Pacojet Competitor? The Ninja Creami

[dtremit]

2 hours ago, tikidoc said:

My understanding is that it is supposed to improve texture. I have not tried it but I would assume a small amount of corn starch would do the same thing. They seem to add it to recipes other than protein shake ones as well.

 

Indeed, the primary ingredients (outside of flavoring and sweetening agents) appear to be "modified cornstarch," maltodextrin, and xanthan gum, all of which seem to pop up in ice cream recipes from time to time.

 

That said, one thing I've noticed about Facebook recipes is they seem to always include a weird surplus of flavored, sweetened ingredients — over in the Instant Pot group people are obsessed with yogurt made with flavored creamers. No thank you. It works fine with just milk.

[dtremit]

A couple of sorbet successes recently:

 

Lychee (2 drained cans of lychees in syrup, pureed, with a tablespoon or so of liquid glucose and syrup from the can to top off to the max fill line)

Mango-Coconut (used up a 14oz can of Del Monte mango bits after my Indian puree seemed off; pureed and added 1T glucose. That got me to about 2/3 full; made up the rest with coconut milk and a few TB of sugar)

 

Both did great after a single spin. I didn't go through a formal calculation of sugar percentage — froze these in a hurry — but I think they were on the lower side.

[lemniscate]

Is there a passable Creami version of the Serendipity Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.

 

Asking for a friend.....no, really.   We were talking about kitchen appliances and she wasn't aware of the Creami and asked if it could replicate that dessert.  She apparently always made a pilgrimage to Serendipity on her yearly NYC trips.   I'm not familiar with that dessert or the Creami so I couldn't speculate.

[blue_dolphin]

37 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Is there a passable Creami version of the Serendipity Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.

 

Asking for a friend.....no, really.   We were talking about kitchen appliances and she wasn't aware of the Creami and asked if it could replicate that dessert.  She apparently always made a pilgrimage to Serendipity on her yearly NYC trips.   I'm not familiar with that dessert or the Creami so I couldn't speculate.

 

Has your friend tried any of the recipes available online that make this in a blender?

[lemniscate]

4 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Has your friend tried any of the recipes available online that make this in a blender?

 

LOL, I'm sure she has not.   But, since she had asked me about it, I've investigated online recipes.   Doesn't sound like anything special until I looked at the ingredients of the Serendipity frrrozen mix(tm) and it says a blend of 14(!?!) gourmet cocoas.  yeesh.

 

[andrewk512]

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

 

LOL, I'm sure she has not.   But, since she had asked me about it, I've investigated online recipes.   Doesn't sound like anything special until I looked at the ingredients of the Serendipity frrrozen mix(tm) and it says a blend of 14(!?!) gourmet cocoas.  yeesh.

 

I have no idea what this, but from the ingredient list it looks like you take a standard philadelphia ice cream base, season it with powdered hot chocolate, stir in some cool whip/sweetened whipped cream and "semi sweet chocolate curls". Should be pretty straight forward to reverse engineer.

Edited September 22, 2022 by andrewk512 (log)

[randomwalk]

We've been using our Creami regularly -- at least a couple of pints a month, sometimes more.  A few highlights:

 

* Sorbets!!  Generally speaking, we have found the sorbets to have amazing texture.  Our favorite so far has been blood orange sorbet.  My dad (a chef) instructed me to first make a sugar syrup (bring it to 240F) and then add the blood orange juice.  It was divine, and I think less icy than sorbets we've made without that trick.  We also enjoyed lemon-lime sorbet. 

*Butterscotch ice cream.  Hubby demanded a re-make of butterscotch ice cream (used the recipe from HMNIIC) for his birthday and he was thrilled with it (as he was the first time, hence pulling in the birthday favor).  I thought it was good (great texture) but the flavor was SUPER intense.  I thought it might have been more enjoyable with a mix-in, like a toffee-based mix-in, but he didn't share or leave it around long enough for me to try it out.

