good for a full-bodied ice cream)
Milk Solids Nonfat: 4.7%       (too low. even with this much fat, you'd want at least 8% to help control the unfrozen water)
Stabilizer/Water: 0.08%        (too low to have a noticeable effect)
Egg Lecithin: 1.37%               (very high. 10X the minimum. high lecithin isn't a problem, except that it can impede whipping. But I imagine this tastes like an omelet)
POD: 118 / 1000g                  (bottom end of normal. I like this. Kids probably don't)
Absolute PAC: 286 / 1000g    (very low)    
 

My advice is less cream, less egg (unless you want to taste egg custard prominently) and then get your milk solids in there.

 

The biggest difference between pro and amateur formulas is the milk solids. They give body, and work wonders for smoothness. Lactose has impressive water control powers, and the whey proteins add emulsification and a bit of stabilization when cooked properly. And milk solids don't mute flavors aggressively as milk fat and egg fat does.

 

Then if you want to play with stabilizers, a good starting point would be around 0.15% by weight, or 0.25% by water weight (this if for DIY blends ... if you use a commercial blend, the instructions probably say to use more, because they usually include emulsifiers and also neutral bulk ingredients). 

Edited June 16, 2019 by paulraphael (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Warming?  Anyone want to send me a blast freezer?  I make no excuse for my ancient, antique* apartment refrigerator.  I don't get to choose.  Remember I still achieve excellent ice cream results from the @Ruben Porto method.  But I am lazy and it's only human to want something easier.  Lebovitz's full cream Philadelphia with my aforementioned stabilizers and emulsifiers comes pretty close.

 

 

*OK, another eleven years to go before antique -- but no, the compressor unit is not on top.

 

 

[paulraphael]

Ah, I didn't realize you're designing recipes for special circumstances. That's a whole 'nuther topic. I had a consulting client with an ice cream shop whose dipping cabinet would't get colder than -10. We designed all his recipes to compensate. Unfortunately he then got the thing fixed and we had reformulate everything.

[ElsieD]

@JoNorvelleWalker  Is the Philly -Style Vanilla Ice Cream you are talking about in page 25 of The Perfect Scoop?  I have only ever made the custard based ones including the recipe on page 24 of the same book although I note that I upped the vanilla extract to 1 tsp.  Have you made the custard based one?  If yes, how do they compare?  I've always been afraid that that Philly style one would freeze as hard as a rock so I'vd stayed away from them.  Maybe adding some of my commercial stabilizer would help with this?  Assuming it's even necessary, of course.

[paulraphael]

Traditional home Philly-style needs help if it's to have a prayer of being smooth. At the very least it needs a whole lot of added milk solids, and should be cooked just like custard-based ice creams. Ideally it should have some stabilizers also. 

 

Hardness is variable; that's controlled mostly by the quantity and types of sugars. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

55 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  Is the Philly -Style Vanilla Ice Cream you are talking about in page 25 of The Perfect Scoop?  I have only ever made the custard based ones including the recipe on page 24 of the same book although I note that I upped the vanilla extract to 1 tsp.  Have you made the custard based one?  If yes, how do they compare?  I've always been afraid that that Philly style one would freeze as hard as a rock so I'vd stayed away from them.  Maybe adding some of my commercial stabilizer would help with this?  Assuming it's even necessary, of course.

 

I have the Kindle 2nd edition of The Perfect Scoop with no page numbers, but the Philadelphia recipe is right next to the vanilla custard recipe.  Two versions of Philadelphia:  one full cream, one cream and milk.  No points for guessing which I chose.  I believe the added stabilizers and emulsifiers made all the difference.  I accidentally spun longer than intended and got the overrun too high for my taste, but most importantly the ice cream was not icy at all, and I thought the scoopability was close to perfect (remember I reduced the sugar).  If I make it again, which I probably will, I intend to try 100 g of sucrose and no trehalose.

 

I agree with @paulraphael that Philadelphia style ice cream needs some help if you're not consuming it straight out of the machine.  If you are happy with Lead Tongue Lebovitz's amount of sugar just make the recipe as written but with your added stabilizer.  Be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions for hydrating the stabilizer.

