Pacojet Competitor? The Ninja Creami

[blue_dolphin]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:50 PM, Anna N said:

I will be anxious to hear how the yoghurt-ginger works out especially with the added crystallized ginger. 

 

Here's the Fresh Ginger Frozen Yogurt from Dana Cree's Hello, My Name is Ice Cream.  Once it finished spinning, I used a spatula to make a space in the middle and dropped in the diced crystalized ginger, smoothed it over a bit and ran the mix-in cycle. 

Sorry for the crappy photo. I steamed slices of crystalized ginger to soften them up before dicing.  My goal was pleasantly chewy little nuggets, not alarming pebbles.

I achieved that goal. Hard to see here, but the cubes are intact, not pulverized and are pretty uniformly distributed.  I got 1 or 2 in each bite.  It's very ginger-y. The texture is fairly soft, as might be expected with 2 cycles of the machine, but perfectly scoop able.  

 

For the lemon ice cream, I spooned the ice cream out of the Ninja container ~ 1/3 at a time and spread it out in a plastic container, drizzling lemon curd over each layer like so:

This would probably work better with 2 pints in a larger container but some preliminary scoops suggest I can get a bit of lemon curd in each scoop, which is what I wanted.  It's very lemony. 

 

I've got half pints of straight chocolate and chocolate + Chartreuse freezing now.  

Edited November 17, 2021 by blue_dolphin
to add comments (log)

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Here's the Fresh Ginger Frozen Yogurt from Dana Cree's Hello, My Name is Ice Cream.

Thank you. I really like the idea of a couple of bits of crystallized ginger in every bite! Lemon curd ice cream is also most appealing!  

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Thank you. I really like the idea of a couple of bits of crystallized ginger in every bite! Lemon curd ice cream is also most appealing!  

 

Thanks!  I've previously put the little ginger bits into popsicles but it can be a challenge to keep them evenly distributed so I was pleased that this worked 

I'd like to try them in a pear sorbet or something like that. 

[mgaretz]

Respun the chocolate on the sorbet cycle to see what it would do.  Very dense but lovely texture.  Very gelato-like.  Still freezes up too hard though (but not any harder than most commercial ice cream).

[andrewk512]

Super happy with how this watermelon sorbet turned out, I think I've got the recipe dialed down.

 

366g watermelon chunks
0.75g malic acid
0.75g citric acid
73g sucrose
20g inulin
20g maltodextrin
1.5g cremodan 64
12g glucose powder

 

I've also got a koji sorbet base in the freezer right now (375g rice koji, 150g water, 37.5g sugar as per koji alchemy) and making amazake to try that as a possible sorbet. I am not sure if I posted my cacao nib koji sorbet here earlier but it was a total failure so I am hoping one of these rice koji bases will turn out.

 

 

[weinoo]

See - here's where I disagree...

 

I think of sorbet and think fruit and its juice, maybe a little water, sugar, lemon, and maybe a tablespoon of alcohol to enhance the fruit (e.g. Kirsch, apricot liqueur, etc.)

[Honkman]

Do you ever eat desserts (including sorbet) in restaurants ? If yes, you very likely will have eaten desserts with all of these ingredients (and much more). So why is it a problem when used at home ?

[rotuts]

''' 20g inulin '''

 

why ?

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, Honkman said:

Do you ever eat desserts (including sorbet) in restaurants ? If yes, you very likely will have eaten desserts with all of these ingredients (and much more). So why is it a problem when used at home ?

Simple. Home is home, and restaurants are restaurants.

[andrewk512]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

See - here's where I disagree...

 

I think of sorbet and think fruit and its juice, maybe a little water, sugar, lemon, and maybe a tablespoon of alcohol to enhance the fruit (e.g. Kirsch, apricot liqueur, etc.)

 

Ice cream preferences are so variable, we even see that different parts of the world have different texture preferences. I like your idea of sorbet for a hot summer day, or to pair with light ingredients like chunks of fruit etc. It will have a lighter and more refreshing taste. What I was going for with this recipe was something more denser and heartier, the texture is akin to a rich custard ice cream, and in that way it can pair with heavier ingredients, like an olive oil cake. It is also what I personally prefer and I saw it as a bit of a challenge to take something so watery and make it so dense.

 

Interestingly, the fruit content in this recipe is over 70%. If you look at the top watermelon sorbet recipes on google, they all have closer to 60%. By avoiding the addition of water, and using powdered acids, the fruit content can be maximized. I think a lot of recipes use water for it's cost and convenience benefits.

 

Using lower ratios of multiple different texture agents also helps minimize any potential of their impact on flavor. I don't think they are 100% necessary, but they are fun to play with and create new products that conventional techniques would not be able to

 

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

''' 20g inulin '''

 

why ?

 

http://icecreamscience.com/why-is-inulin-used-in-ice-cream/

 

It's a game changer for improving texture and richness in sorbets, especially with thin ingredients.

