Why am I screaming for Ice Cream again?
July 2, 2014 6:38 AM Subscribe
NYT Dining & Wine's Ice Cream Issue:
- The Only Ice Cream Recipe You’ll Ever Need (video) (recipe)
- Ever True to You, Local Parlor – A Cone to Remember
- Chocolate Ganache, an Easygoing French Treat (video) (recipe)
- You Say Soft, I Say Serve
- At Morgenstern’s Finest, a Swirl of Innovation
- A Crush of Summer Flavors
- A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Scoop
- A Malted Milk Crawl in New York
Having said that, I can testify that the recipe in the first link is excellent, and that chocolate ganache is delicious and a surprisingly easy thing to do consistently well. Just don't rush either of them.
posted by mhoye at 6:55 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by mhoye at 6:55 AM on July 2, 2014
I'm a big fan of chocolate malts (as opposed to a plain shake) but, holy cow, is it hard to find a place that makes them right (at least around here) The last chocolate malt I got (at our local Dairy Queen...I know, I know) it tasted like they decided to use half the entire can of malt powder, and none of it was incorporated enough to remove the sand-like effect of undissolved powder.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:58 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 6:58 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yum! Thanks for these delicious links!
posted by pointystick at 7:10 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by pointystick at 7:10 AM on July 2, 2014
Is "mouth feel" a registered metafilter name? Just wondering.
posted by Fizz at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is wonderful. The dawn of a new era.
Spoons for all!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
Spoons for all!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
* pulls up chair, settles in to watch this thread closely *
So I'm a bit of an ice cream-making fiend.
When I was in college, Ben and Jerrys' had this nationwide contest in all its scoop shops, whereby anyone who managed to finish off an entire Vermonster sundae - either alone or as part of a team - qualified to have their names entered into a drawing for a gift basket, and the winners at each scoop shop would be entered into the grand prize drawing (a tour of the plant). There were six of us, and it took us two hours to get through it (....go read the recipe at the link); and I ended up winning our shop's drawing. The basket had some random Vermont food products - cheese, soda crackers, organic maple syrup - and some Ben and Jerry's merchandise as well; t-shirt, hat, bumper sticker...and, finally, the Ben and Jerry's cookbook. "....I can make my own Chunky Monkey now," I realized estatically, and one of my first purchases when I graduated college was an ice cream maker. I still have the cookbook, even though it's beat to shit and pages are falling out and you can see where I spilled some lime daquiri sorbet mixings on it.
And then I had a big trip to Italy last year, and while I was there I signed up for a cheeseball "pizza and gelato class" at a cooking school in Florence. That same day I learned Florence was having a week-long gelato festival, so I'd already spent the whole day in a happy daze having scoops of new funky flavors from various artisinal gelaterias - I remember this really intense coffee (made from single-origin coffee beans), something with chocolate shards and candied orange peel, and this intense pumpkin-spice ice cream with chopped nuts and a blueberry sauce swirl. (I am already planning how to mix up batches of that, only using cranberry sauce instead of blueberry, for a Thanksgiving dessert.) I threw a pizza-and-gelato dinner party when I got home for friends. But the cioccolato fondante from the class....yow. Loads of cocoa, milk, cream, and sugar, and that was it. So much cocoa powder that it felt a tiny bit grainy at first taste, before the butterfat smoothed everything away...I dream about that stuff.
The only problem with the maker I had was that it's the kind where you have a big-ass churn you freeze in its entirety, and you only pull it out of the freezer when you're right about to mix up the batch. It's bulky, you need to allow 24 hours in advance to let the churn freeze, and it takes up way too much room in the freezer. You also are left with a quart, and homemade ice cream isn't as good after a day (edible, but not as transcendent) so a single eater faces a long slog after each batch. But then my current object d'schmoop tipped me off to a smaller-batch maker - it makes only a half-pint in each churn, and it has TWO churns, so you can make a whole pint. (Or less.) The churns take up way less room and freeze much quicker.
And I have been going fucko bazoo over this. I've had this big backlog of frozen fruit in my freezer that I got a couple years ago in some misguided belief I was going to make smoothies for breakfasts (I never did) - lately I've been using it up with dishes of sorbets each night for dessert and doing all sorts of funky experimenting ("ooh, lemme try strawberry-kiwi! Oh, lemme throw some rhubarb in the cherry! Oh, hey, mango and papaya would work awesome! Oh, wait, lemme spike the peach sorbet with bourbon!"), and at some point I intend to dig out the pamphlet from the gelato class and make the cioccolato fondante again.
....I've also found myself eyeing the cookbook my current favorite ice cream shop just released....and I've also signed up for yet another ice cream course. I'm starting to think I either have a problem or an obsession.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [19 favorites]
So I'm a bit of an ice cream-making fiend.
When I was in college, Ben and Jerrys' had this nationwide contest in all its scoop shops, whereby anyone who managed to finish off an entire Vermonster sundae - either alone or as part of a team - qualified to have their names entered into a drawing for a gift basket, and the winners at each scoop shop would be entered into the grand prize drawing (a tour of the plant). There were six of us, and it took us two hours to get through it (....go read the recipe at the link); and I ended up winning our shop's drawing. The basket had some random Vermont food products - cheese, soda crackers, organic maple syrup - and some Ben and Jerry's merchandise as well; t-shirt, hat, bumper sticker...and, finally, the Ben and Jerry's cookbook. "....I can make my own Chunky Monkey now," I realized estatically, and one of my first purchases when I graduated college was an ice cream maker. I still have the cookbook, even though it's beat to shit and pages are falling out and you can see where I spilled some lime daquiri sorbet mixings on it.