* Chocolate ice cream -- OMG.  Well, I have long not liked chocolate ice cream, but the kiddos and hubby joined forces to demand it.  So, I made the basic chocolate ice cream from the Perfect Scoop, and it totally converted me.  A few days later, my kiddos asked for milkshakes using that ice cream, so we did -- and it was the best milkshake I've ever had.  Rich, decadent, thick & intense, it felt like the kind of thing you would get 2 ounces of at a very fancy restaurant for dessert and you'd be thrilled.  I snuck my own milkshake using the remainder of the choc ice cream later that same night 🤣  (This weekend, I wanted to make the ice cream again, but I didn't have enough dark chocolate so I used some milk chocolate for about half of the called for chocolate, figuring I like milk chocolate and have a sweet tooth....I haven't frozen it yet so not sure how it'll turn out, but so far the base seems, predictably, less intense.  I don't think it will be as good, but I'm hopeful it'll be good enough.)

 

It is so much easier to make ice cream in a quart-sized volume that that's what we've been doing, dividing up the mixture between two pints.  But, that means our 6 pints (4 that came with it when we purchased from Costco, and the 2 I sweet-talked Ninja into sending based on the misleading "2 free pints" offer) really don't go as far!  I saw that Kohl's has a set of 4 for $30, and is currently offering 20% off, bringing the price down to $24.  Sharing in case anyone else is in the market for more pints!

[tikidoc]

Another healthy recipe, makes 2 pints. I cannot believe how creamy and rich this stuff is. Super tart but decadent.

 

One Fairlife Core Power vanilla protein drink (14 oz)

One 14 oz bag of frozen passion fruit pulp

1/2 tsp guar gum

4 scoops Vital Proteins collagen protein (unflavored)

2 tsp vanilla paste 

Erythritol/monk fruit sweetener to taste (I used around 1/3 cup, I think)

Top off with almond milk to make 2 full pints.

 

Freeze, then spin on light ice cream. If it needs a re-spin, add a little almond milk.

 

I like my passion fruit stuff quite tart - I think most would probably like it a little sweeter.

 

I have found that the Fairlife shakes taste pretty good, none of the off flavors that other protein shakes have, and they make a pretty creamy base for ice cream. They are OK as a meal replacement drink, but doctored up with strong flavors like cocoa, coffee, or intense fruits like passion fruit, they make a really respectable ice cream, and the only added sugar in this recipe was the trivial amount of sugar in the vanilla paste.

Edited September 27, 2022 by tikidoc
Photo (log)

[randomwalk]

Update on the chocolate -- good, intense flavor!  It doesn't seem to have mattered that much that I used half milk chocolate instead of all bittersweet.  Whew.  However, the texture is really thick and I think it's because I let the mixture get too hot.  (That happens to me sometimes -- I get the milk/cream too hot, temper the eggs, pour them into the pot, and then realize the whole thing exceeds my target of 170ish.)  Too bad!  But it's still really good, and should be still great for milkshakes.

 

We also made mint ice cream this weekend, using the mint ice cream in Perfect Scoop.  When I tasted the mixture, I was worried it was going to be too vegetal -- that's how we felt about the ginger ice cream from PS, it was eery because it tasted exactly like ginger but had the texture of ice cream instead of the stringy, woody texture of ginger...  But, thankfully, it wasn't too vegetal at all.  It felt like a very pure mint flavor, not at all artificial.  Hubby declared it his favorite yet.  We also put some cacao nibs on top (I think I remember Blue Dolphin doing the same and I'd been meaning to try) and it was delicious.  I overcooked this mixture too, a little, but it didn't have the same effect as with the chocolate.  Maybe the solids of the chocolate also play a role?

 

Hubby said that each ice cream is better than the last, and asked me how I got so good at ice cream.  🤣  It's obviously just the ninja creami and benefiting from some good cookbooks as well as this helpful community, but it's nice to feel appreciated at home!