[mgaretz]

46 minutes ago, andrewk512 said:

It's a game changer for improving texture and richness in sorbets, especially with thin ingredients.

 

What inulin are using?

[palo]

At this point we should perhaps look at creating a sub topic devoted to the Ninja Modernist applications and separate out the ingredients not commonly found in the grocery store.

 

I look at the recipe and see "20g inulin" and find on Amazon it's $16 for 227g really expensive for its use in this instance and it's listed as a health care product so I'm not even sure it's the right product for this application. I don't mind experimenting but having to have a chemical lab handy is not my goal. Other than the watermelon everything else in the recipe will require some effort to source.

 

Don't get me wrong the recipe will probably produce an excellent sorbet which is probably better than what is available commercially, but some of us would be satisfied by a lesser quality, more easily attainable result.

 

p

[weinoo]

Cook's Illustrated July/August 1995 published an article about sorbets. It has pretty much been my go-to for the last 26 years.

 

Sorbets.pdf

 

Would it fly at Le Bernardin? Probably not - but then again, my meal isn't costing $700+ for the two of us, when I cook at home (unless I've gone crazy with Regalis!)

 

And really, I can get some pretty creamy sorbets w/o anything but the 4 or 5 ingredients I mentioned...

 

[andrewk512]

7 hours ago, mgaretz said:

 

What inulin are using?

https://www.qualifirst.com/food/sugar-sweeteners/inulin-powder-m

 

6 hours ago, palo said:

At this point we should perhaps look at creating a sub topic devoted to the Ninja Modernist applications and separate out the ingredients not commonly found in the grocery store.

 

I look at the recipe and see "20g inulin" and find on Amazon it's $16 for 227g really expensive for its use in this instance and it's listed as a health care product so I'm not even sure it's the right product for this application. I don't mind experimenting but having to have a chemical lab handy is not my goal. Other than the watermelon everything else in the recipe will require some effort to source.

 

Don't get me wrong the recipe will probably produce an excellent sorbet which is probably better than what is available commercially, but some of us would be satisfied by a lesser quality, more easily attainable result.

 

p

 

It's costed out to 82 cents per pint, Canadian

 

 

Didn't intend to create such a controversial post by listing out my recipe, was just sharing something I made in the Ninja Creami

 

[weinoo]

9 minutes ago, andrewk512 said:

Didn't intend to create such a controversial post

It’s not at all controversial; I just enjoy presenting other points of view.  I don’t think any is more right than the other.

[palo]

17 minutes ago, andrewk512 said:

 

Didn't intend to create such a controversial post by listing out my recipe, was just sharing something I made in the Ninja Creami

 

No criticism  of you or your recipe intended - my comment was only directed at the exoticness (?) of some of the ingredients, but that's my problem not yours.

 

p

[blue_dolphin]

6 hours ago, palo said:

At this point we should perhaps look at creating a sub topic devoted to the Ninja Modernist applications and separate out the ingredients not commonly found in the grocery store.

 

I look at the recipe and see "20g inulin" and find on Amazon it's $16 for 227g really expensive for its use in this instance and it's listed as a health care product so I'm not even sure it's the right product for this application. I don't mind experimenting but having to have a chemical lab handy is not my goal. Other than the watermelon everything else in the recipe will require some effort to source.

 

Don't get me wrong the recipe will probably produce an excellent sorbet which is probably better than what is available commercially, but some of us would be satisfied by a lesser quality, more easily attainable result.

 

p

 

The Ninja Creami is already an odd duck in that it appeals to those who've wished for a Pacojet for their well-stocked home laboratories as well as folks quite happy to make desserts from artificially sweetened and flavored non-dairy coffee creamers. You can get your Micellar Casein, Maltodextrin, Carrageenan. Sucralose, and Acesulfame from speciality supply houses or in a bottle of Coffee Mate from the grocery store 🤣  I'm a rank beginner when it comes to ice cream so there's much for me to learn from both grocery store and speciality ingredients. I'm here for all of it!

[blue_dolphin]

Saw a recipe online for a double dark chocolate ice cream.  It called for 1 c milk, 2 c whipping cream, 1/2 c dark cocoa and 10 oz dark chocolate, among other ingredients.  Sounded to me like a brick so I decided to approximate @paulraphael's very well thought out chocolate ice cream.  I had to make a lot of ingredient substitutions so it's probably better to say that I've used his method rather than his recipe. 

For ~ a pint sized batch, I used: 

235g whole milk

35g Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder (instead of the excellent quality cocoa specified)

52g sugar (replacing the recipe's mix of dextrose & fructose which would have much better freezing point depression)

0.6g salt

3/4t Avacream (replacing a blend of locust bean gum, guar gum and carrageenan)

45g Trader Joe's 72% cacao dark chocolate (replacing the high quality bittersweet chocolate specified)

120g heavy cream

5g vanilla

 

I omitted the soy lecithin in the recipe as I don't have it.  Considered trying to add some egg white but decided to just skip it. 

