Making Ice Cream at home

Hi,

Last week I went to a chef-to-chef training program at the College of DuPage sponsored by the French Commercial attache. Interesting program which attracted executive chefs from the likes of Allen Brothers as well as a Mr. Weber of Weber Grill.

One of the lectures was a dessert of plums cooked in wine with freshly made tarragon ice cream. I picked up a few tips on ice cream, which I thought some here might benefit from.

In the past, I have always made my base and simply proceeded to churn the ice cream. The Chef proposed once the base is made, then he puts it through a sieve to collect any congealed egg white. This chef advocated allowing the base to ripen for 24 hours in the refrigerator before churning. Just before churning, to emulsify the ice cream base once more. While he had an industrial wand emulsifier, our less powerful wand emulsifiers would also do. (They had a raffle afterwards where the prize was a wand emulsifier about 18 inches long with a value of $350 by Robot Coupe.)

Eventually I am supposed to get the recipe in the mail, so I may be able to update the following with more precise information. The Chef was discussing how the best ice cream has a custard or Creme Anglaise base. When they are freshly churned, they are very pliant. However, they freeze hard as a rock. He indicated with natural gums instead of egg yolks, this hard as a rock texture when frozen is much less of a problem.

I assume this natural gum isn't available to the home ice cream producer. Though if available, I'm not quite sure I would want to use it. Frankly I thought this freezing hard is not a big issue for the home producer if you simply allow the ice cream to thaw out a bit in advance of serving.

It's been a long while since I hauled out my ice cream maker. So my experience level is lagging at the moment. I'd be interested in knowing your tips for making ice cream at home and/or reliable books or internet resources for the same.

Thanks!

Regards,

I always use a touch of skim milk powder in my anglaise - it adds creaminess (through added protein) to the finished product. Alcohol and sugar (including corn syrup) can help the product remain softer at lower temperatures - but I wouldn't use them as a way to maintain easy-scoopability due to the way they impact flavor.

I never, ever use eggs in my ice cream. Cream, sugar, flavor. (I respectfully disagree with the teacher that eggs make for a better product, but this is a matter of taste.)

My only other suggestion is that, if you're using a churn that requires ice and salt, learn to adapt the ice and salt for each flavor so you can adjust the time it takes for the base to freeze, playing the texture against the flavor and ingredients. Apologies for sounding, well, as old as I am, but I distrust the newer machines that have little control over freezing time.

Bob,

I have an automatic ice cream maker with the freezer built in. I guess that is one which you wouldn't trust?

Regards,

Well, if you're offering me a taste of something you've made, I won't turn any down, by any means. But to me, it's like being able to control the flame under the skillet on the stove. I guess I'm just a control freak that way.

Bob -- can you explain what you mean by little control over freezing time in the automatic machines?

Cathy2 wrote:This chef advocated allowing the base to ripen for 24 hours in the refrigerator before churning.

I’m not really sure what the ripening process does, but my guess is it modifies the protein structure of the dairy product in a way that helps with the texture of the finished product. I do know that ripening is a common commercial practice.

Cathy2 wrote: The Chef was discussing how the best ice cream has a custard or Creme Anglaise base. When they are freshly churned, they are very pliant. However, they freeze hard as a rock. He indicated with natural gums instead of egg yolks, this hard as a rock texture when frozen is much less of a problem.

Actually, Philadelphia-style ice creams (i.e. without egg) typically freeze harder than Creme Anglaise/French-style/custard-style ice creams, since the proteins and lecithin from the eggs in custard ice cream help keep the ice crystals smaller and therefore result in a smoother texture and lower freezing point.

Gums can also help control the final consistency, but they’re certainly not necessary. The problem of freezing rock-hard is not that tough to control. Higher sugar levels, using corn syrup instead of cane sugar, adding liqueur to the base … all will lower the freezing point, and make the final product more scoopable direct from the freezer.

Lately, I’ve been making ice creams with a sour cream base – reasoning being 1) I like the added tangy flavor; and 2) the fat content of regular sour cream is just about ideal for premium ice cream, and much less brain power is required than making an ice cream from a mix of milk and cream. FWIW.

