Pacojet Competitor? The Ninja Creami

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I was surprised last night, when visiting one of my "good suppliers," that they now carry McConnel's!  I'm just waiting for Straus Creamery stuff to show up.

 

Of course, if I want to walk more than 3 minutes (like maybe 10 if I walk at my usual pace), then we're talking ice cream shops, from Morgenstern's, to Van Leeuwen, to my favorite, Il Laboratorio del Gelato.

 

Amazon will deliver McConnel's to me but they haven't figured out how to deliver it still frozen.

 

[weinoo]

16 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Amazon will deliver McConnel's to me but they haven't figured out how to deliver it still frozen.

 

 

For you, the solution is simple.  Just refreeze it, and spin - but make sure whatever you spin it on, is the right spin!

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

McConnels’ sweet cream is my go-to fresh fruit dessert base.   Like a little sponge cake, McC, hibiscus syrup.  Or lemon curd.   Corner store has Straus’ on sale at $4.99, month of October.   

Well, they're both much closer to you!

[ElsieD]

I went to my Mexican store today as they have frozen fruit purees and I wanted some to make ice cream, sorbet, whatever.   There was one I was not familiar with called mamey sapote;  is anyone familiar with it?  The others are passion fruit, papaya, blackberry, guava and mango.   They had a bunch of other ones but I couldn't make out what they were, so when I want some more, I'll bring my magnifying glass with me.  I wear glasses and I usually don't have a problem reading the fine print but I didn't know print could be that tiny.  I'm looking forward to playing with these.

 

[mgaretz]

On 10/19/2021 at 9:42 PM, mgaretz said:

I'm freezing and will spin again tomorrow. 

 

The second spin didn't really change anything.

[andrewk512]

On 10/21/2021 at 5:59 PM, ElsieD said:

I went to my Mexican store today as they have frozen fruit purees and I wanted some to make ice cream, sorbet, whatever.   There was one I was not familiar with called mamey sapote;  is anyone familiar with it?  The others are passion fruit, papaya, blackberry, guava and mango.   They had a bunch of other ones but I couldn't make out what they were, so when I want some more, I'll bring my magnifying glass with me.  I wear glasses and I usually don't have a problem reading the fine print but I didn't know print could be that tiny.  I'm looking forward to playing with these.

 

 

If it's Goya then the confusing labelled purees are all just fruit blends. Never tried sapote, the latin grocery store near me only stocks passion fruit puree, you should make something with it! Looks like it'd be better in an ice cream than a sorbet

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thanks to @blue_dolphin

 

 

Nik Sharma's blueberry omani ice cream.  I am partial to blueberries but I had never heard of omani, and I'd never tasted kefir.  I was not sure what to expect.

 

Haunting flavor, pleasant texture.  Maybe a hint of cream cheese on the palate.  However I can forgive it that.

 

Expectations far exceeded.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Expectations far exceeded.

I’m glad you liked it. Prior to trying this recipe, I’d only used dried limes in savory dishes but this sent me off into black lime cocktails and loomi tea and shortbread…

[ElsieD]

I mentioned upthread that the raspberry ice cream made from a recipe in Rose Levy Bernabaum's ice cream book was very soft after it was spun.  I had put it back in the freezer and we had some yesterday.  It was scoopable, held its shape and was delicious.  The raspberry flavour was intense, due no doubt, to straining the raspberries and reducing the juice.  Very pleased with it.  Odd, though, that the same thing happened with my Maple Gelato although I did realize after the fact that I had used the ice cream setting rather than the gelato one to spin it.  Whether that error had anything to do with the softness of the Maple gelato is anyone's guess.

[Smithy]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Thanks to @blue_dolphin

 

 

Nik Sharma's blueberry omani ice cream.  I am partial to blueberries but I had never heard of omani, and I'd never tasted kefir.  I was not sure what to expect.

 

Haunting flavor, pleasant texture.  Maybe a hint of cream cheese on the palate.  However I can forgive it that.

 

Expectations far exceeded.

 

 

 

I had to look up omani, and wade past the references to the sultanate and its people. Now that I have done so, I see that it's a treatment that can be given to lemons or limes (or, I presume, other citrus). What type of omani did you use? I bought black dried limes some time ago but haven't tried them.

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Smithy said:

What type of omani did you use? I bought black dried limes some time ago but haven't tried them.