 

Gosh, I'm so bad at taking pictures I almost don't want to post this!

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by randomwalk
pic fix (log)

[mgaretz]

Made some coffee ice cream with my usual non-dairy base.  I used 2 tbs of instant coffee.  When I saw the color I thought I had used too much but it was very good.

 

 

[jedovaty]

I made the goat cheese ice cream from Dana Cree's book.  I read here @blue_dolphin has made it a couple times as well, and I've been wanting to give it a go, it was delicious!  Tasty when drizzled with a fruity vinegar, or fresh passion fruit, or sour cherry preserves.

 

Now, following a number of tries and variations, I am throwing in the towel on dairy free and egg free frozen treats (family member has allergies to these, as well as almonds), mainly focusing on oatmilk vs other milks for now.  There seem to be inconsistencies in the oatmilks not only between the brands, but also carton to carton.  The problems so far have been either poor mouth feel (nearly always very thin even with 4% inulin), unpleasant flavor mix, and off smells.  I was able to get a good mouthfeel once, but on repeating the recipe a week later with the same brand oatmilk but a new carton, it came out thin.  Ugh, this is frustrating.

Are there any books or good resources which have recipes and proper measurements for dairy/egg free ice creams, gelatos, sorbets (i.e. not by volume)?  My goal right now is to find a decent "cream" base to start with to make the sweeter kinds such as oreo, caramel, PB, etc.  Later, I'll try fruity sorbets and such. 

 

Coconut milk gave me decent results, however, sometimes the coconut flavor of the milk becomes too much.

 

Appreciate any help

[blue_dolphin]

25 minutes ago, jedovaty said:

I made the goat cheese ice cream from Dana Cree's book.  I read here @blue_dolphin has made it a couple times as well, and I've been wanting to give it a go, it was delicious!  Tasty when drizzled with a fruity vinegar, or fresh passion fruit, or sour cherry preserves.

 

Now, following a number of tries and variations, I am throwing in the towel on dairy free and egg free frozen treats (family member has allergies to these, as well as almonds), mainly focusing on oatmilk vs other milks for now.  There seem to be inconsistencies in the oatmilks not only between the brands, but also carton to carton.  The problems so far have been either poor mouth feel (nearly always very thin even with 4% inulin), unpleasant flavor mix, and off smells.  I was able to get a good mouthfeel once, but on repeating the recipe a week later with the same brand oatmilk but a new carton, it came out thin.  Ugh, this is frustrating.

Are there any books or good resources which have recipes and proper measurements for dairy/egg free ice creams, gelatos, sorbets (i.e. not by volume)?  My goal right now is to find a decent "cream" base to start with to make the sweeter kinds such as oreo, caramel, PB, etc.  Later, I'll try fruity sorbets and such. 

 

Coconut milk gave me decent results, however, sometimes the coconut flavor of the milk becomes too much.

 

Appreciate any help

 

Did you see this post from @paulraphael?  He summarizes a bunch of work he's done and includes a link to an article on his site with more information:  Vegan Ice Cream: It Can Actually Be Good!

 

I do like that goat cheese ice cream and should make it again.  I was thinking it would pair well with fall flavors like persimmon, pear, pumpkin, pomegranate.  

[jedovaty]

No, although I looked through underbelly several times over the past few weeks, for some reason I totally missed both the article and his post!  Thank you!!

 

Yes, absolutely try with pomegranate!  A friend gave me several pomegranates from his tree and I tried to make molasses from it to put on the ice cream, and I totally messed up by trying to take a short cut and run it all through my juicer.  Ended up "juicing" the pith and seeds, so the resulting reduction of the juice was quite awful.  Next time, will use a manual food mill to juice them.

 

EDIT: no wonder I missed it, the article is recent! Cool!

Edit #2: I have everything but trehalose and gum arabic.  🤦‍♂️  So close!