Queijo wrote:Bob -- can you explain what you mean by little control over freezing time in the automatic machines?

Well, the book that came with my machine -- the ice-and-rock-salt kind -- explained how to control the texture of the ice cream by varying the ice and salt (larger pieces of ice and less salt, respectively, mean a slightly warmer temperature and thus a smoother texture as more air is beaten in; a quicker freeze means a grainier texture with more ice crystals).

Typically, if I crush the ice and use a fair amount of salt, the base will churn for about a half-hour before it's too dense for the machine to continue; if I use back off on the salt and use larger pieces of ice, it'll run for about an hour.

I've never seen an automatic machine that offered any parallel level of control. I'd actually love to have one, since even with the motorized churn the model I have is still pretty labor-intensive.

nr706,

Last night I was flipping through the recipes at epicurious.com. They had ice creams with cream cheese and I remember last Thanksgiving MAG planned to make ice cream from creme fraiche. How would the use of cream cheese or creme fraiche affect the outcome?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:nr706,
Last night I was flipping through the recipes at epicurious.com. They had ice creams with cream cheese and I remember last Thanksgiving MAG planned to make ice cream from creme fraiche. How would the use of cream cheese or creme fraiche affect the outcome?
Regards,

I've never tried either, but I think both would be interesting directions to try. You've inspired me for my next batch.

I guess the only thing to keep in mind is the total fat content of your base - much over 18% and you get into the category of "greasy" ice cream. The fat content of both cream cheese and creme fraiche can be highly variable, but generally will be on the high side of what you want ... I'd suggest adding a little milk, do the math, and try to get back to the 16% - 18% fat range. (For reference, and these are numbers I haven't double-checked in a long time, the Haagen-Dazs base is 16% milkfat; the Ben & Jerry's base is 14%.)

BTW, did I mention in my previous post the beneficial effects of heating the base to around 180° F or so prior to cooling it down for ripening, for at least a few hours?

nr706 wrote:BTW, did I mention in my previous post the beneficial effects of heating the base to around 180° F or so prior to cooling it down for ripening, for at least a few hours?

No, but you have now! The Chef also suggested 'shocking' the warm base by cooling it down fast in a bath of ice cubes and water slush. Would there really be a difference between cooling something fast as opposed to simply letting the refrigerator do the deed?

BTW - I have quoted your current sig line a few times. It always gets a good laugh.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Last night I was flipping through the recipes at epicurious.com. They had ice creams with cream cheese and I remember last Thanksgiving MAG planned to make ice cream from creme fraiche. How would the use of cream cheese or creme fraiche affect the outcome?

The Joy of Ice Cream (Amazon link) has a recipe for lemon cheesecake ice cream that is perhaps the most popular flavor I've ever made. In the mid-'90s, I brought a batch into work; years later my boss was still talking about it. I highly recommend it; I'll see if I can post the essential details of the recipe tonight.

Cathy2 wrote:Would there really be a difference between cooling something fast as opposed to simply letting the refrigerator do the deed?

I can say with the utmost authority that I have no idea whether it would make a difference or not.

Be that as it may, my guess is the speed of cooling has a relatively minor impact on the final product compared to all the other variables. I think putting the heating vessel into a pot of ice water, then setting it into the refrigerator, would be fine.

I'm trying to remember what they did in Belvidere (where Dean makes its ice cream for this area) in terms of chilling the mix ... I know there wasn't any special attention paid to the equipment that did the chill ... unlike the hard freezers, where so many ice cream plants were bitching about not having spiral hard freezers. And then of course there were the sadistic plant managers, who took great delight in taking guys from the main office into the -40° storage room, conveniently forgetting to offer them parkas, and doing their best to make sure the tour through the freezer took as long as possible.

I have used cream cheese in ice cream in a recipe from one of Nigella Lawson's books. I wish I could tell you if it kept the ice cream from freezing too hard, but it disappeared too quickly.

I do use booze when making frozen yogurt, however. Specifically, vanilla stoli and maple syrup in a pear frozen yogurt, and it does seem to help it stay a little softer. Because it's my healthy dessert, nonfat with no processed sugar and all that, I don't use egg yolks.