 

I can't speak for @JoNorvelleWalker, but I used Omani limes, aka black limes, dried limes, limoo amani, loomi and who knows what else.  I have one packet (this one) that's lableled "Dry Lemon" while the only ingredient listed is, "baby limes."  Some are dark black, others are more of a tan or khaki color.  For this purpose, I think any of them will work.  

If one were purchasing only for the purpose of making this ice cream (where the dried lime is infused into the buttermilk or kefir), the crushed or coarsely ground product (like this) will work well.  There's also a finely ground product that will be difficult to strain out. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

I had to look up omani, and wade past the references to the sultanate and its people. Now that I have done so, I see that it's a treatment that can be given to lemons or limes (or, I presume, other citrus). What type of omani did you use? I bought black dried limes some time ago but haven't tried them.

 

Yes, limes.  Probably the same as what you have.  The recipe says to crack them only enough to open the skin, otherwise the ice cream becomes bitter.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I mentioned upthread that the raspberry ice cream made from a recipe in Rose Levy Bernabaum's ice cream book was very soft after it was spun.  I had put it back in the freezer and we had some yesterday.  It was scoopable, held its shape and was delicious.  The raspberry flavour was intense, due no doubt, to straining the raspberries and reducing the juice.  Very pleased with it.  Odd, though, that the same thing happened with my Maple Gelato although I did realize after the fact that I had used the ice cream setting rather than the gelato one to spin it.  Whether that error had anything to do with the softness of the Maple gelato is anyone's guess.

 

My guess is your freezer is not cold enough.

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

My guess is your freezer is not cold enough.

 

 

I checked the temperature of my freezer and it is 3 degrees F.  My raspberry ice cream is minus 3 degrees F.  I don't know why they would be different.  The manual says freezers should be between 9F and-7F so I figured I was more or less in the middle of that range.  FWIW I took the temperature with my Thermapen and my freezer is a stand-up Electrolux.  Should I turn it down some  more?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

I checked the temperature of my freezer and it is 3 degrees F.  My raspberry ice cream is minus 3 degrees F.  I don't know why they would be different.  The manual says freezers should be between 9F and-7F so I figured I was more or less in the middle of that range.  FWIW I took the temperature with my Thermapen and my freezer is a stand-up Electrolux.  Should I turn it down some  more?

 

I would aim for the lower end of the range.  I have my freezer set to -21C.  That was just perfect for the blueberry ice cream I spun last night.

 

 

[ElsieD]

40 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I would aim for the lower end of the range.  I have my freezer set to -21C.  That was just perfect for the blueberry ice cream I spun last night.

 

 

 

Thank you.  I've set it to -21C.

Edited October 24, 2021 by ElsieD (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Thank you.  I've set it to -21F.

 

That may be too cold.  I go with -7F, as Ninja recommends.

 

[blue_dolphin]

32 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I have my freezer set to -21C

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Thank you.  I've set it to -21F.

Note that you two are speaking different units. -21C is about -6F

[ElsieD]

7 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

That may be too cold.  I go with -7F, as Ninja recommends.

 

 

6 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Note that you two are speaking different units. -21C is about -6F

 

 

Oops.  That was a typo.  It is set at -21C, not F.  Thanks, though, for drawing it to my attention in case I had really set it to -21F.  

[andrewk512]

Back to making sorbets again, here is another watermelon sorbet test and some poor quenelle attempts with new spoons

 

This time I used maltodextrin to boost the solids content for a more creamy texture and I was very happy with it. I am going to try this technique with all watery fruits going forward

 

Final recipe is a combo of watermelon puree, sugar, glucose powder, cremodan, inulin, maltodextrin, citric and malic acid. Freeze to -18c and process on lite

 

Only thing left to work out is how to stop the color separation

 

 

Also went to the Latin grocery store and picked up some mamey, lulo, and tree fruit purees, never tried any but hopefully gonna make some sorbets with them. I went there to stock up on  passion fruit puree which is now disappointingly sold with seeds included

 

[mgaretz]

The latest batch was frozen in the big freezer and still came out like soft serve, so I think it's because I am using the lite ice cream cycle, so next time I will try the regular ice cream cycle.  I spun it about 4pm and put it back in the freezer,  Ate some at 7:30pm and it was firming up nicely with no hint of iciness.  I think it's going to be just right tomorrow tonight.  This recipe was modified back to 1 tbs of glycerin and I am using a stabilizer blend recommended by @paulraphael.