Edited October 10, 2022 by jedovaty (log)

[randomwalk]

We tried two more ice creams this weekend, both delish.

 

#1 Blood orange ice cream (custard base) -- this was sensational.  The recipe called for vanilla, and I doubled it, and it was so perfect.  All four of us were really surprised, this was among the top results we've had so far.  It felt like eating a creamsicle (which we love....but if you don't care for creamsicles, this would not be for you!). 

 

#2 Macadamia Brittle Ice cream.  (As a kid/young adult, the haagen dazs mac brittle was my favorite ice cream, it was crushing when they discontinued it!)  So, we decided to make some mac brittle, and some vanilla ice cream, and use the mix-in feature.  This was also fabulous!  As has been noted before, the mix-in function is extremely even, so if I had it to do over again, I think I would still use the mix-in function, but then to stir in some by hand so hopefully you could get some bites with a lot and some with less, rather than the perfectly even distribution.  Right after spinning when the ice cream is soft, this might be easy enough. 

 

 

[DianaB]

Quite by chance I came across an app aimed at people with a Pacojet.  It is free to download so download I did and there are a number of recipes.  Screenshots of 2 are attached.  Might these work with the NC?  Quantities would of course need adapting. Has anyone here tried similar?  I’m wondering if the NC blades would cope given the warnings in the recipe book provided.

Edited October 12, 2022 by DianaB
Addition re quantities (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Yup - should work.

[tikidoc]

Amazon Prime Early Access sale has the 7 function Creami with 1 pint container for $129.99 (new - not refurbished). Today is the last day.

 

They also have extra pints for sale, but not shipping for a while. There is another company, Sophico, that sells knock-off pints with silicone lids (which I like better than the Ninja lids) that sells 2 pints with lids for $20, with 2 day shipping. I have a couple - jars are pretty much identical. If they start selling the lids separately, I’l probably replace my Ninja-brand lids. You can also often get a good deal on pints at Kohl’s.

[Raamo]

47 minutes ago, tikidoc said:

Amazon Prime Early Access sale has the 7 function Creami with 1 pint container for $129.99 (new - not refurbished). Today is the last day.

 

Thanks - ordered.  Good enough discount to make trying this worth it.

[DianaB]

Amazon Prime in the UK also has the Ninja Creami on offer today - £149.99 instead of the usual £199.00.  The sale has 7 hours left to go as I write..... 

[tikidoc]

5 hours ago, Raamo said:

 

Thanks - ordered.  Good enough discount to make trying this worth it.

It’s worth it. I use this thing almost every day. I add 1/4 tsp guar gum to all recipes.

 

These are always in the freezer, ready to spin:

Chocolate (made with Fairlife chocolate shake, cocoa, powdered espresso, almond milk to make a pint). This one is pretty dark chocolate flavored, so many would want a little more sweetener.

Passion fruit (half of a 14 oz. Bag of passion fruit purée, half a 14 oz. Fairlife vanilla shake, 1 tsp vanilla, allulose to taste, a little almond milk to make a pint)

Mango (16 ounce can unsweetened mango purée from Lidl)

Pineapple (16 ounce jar of pineapple chunks in juice from Trader Joe’s, blended)

 

Newest fave - I peeled and sectioned (and took membranes off the sections) two pink grapefruit. Throw sections in the blender. Add 1/4 tsp guar gum, a couple TB Campari, and allulose (or sugar) to taste. I like it tart, so I didn’t use much. I suppose you could just as easily use grapefruit juice, but I wanted to use the fruit and have the fiber in it. Freeze and spin on sorbet. 

 

I also recently made a sorbet of just honeydew melon, blended. It was a really sweet one but I’m the only one in the family who was eating it. The last quarter was a little soft, so I just blended and froze it. Super good, with nothing added but a little guar gum.

 

My husband also likes vanilla Fairlife shake with some frozen tart cherries and a little syrup from Amarena cherries on top. A bit sweet for my taste but I can see the appeal.