When I make the good stuff, it's always a custard base. It's just the way I swing. I don't set it in the fridge for 24 hours, but I do let it cool down slowly to kitchen temp before I put it in the fridge, and leave it there for at least 6 hours.

From On Food and Cooking:

Ice cream is a foam that is stabilized by freezing much of the liquid. When examined under a microscope, it reveals four phases....

Each phase makes its own contribution to the character of the ice cream. The liquid (kept liquid primarily by the dissolved sugar, which lowers the freezing point) prevents it from being a solid block of ice, while the substances it carries bring flavor, nutritional value, and, in the case of the proteins, body and foaming aid. The solid ice crystals stabilize the foam by trapping the other phases in their interstices, and the fat provides richness, smoothness, and body. The air cells, though nothing in themselves, perform the important service of interrupting the solid and liquid phases, and so making the whole mixture softer and lighter. Ice cream without air cells is very difficult to scoop and bite into.

He goes on to say that rapid cooling of the base with constant movement helps prevent the creation of large ice crystals and thus produces a smoother product. Commercial producers can freeze the product in a matter of minutes and shoot in compressed air to bypass the slow process of creating overrun that us home makers have to endure.

He gives these tips for the home ice cream maker:

1) For ultra-rich ice cream that is also that also has enough air to be scoopable, he suggests adding condensed milk, half and half, or dry milk to the base to increase protein without diluting the product. But beware, because these can also raise the lactose levels and result in lactose crystals and grittiness.

2) Bring the base down to 40 degrees before churning for a faster freezing and to avoid turning some of the fat to butter.

3) For hardening, place in multiple pre-chilled containers for faster freezing.

4) Ice cream should be stored between -10 and 0 degrees and well-covered (I always use a layer of plastic wrap pressed against the ice cream and then use a lidded container). Partial thawings and freezings result in an icy texture.

btw, earlier in the chapter he talks about stabilizers, such as gums. This has been of some interest to me primarily for sorbets which don't have the benefit of proteins and fats and must rely on sugar and alcohol for their texture. He notes, as I've learned, that such things can help as a replacement for sugar or fat, but can also result in a gooey texture and an off-taste. Compare the texture of Haagen Daz, which only has cream, milk, sugar, and eggs, to something with stabilizers, like some Cold Stone ice cream, and the difference in texture is immediately apparent. btw, my experience is that too much sugar results in the same thing, plus makes it burn-your-throat sweet.

extramsg wrote:He goes on to say that rapid cooling of the base with constant movement helps prevent the creation of large ice crystals and thus produces a smoother product.

Excellent citation. But I should add that his reference to rapid cooling of the base refers (I believe) to the freezing process, not necessarily the cooling prior to ripening.

When I make the good stuff, it's always a custard base. It's just the way I swing. I don't set it in the fridge for 24 hours, but I do let it cool down slowly to kitchen temp before I put it in the fridge, and leave it there for at least 6 hours.

Yow!!! that's scary stuff. There are two reasons for shocking your base and cooling it within 2 hours of production:
1) hot base is an IDEAL temperature for bacteria to grow (between 41 and 140 degrees F is the "Danger Zone", according to HACCP). and if you bring the temp down quickly, you stand less of a chance of destroying your mix or, worst case, sickening your friends by bacterial contamination. Between 70 and 120 degrees is particularly favorable growing environment for bacteria;
2) if your anglaise is too hot, by straining into a bowl sitting in an ice bath, you immediately reduce the temperature and lessen your chances of curdling the base, which is another risk. No one likes scrambled eggs in their ice cream.

I'd advise against slowly allowing your base to cool from the perspective of food safety.

girlmoxie wrote:I do use booze when making frozen yogurt, however. Specifically, vanilla stoli and maple syrup in a pear frozen yogurt, and it does seem to help it stay a little softer. Because it's my healthy dessert, nonfat with no processed sugar and all that, I don't use egg yolks.

Commercial non-fat yogurt typically contains gelatin or other such 'thickening' agent, obviating the need for eggs...

