Ice Cream, Gelato, Sherbet--Cook-Off 11

[paulraphael]

No preserves ... that's the Alton Brown trick, right? The secret there is pectin, which works as a stabilizer (you could also just buy some pectin).

I ended up dealing with three different issues: body, stability (which basically means resistance to an icy texture, when it's fresh and especially when it's been in the freezer a few days), and freezing point suppression.

Body and freezing point suppression are handled really well by adding nonfat dry milk. I resisted this, because I always thought the stuff was gross, but when I saw pastry chefs like Pierre Herme and Michael Laiskonis using it with abandon, I gave in. It works brilliantly. A small amount of alcohol also helps with the freezing point.

For stability, the easy answer is to buy commercial ice cream stabilizer. This stuff is some blend of natural gums like guar, carageenan, and locust bean, and it's simple to use. I wanted to do it from scratch, though, so I wouldn't be dependent on a commercial product. Rather than using gums, which work in such tiny quantities that they're hard to measure for small batches, I ended up using a combination of the two oldest stabilizers: gelatin and corn starch. These are used in very small amounts, so there's no effect on the flavor, and the effect on the texture is a small but positive one. With the right amounts, ice cream lasts over a week in the fridge without deflating or getting icy.

Ice cream is such a personal thing ... everyone has their own idea of the perfect texture. The great thing about deconstructing the ingredients is that you can create your own perfect version. If you like the taste of a French custard base, your project will be easy. It's not my cup of tea, though, so I had to jump through a few hoops.

[tim]

HI,

I have been looking for a coconut sherbet/ice cream recipe. Andie Paysinger has a nice recipe for coconut sorbet in RecipeGullet that uses coconut milk, condensed milk and heavy cream/Mexican crema. Link to Coconut Sorbet

I have a few questions about the recipe and would appreciate your thoughts.

1. The recipe calls for boiling the coconut milk and condensed milk. The cream is added just before placing in an ice bath. What is the purpose of the heating? I do understand that heating the dairy products is done to denatu;re proteins but don't know the effect on the coconut milk and condensed milk.
   
2. Would it be appropriate to substitute sweetened coconut cream (Coco Lopez) for the condensed milk?
   

Are their any other recommendations for this ice cream/sherbet?

Thanks,

Tim

[TeakettleSlim]

Made a very nice curried brown butter cashew ice cream yesterday-- 4 Tbs butter, browned, then 1 Tbs curry powder toasted in the butter. Whisked in 1 c. each milk and cream, 4oz brown sugar, then tempered in 1/3 c. egg (from carton-- it's what I had). Whisked in 1/3 c. cashew butter and another 1/3 c or so of cream. It was very thick-- when it melts, it's almost more of a pudding. The cashew butter was a last-minute improvisation. If I make it again, I'll reduce both egg and cashew butter a bit. But the flavor is perfect. Made a burnt sugar coconut brittle to go with it. Yeah, I'm proud of myself.

I see that many ice cream recipes call for heating the milk, then once you've got the eggs and sugar and whatnot mixed in, stirring in some cream. What's the reason for adding cream at the end instead of throwing it all into the pan at the beginning?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2005 at 10:43 AM, lexy said:

Yes, this reminds me that Rose Levy Beranbaum swears by a touch of alcohol in home made ice cream to make a smoother, less icy product (you can use vodka if you don't want additional flavourings)

 

Time moves on and this advice is so last century.  I've been excited by the newly published Rose's Ice Cream Bliss.

[Smithy]

On 7/13/2020 at 11:06 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Time moves on and this advice is so last century.  I've been excited by the newly published Rose's Ice Cream Bliss.

 

So, does that mean she gave bad advice then, or that there are better techniques now, or tastes have changed, or...what?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

So, does that mean she gave bad advice then, or that there are better techniques now, or tastes have changed, or...what?

 

Take Fire and Ice, if you have a copy of The Cake Bible.  I made a batch a couple months ago.  The original recipe, which Rose says she developed in 1981, is softened by alcohol.  Fire and Ice in the just published Rose's Ice Cream Bliss contains no alcohol.

 

"My scientist husband once suggested that I add flavorless alcohol to my ice cream base because it would act as antifreeze and, when used judiciously, would keep the ice cream softer without it becoming too soft.  The problem with adding alcohol is that the ice cream tends to melt faster when removed from the freezer.  And too much alcohol would prevent the ice cream from getting firm enough.  So, in recent years, I have turned to glucose, an invert sugar similar to corn syrup, which thickens rather than thins the ice cream base, to accomplish softening."

 

And I would add that alcohol tastes like alcohol.  However nice that might be in a mai tai.

 

In the words of James Russell Lowell:  "New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth;"

 

 

[paulraphael]

The real drawback to alcohol is that it softens the ice cream—which means increasing the proportion of liquid water—but it doesn't do anything to help control that water. So you're more likely to get an icy texture.

 

Glucose and other sugars soften ice cream in the same way (and have the same effect on how fast ice cream melts). But they bind to water molecules and help hold them in place. They act like weak stabilizers. Not all sugars have equal powers here. Glucose is pretty good. Fructose (including the fructose in invert syrup) is even better. 

 

Ice cream not getting firm enough can be solved by building the right amount of freezing point depression into your formula—whether through sugars or other ingredients. You're looking for the sweet spot. If ice cream melts too fast, it can be for all kinds of reasons. Too much freezing point depression is one of them. So is weak foam structure, which means that the whipped cream component of the ice cream is unstable. This has many causes. It can also be because the liquid phase of the ice cream is too watery, which can be from a low solids content, or from understabilization.

[shain]

I have little experience with ice cream making, but I tend to agree alcohol is not the ideal way to soften it. I do however like making and eating granita, and there I do like a small amount of alcohol, precisely because I want it to melt in the mouth faster (which is not what I want from ice cream). Also, I'm not usually a fan of the flavor of alcohol in dairy ice cream.

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, Toryjay said:

I cant figure out in difference between sherbet and sorbet?!

Essentially, sorbet is fruit, sugar and water.  Sherbet has dairy.