 

For someone trying to eat healthy/lose some (more) weight, this thing has been really wonderful. No matter what you put into it, the texture is decadent, so it feels indulgent even if it’s just straight fruit or a slightly doctored up protein shake (caveat - Fairlife is the only brand that I do not find nasty).

 

Absolutely worth every penny.

[EnriqueB]

22 hours ago, DianaB said:

Quite by chance I came across an app aimed at people with a Pacojet.  It is free to download so download I did and there are a number of recipes.  Screenshots of 2 are attached.  Might these work with the NC?  Quantities would of course need adapting. Has anyone here tried similar?  I’m wondering if the NC blades would cope given the warnings in the recipe book provided.

 

I would not try the first recipe. According to instructions you should not use the Creami with non-frozen food. Plus, it's a recipe for one of the extra blades that PacoJet includes (4-blade cutter), which don't have an equivalent in the NC.

 

The second recipe is probably fine, as it seems enough "ice-cream-like" to me.

[jedovaty]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:32 AM, blue_dolphin said:

 

Did you see this post from @paulraphael?  He summarizes a bunch of work he's done and includes a link to an article on his site with more information:  Vegan Ice Cream: It Can Actually Be Good!

I made this as written, except subbed maltodextrin for trehalose and half vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract; vanilla bean blended to oblivion in the vitamix with the cashews.  The base was pretty sweet and quite vanilla in flavor, it had quite a bit of froth on top.  The recipe filled two creami cannisters precicely.  The frozen cylinder had a little hill in the middle, see photo. 

Spun on "sorbet" setting after 24+ hours, and the resulting texture was close to a gelato, silky smooth, with a slight powder on the aftertaste.. probably cashew or vanilla bean.  It was strained through regular sieve, next time I might do so through a cloth filter despite how annoying that would be.

Hand-mixed with oreo cookies, it was my best attempt yet!  Comments from the family member with casein and egg allergies: "this is delicious.  I wish the base had a little more flavor".  I'm not sure what that means.  Perhaps he is used to the commercial oat-milk ice creams, and is missing that oatmilk flavor.  Hmm.

Part of me now wants to try variations with emulsifiers (polysorbate 80, mono/diglycerides), roasted cashews, unrefined coconut oil, cacao butter, etc.  I'm also wondering about changing the sugars to have a slightly softer product after chilling in the fridge.

One of these days I'll work on presentation so I could make scoops as pretty as @andrewk512 and @blue_dolphin make.  For now, it's everyone surrounding creami/talenti container with a spoon direct and double-dipping until gone 😛

Edited October 16, 2022 by jedovaty (log)

[Smithy]

No pictures, but I wowed the family last weekend with the non-dairy Coffee ice cream, a mango sorbet and a blend of the remnant chocolate and vanilla ice creams we hadn't finished before. In that last batch, I had two roughly half-sized containers, so allowed them to melt, then mixed them. I think my grandson will be buying one for his bride as a Christmas present. The non-dairy ice cream was a big hit because my DIL is lactose--intolerant. She went home with my old, large, old-fashioned ice cream maker that requires ice and rock salt, AND with the recipe for that coffee ice cream. I used oat milk instead of the specified rice milk because that's what I could find. We all loved it.

 

The mango sorbet (made from canned mango chunks) needed to be spun 3 times before it looked like sorbet; on the first two tried it had that funny granular appearance.

 

What I'm especially enjoying about this gadget is the ability to freeze many different flavors, have them lurking in the freezer, and pull them out on a whim.

[ElsieD]

@Smithy. For the mango sorbet, did you use only the canned mango sugar?  How sweet were they?

[Raamo]

So we started simple... just a jar of canned peaches.  Should I add some guar gum to this?  I'd have to order some since we have lots of modernist powders but not this.

 

 

This is day 2.  We seem to have to respin to get this good consistency.