 

[ElsieD]

Looking back I see you made the milk/cream one.  If the ice cream had a tendency to iciness, would that not be more apt to happen using milk and cream rather than all cream?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Looking back I see you made the milk/cream one.  If the ice cream had a tendency to iciness, would that not be more apt to happen using milk and cream rather than all cream?

 

No, I made the all cream version:

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/158219-using-commercial-stabilizer-in-home-made-ice-cream/?do=findComment&comment=2201493

 

 

I hadn't measured my freezer temperature in a while.  I checked this evening and it's only getting down to -13C/8.6F.  My recollection is it used to be colder.

 

[ElsieD]

I was looking at your last Thursday's post.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

24 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I was looking at your last Thursday's post.  

 

Sorry for the confusion.  That was the custard ice cream.

 

[ElsieD]

Since egg yolks weren't listed I assumed it was the Philly one.  Glad I asked.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

Since egg yolks weren't listed I assumed it was the Philly one.  Glad I asked.

 

Oh dear.  I'm more confused, running a fever, in pain, and facing a root canal at high noon.  That was the Philly one.  Which I thought we were talking about.  For the custard recipe I did as Lebovitz said:  milk and cream.  Everything is better with cream.

 

 

[ElsieD]

I made a batch of vanilla ice cream using one teaspoon of the stabilizer and it had a "granular" texture.  Not icy, but as though there were tiny bits of cooked custard throughout it.  It didn't affect the taste but I'm wondering if I let the temperature get too high when I made the custard.  What temperature do you cook yours to?  I prefer taking the temperature as I find the direction to "cook it until it costs the back of a spoon" to be useless.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@ElsieD did you carefully strain your custard?  I don't let mine go over 80C and maybe even that is a little high.  When I make custard ice cream by Ruben's method I do not have to strain it.

 

The genetic testing firm 23&Me informs that I prefer chocolate ice cream to vanilla.  This was news to me but I admit I have not tried chocolate ice cream in years.  I'm still under the weather and feeling poorly so making ice cream was out of the question.  But a kind friend took me to Shoprite and Haagen-Dazs chocolate was on sale.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Update:  if I could do as well as Haagen-Dazs chocolate I'd be pleased.

 

[ElsieD]

@JoNorvelleWalker  It was when I was straining the custard that I noticed this.  The mesh on the strainer that I use is quite fine but these little grains went right through it.  I looked for Ruben's method and read that it has to do with evapourating some water from the mixture using heat but I could find nothing more specific.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  It was when I was straining the custard that I noticed this.  The mesh on the strainer that I use is quite fine but these little grains went right through it.  I looked for Ruben's method and read that it has to do with evapourating some water from the mixture using heat but I could find nothing more specific.

 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/144208-home-made-ice-cream-2013–/?do=findComment&comment=1904621

 

[paulraphael]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Update:  if I could do as well as Haagen-Dazs chocolate I'd be pleased.

 

You can do much better than Haagen Dazs chocolate! I promise. Unless 23&Me says you have a genetically determined proclivity for very mild milk chocolate.

[paulraphael]

3 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  It was when I was straining the custard that I noticed this.  The mesh on the strainer that I use is quite fine but these little grains went right through it.  I looked for Ruben's method and read that it has to do with evapourating some water from the mixture using heat but I could find nothing more specific.

 

 

That's just about increasing the solids content of the ice cream. Doing it by evaporation is a really inefficient, roundabout, imprecise way to do it. Every time I read about that approach I do a bit of a face-palm. It's much simpler and more precise to just add more skim milk powder. 

 

The granular texture doesn't sound like overcooked custard to me. That gives more of a pieces-of-scrambled-eggs texture. Graininess can be lactose or whey coming out of solution and making crystals. This isn't too common in homemade ice cream and I'm not sure what would cause it for you. And stabilizers actually work to prevent these problems.  Did you post your recipe?

[ElsieD]

This is the recipe:

 

1 3/4 cups heavy cream (35%)

3/4 cup 1% milk

1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon commercial stabilizer

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

6 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla paste

 

I have never had this happen before with any ice cream I have made.