 

I followed his method, scraping the mix into 2 Ninja Creami containers (~ 1/2 pint each) and freezing overnight.   One container got a tablespoon of Chartreuse mixed in before freezing. 

The straight chocolate was likely too hard due to my sugar subs and maybe the stabilizers, too.  It looked very powdery after the first spin on the ice cream cycle.  Even after a re-spin, this is what it looked like:

 

The one with added Chartreuse was perfect.  I elected to thaw the straight chocolate mix, stir in a tablespoon of the unsweetened "creme de cacao" that I'd made by infusing cacao nibs in vodka for several weeks (or months?  can't remember), then refreeze and respin.  It came out perfectly.  I think the cacao nib alcohol rounded out the flavor as well as lowering the freezing point.  

This was just what I wanted. Dark chocolate flavor, kind of like a rich ganache that melts almost instantly in your mouth. 

The Chartreuse version was also very good, although in a side-by side taste test, I preferred the straight chocolate with a small glass of Chartreuse to sip in between bites!

I'll make this again.  

 

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by blue_dolphin (log)

[andrewk512]

The combo with chartreuse looks really interesting! Have been wanting to try that combination of ingredients for a while

[blue_dolphin]

4 minutes ago, andrewk512 said:

The combo with chartreuse looks really interesting! Have been wanting to try that combination of ingredients for a while

I adore the combination of Chartreuse and dark chocolate. The Verte Chaud (hot chocolate + Chartreuse) might be better for the upcoming season but the ice cream was good, too.  So's just sipping Chartreuse and nibbling dark chocolate!

[ElsieD]

@blue_dolphin  You make the most interesting things!

[Gordo]

On 11/17/2021 at 4:37 PM, blue_dolphin said:

 

Here's the Fresh Ginger Frozen Yogurt from Dana Cree's Hello, My Name is Ice Cream.  Once it finished spinning, I used a spatula to make a space in the middle and dropped in the diced crystalized ginger, smoothed it over a bit and ran the mix-in cycle. 

Sorry for the crappy photo. I steamed slices of crystalized ginger to soften them up before dicing.  My goal was pleasantly chewy little nuggets, not alarming pebbles.

I achieved that goal. Hard to see here, but the cubes are intact, not pulverized and are pretty uniformly distributed.  I got 1 or 2 in each bite.  It's very ginger-y. The texture is fairly soft, as might be expected with 2 cycles of the machine, but perfectly scoop able.  

 

For the lemon ice cream, I spooned the ice cream out of the Ninja container ~ 1/3 at a time and spread it out in a plastic container, drizzling lemon curd over each layer like so:

This would probably work better with 2 pints in a larger container but some preliminary scoops suggest I can get a bit of lemon curd in each scoop, which is what I wanted.  It's very lemony. 

 

I've got half pints of straight chocolate and chocolate + Chartreuse freezing now.  

 

Wow these two look amazing!  And it so happens that lemon and ginger are two of my wife's favourites so seeing this makes me think she will really be happy with the Creami Christmas gift.  I feel like trying it out already but giving her an unboxed lamely washed machine probably wouldn't go over too well!  

 

Truth is though, I'm a little concerned about how much our calorie intake is going to rise when we start eating ice cream more regularly which we no doubt will do.  Trying to keep off the pounds this winter will be a challenge.  Will need to explore the lower calorie/lower sugar recipes or I see more exercise bike in my future!

 

 

[Anna N]

51 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@blue_dolphin  You make the most interesting things!

I was thinking exactly the same thing. 

[blue_dolphin]

I'll take "interesting" as a compliment, thank you! 

I've been having a lot of fun playing around with this gadget.  As mentioned, I'm an ice cream-making novice but the small batch sizes are perfect for playing around. 

So far, the only downside is my own personal consumption of these treats!

 

I ate the rest of the fresh ginger frozen yogurt yesterday. Here's a photo that better shows the incorporation of the crystalized ginger bits:

 

The lemon ice cream with lemon curd is gone, too.  I'm going to try making a honey & thyme frozen yogurt mix today. 

[ElsieD]

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I'll take "interesting" as a compliment, thank you! 

I've been having a lot of fun playing around with this gadget.  As mentioned, I'm an ice cream-making novice but the small batch sizes are perfect for playing around. 

So far, the only downside is my own personal consumption of these treats!

 

I ate the rest of the fresh ginger frozen yogurt yesterday. Here's a photo that better shows the incorporation of the crystalized ginger bits:

 

The lemon ice cream with lemon curd is gone, too.  I'm going to try making a honey & thyme frozen yogurt mix today. 

 

Definitely complimentary!  And here I am, thinking I was being daring using kefir.