An overview from The Professional Pastry Chef:

Typical Ice Creams: Frozen custards. Eggs must be "cooked" first.

Philadelphia Style: No eggs. No cooking necessary.

Gelato: Whole milk with little overrun (ie, a more dense, less airy product).

Fat: Provides the rich flavor. Too much doesn't allow for adequate overrun. Can also result in globules of butter being created resulting in a grainier texture. Using only cream, cheese, or white chocolate can cause this.

Sweeteners: Maple syrup, honey, etc, can be used in place of sucrose, however it should be reduced by about 20%. Remember that freezing will dull the sweetness so the custard should be sweeter than the desired result. Too much sugar can result in a product that never firms.

Eggs: Make a more smooth product and improve the body.

Churning: Cooling slowly overnight before churning results in a smoother product.

Additions: Most additions should be added after churning. Fresh fruits will freeze into ice chunks. Dried fruits should be macerated in alcohol to keep them from turning into ice chunks.

Queijo

I know about the safety zone! I was more interested in the cooling asap which extramsg just explained keeping the crystals smaller.

Since my ice cream machine has a freezer built-in, I have been known to pour hot-to-warm base straight into the processing bowl. Yes it took longer to process though it was still done in less than an hour.

Extramsg wrote:Gelato: Whole milk with little overrun (ie, a more dense, less airy product).

Overrun in this context, does it mean once it has uhhhh thickened, conjealed (not certain of the term for ice cream), you stop the paddle from turning? Whereas with other ice creams you will overrun to add air?

I really appreciate all this information. I can see people have spent quite a bit of time making ice cream.

Regards,

Incidentally, along with the aforementioned Joy of Ice Cream, which has a number of reliable premium ice cream recipes, I also like the more recent Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein, which has a large variety of savory ice cream recipes.

From Cook's Illustrated, the source I most often use since they're speaking to the home cook:

* Base must be chilled first to 40 degrees or lower. They use a ice water bath and stirring to bring down the temp quickly. They use an airtight container (I usually use the same bowl but put a layer of plastic wrap down over the base so it doesn't develop a skin). Too warm a base will result in butter flecks. Or with the canister models will result in the canister melting before the ice cream is finished.

* Over-churning can result in iciness or butter flecks with home makers as well. Once it reaches about 25 degrees or soft-serve consistency, it needs to go in the freezer for hardening. (I find that leaving it in the canister makes it stick to the sides later, but if I move it to a pre-chilled glass container, I get good results.)

* Ice cream is best served around 10 to 12 degrees. 30 minutes in the frig is about right.

* Fluctuations in home freezers result in a short shelf life (along with lack of preservatives) for homemade ice creams. Two days is about it. (I find the plastic wrap against the ice cream plus keeping my freezer below zero helps a lot.)

* The lecithin in egg yolks makes custard based ice creams better for the home cook. The yolks emulsify the product, helping distribute fat. Commercial Philadelphia style ice creams often use stabilizers and are made with machines that can inject air into the product. (In my experience, home made Philadelphia style ice creams nearly always come out icy.)

It goes on to the specifics of the recipe after that.

I've made a lot of ice creams now and a lot of odd ones. Best result was probably a green tea with chocolate chips that was easy and terrific. Weirdest and worst texture was probably a parmesan ice cream that I served with reduced port sauce. It was much too strong for everyone and if you do an odd savory item like this, I suggest keeping it very subtle. Buttery texture. A recent attempt was roasted corn ice cream that was good and had a great texture (I assume helped by the vegetables sugars and starches), but that reminded me too much of corn flakes with milk and sugar. Next up is either going to be a cardamon ice cream or a garam masala ice cream. Something using spices that's Indian in flavor.

The toughest thing for me is to get a consistent texture across flavors. It's easiest with things like spices, teas, herbs, etc, that add little but flavor to the base.

Cathy, I don't know how they make commercial gelato, but I imagine to keep the overrun low they could just more stir it than whip it in the freezing process.

Good info. Thanks.

I'm on a HACCP bender right now.

Churning: Cooling slowly overnight before churning results in a smoother product.

So do they make recommendations for temperate regulation, and cite particular temperatures at time intervals? Just curious.