Edited October 27, 2021 by mgaretz (log)

[ElsieD]

On 10/22/2021 at 7:42 PM, andrewk512 said:

 

If it's Goya then the confusing labelled purees are all just fruit blends. Never tried sapote, the latin grocery store near me only stocks passion fruit puree, you should make something with it! Looks like it'd be better in an ice cream than a sorbet

 

These are not Goya.  The brands I have are La Fe, Canoa and SAS.   There are 2 more that I couldn't check because I can't find them (but I know the're in one of the freezers).  None of my purees or at least the ones I found have seeds and other than ascorbic acid, have nothing added to them.

[Smithy]

Earlier I reported that...

On 10/21/2021 at 7:43 AM, Smithy said:

 

I thawed some of the persimmon puree - I had to, to find out what it was - and then mixed it with pureed cherries to balance the flavor more to my liking. Sugar and lemon added some brightness to the mix; a little half-and-half went in to make it more like ice cream or at least sherbet. I'll spin it in the next few days and report back. If the texture or flavor aren't satisfactory, then I'm not out much from the experiment. If we like it, why then - I'll have a dessert that even Love's Creamery hasn't dreamed up yet!

 

I spun it tonight. I used the Sherbet setting, since it was more nearly sherbet than ice cream. It came out grainy, so I re-spun it. Maybe it smoothed slightly from the second spin.

 

 

Flavor pretty good, but the concoction has a grainy - not icy - texture. Adding a small amount of half-and-half helped slightly but didn't get rid of the sensation. I suspect, but am not sure, that the "grainy" texture is the tannic gritty mouth feel that comes of eating not-quite-ripe Hachiya persimmons*. If that's the case, there probaby isn't much to be done about it. Since we aren't sure what's causing that sensation, we think it's worth tweaking. I've added about 1/4 cup of half-and-half and mixed it enough to melt and level. It's going back into the freezer.

 

*That sensation is distinctive once you've experienced it, but hard to describe. Think of the gritty sensation you get on your tongue and teeth from eating a lot of spinach (yes, even if it's well washed) and you'll be on the right track. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Earlier I reported that...

 

I spun it tonight. I used the Sherbet setting, since it was more nearly sherbet than ice cream. It came out grainy, so I re-spun it. Maybe it smoothed slightly from the second spin.

 

 

Flavor pretty good, but the concoction has a grainy - not icy - texture. Adding a small amount of half-and-half helped slightly but didn't get rid of the sensation. I suspect, but am not sure, that the "grainy" texture is the tannic gritty mouth feel that comes of eating not-quite-ripe Hachiya persimmons*. If that's the case, there probaby isn't much to be done about it. Since we aren't sure what's causing that sensation, we think it's worth tweaking. I've added about 1/4 cup of half-and-half and mixed it enough to melt and level. It's going back into the freezer.

 

*That sensation is distinctive once you've experienced it, but hard to describe. Think of the gritty sensation you get on your tongue and teeth from eating a lot of spinach (yes, even if it's well washed) and you'll be on the right track. 

 

For spinach the sensation is oxalic acid etching the enamel from your teeth.

 

[mgaretz]

Here is the latest iteration after the initial spin and freezing overnight, but no respin of an kind.  Perfection!  Half the sugar, no discernable difference in taste vs full sugar.  Perfectly smooth and no iciness.  I owe a lot to @paulraphael for the stabilizer help!  This scooped easily direct from the freezer with just a teaspoon.  Shown over bananas.  Next I will try to reduce the sugar to 25% and see where we get.  For now the recipe is:

 

Neutral Base:

12 ozs plain, unsweetened almond milk

60 grams of sugar

60 grams of Whole Earth brand Erythritol/Monk Fruit Blend (Costco has it)

22 grams of 80% fat coconut oil powder (I use Nutricost brand)

1 tbs vegetable glycerin

1.5 grams stabilizer blend (2 parts carboxymethyl cellulose, 1 part guar gum, 1 part lambda carrageenan)

 

Flavoring for peanut butter salted caramel:

1 tbs Torani Classic Caramel Syrup

1/4 cup peanut butter powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

 

The dry ingredients should all be put into a bowl and thoroughly mixed to keep the stabilizer from clumping.  I put the liquid and then the dry ingredients into a blender and blend for 45 seconds on low setting. (On my BlendTec that's one press of the speed up button and let the cycle complete.)

 

For this one, the initial spin was done on the lite ice cream cycle, and the result was too soft, so required refreezing to harden up (like normal churned ice cream).  I believe that an initial spin on the normal ice cream cycle would have allowed it to be eaten immediately, but I will test that on the next batch.