I developed my own ice cream recipes (using eggs, always) for production in a batch freezer at one of the properties where I worked. I was preparing about 4 gallons of base at a time. I did not shock the base, but cooled it rapidly enough so that we would not be at risk of bacterial contamination (or souring). It did require some stirring and ice baths to cool down faster than the refrigerator could on its own. We never poured hot or warm base into the machine - the base always had to be made a day ahead.

And my ice creams? Creamy, smooth, no ice crystals.

As pointed out above, all inclusions were added post freeze. Ice cream was emptied from the machine when it could still flow (like soft serve) and inclusions were added at that point. We kept the ice creams around for a few days longer than ideal (I think they are best fresh, but we didn't have a Paco-Jet, sigh).

Should you wish to invest 2495 Euros in your Gelato Knowledge:

Professional Gelato Course in Italy

according to this website, there are 5 different kinds of gelato.

And even they have a module on food safety:

Overview of dangerous microorganisms and how to prevent development through proper handling and sanitation along the production process.

Cathy2 wrote:Since my ice cream machine has a freezer built-in, I have been known to pour hot-to-warm base straight into the processing bowl. Yes it took longer to process though it was still done in less than an hour.

You'll definitely get a better product by chilling - and aging - the base first (if you have the patience).

Extramsg wrote:Gelato: Whole milk with little overrun (ie, a more dense, less airy product).

Cathy2 wrote:Overrun in this context, does it mean once it has uhhhh thickened, conjealed (not certain of the term for ice cream), you stop the paddle from turning? Whereas with other ice creams you will overrun to add air?

Overrun is just the term (a noun, not a verb) for the amount of air in a finished ice cream; for the most part, 10% milkfat with 100% overrun (i.e. half the volume comes from air) is the minimum for a product commercially labeled as "ice cream." I have known ice cream plants that have exceeded these limits either accidentally or by design; for obvious reasons I won't identfy them.

In a home environment, I would think that stopping the paddle earlier - as long as the ice cream still has a soft-serve consistency - would prevent the overrun from increasing, making it denser, more gelato-like.

And, respectfully, I don't think Extramsg meant straight whole milk, unless it was boiled down, since whole milk by itself is only about 3.5% butterfat. I suppose you could freeze it and make something interesting, but it'd be closer to a sherbet than an ice cream.

Not to promote another site (especially one that has repeatedly been bastards to me and my friends), but there have been some really good threads in the pastry forums of eGullet on both sorbets and ice creams. Lots of professionals on the pastry forum and they get into the exact density of bases, the exact percentage of fats and sugar, etc. I wish I had the time and equipment to be that scientific. (Although for sorbets there is the floating egg test.)

Hi,

While on the subject of adding additions to ice cream. I love fudge ripple ice cream with a fudge/hershey-ish chocolate swirl introduced. When I buy the commercial version, well really when I can get away with it, I like to follow the fudge trail with my spoon. How can you add a flavor swirl to ice cream?

I'm sure it is obvious how-to though it hasn't been obvious to me.

Regards,

Fudge swirl: as you are removing the ice cream from your home machine (at the 'soft serve' stage) and placing it in your cold container, layer in a cold fudge sauce. Alternate layers until all the ice cream is in the container - they shouldn't be even, but it really won't matter, presuming you do not scoop ice cream exact layer by exact layer. Voila! I have a great fudge recipe adapted from my first ever Pastry Chef boss. He was a real wanker but had some good recipes.

Queijo wrote:Fudge swirl: as you are removing the ice cream from your home machine (at the 'soft serve' stage) and placing it in your cold container, layer in a cold fudge sauce. Alternate layers until all the ice cream is in the container - they shouldn't be even, but it really won't matter, presuming you do not scoop ice cream exact layer by exact layer. Voila! I have a great fudge recipe adapted from my first ever Pastry Chef boss. He was a real wanker but had some good recipes.

Damn - I was going to say essentially the same thing, and I got beat out.

Commercially, there are probes/nozzles that go down into the soft-serve-like ice creams (prior to hardening) to distribute the ribbbons, but that's not exactly anything anyone could do at home.