And then I had a big trip to Italy last year, and while I was there I signed up for a cheeseball "pizza and gelato class" at a cooking school in Florence. That same day I learned Florence was having a week-long gelato festival, so I'd already spent the whole day in a happy daze having scoops of new funky flavors from various artisinal gelaterias - I remember this really intense coffee (made from single-origin coffee beans), something with chocolate shards and candied orange peel, and this intense pumpkin-spice ice cream with chopped nuts and a blueberry sauce swirl. (I am already planning how to mix up batches of that, only using cranberry sauce instead of blueberry, for a Thanksgiving dessert.) I threw a pizza-and-gelato dinner party when I got home for friends. But the cioccolato fondante from the class....yow. Loads of cocoa, milk, cream, and sugar, and that was it. So much cocoa powder that it felt a tiny bit grainy at first taste, before the butterfat smoothed everything away...I dream about that stuff.
The only problem with the maker I had was that it's the kind where you have a big-ass churn you freeze in its entirety, and you only pull it out of the freezer when you're right about to mix up the batch. It's bulky, you need to allow 24 hours in advance to let the churn freeze, and it takes up way too much room in the freezer. You also are left with a quart, and homemade ice cream isn't as good after a day (edible, but not as transcendent) so a single eater faces a long slog after each batch. But then my current object d'schmoop tipped me off to a smaller-batch maker - it makes only a half-pint in each churn, and it has TWO churns, so you can make a whole pint. (Or less.) The churns take up way less room and freeze much quicker.
And I have been going fucko bazoo over this. I've had this big backlog of frozen fruit in my freezer that I got a couple years ago in some misguided belief I was going to make smoothies for breakfasts (I never did) - lately I've been using it up with dishes of sorbets each night for dessert and doing all sorts of funky experimenting ("ooh, lemme try strawberry-kiwi! Oh, lemme throw some rhubarb in the cherry! Oh, hey, mango and papaya would work awesome! Oh, wait, lemme spike the peach sorbet with bourbon!"), and at some point I intend to dig out the pamphlet from the gelato class and make the cioccolato fondante again.
....I've also found myself eyeing the cookbook my current favorite ice cream shop just released....and I've also signed up for yet another ice cream course. I'm starting to think I either have a problem or an obsession.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2014 [19 favorites]
Fuck soft serve. Seriously. Also fuck styrofoam-textured "cake" cones. Double-fuck soft-serve frozen yogurt.
I do love me some malted milk, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:14 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I do love me some malted milk, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:14 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Is it worth having an ice cream maker at your house? Or is that one of those appliances you think will be fun but it ends up being a huge PITA to use and clean and it just gathers dust?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:18 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:18 AM on July 2, 2014
We have one and go through spurts of using it. It's a bitch to keep the tub in the freezer. Plus I prefer a custard base, and I hate having all those extra whites around. In conclusion, owning an ice cream maker is a land of contrasts.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:24 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by uncleozzy at 7:24 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
TPS - it is worth it, but look into the half-pint maker to start maybe - they're hella-cheap and take up way less room in the freezer. If you get one of those and find that you use the hell out of it, then maybe upgrade to the bigger one. If the half-pint size works for you, then...you're all set.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:27 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:27 AM on July 2, 2014
EC, what is the smaller batch maker? What is the cioccolato fondante gelato recipe? Stop teasing me.
Luckily I prefer the non-custard base, so it's not such a big deal to make. It's as easy to clean as a bowl, but it does take up a lot of freezer space.
posted by jeather at 7:28 AM on July 2, 2014
Luckily I prefer the non-custard base, so it's not such a big deal to make. It's as easy to clean as a bowl, but it does take up a lot of freezer space.
posted by jeather at 7:28 AM on July 2, 2014
EC, what is the smaller batch maker? What is the cioccolato fondante gelato recipe? Stop teasing me.
:-) I gave a link to the smaller-batch one above; I'm at work and don't recall the gelato recipe, but I do remember that a quart-sized batch called for an entire cup of cocoa powder. It's not too far off the "master ice cream recipe" above, only leaving out the eggs. (I can check when I get home.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:31 AM on July 2, 2014
:-) I gave a link to the smaller-batch one above; I'm at work and don't recall the gelato recipe, but I do remember that a quart-sized batch called for an entire cup of cocoa powder. It's not too far off the "master ice cream recipe" above, only leaving out the eggs. (I can check when I get home.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:31 AM on July 2, 2014
Hand cranked ice cream is a bit of a tradition in Mrs. Mosley's family. Her grandfather gave us a (manual) White Mountain Ice Cream Maker for a wedding gift eleven years ago. On our annual summer trip to see the family in North Carolina, everyone who has one brings it and at least one evening will be dedicated to making some (Butterfinger is the favorite flavor among her clan). It's a lot of work to crank, but divided up between two dozen people, it's a lot of fun.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:32 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:32 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh, just noticed that the maker I link to says it's a "soft serve ice cream maker" - however, technically, any ice cream you make in any homemade churn like that is gonna be soft serve immediately after you churn it. If you're looking for more of a hard ice cream experience, just scoop it into a container and put it back in the freezer for another hour or so.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:34 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:34 AM on July 2, 2014
ThePinkSuperhero, kids love working an ice cream maker, especially if you let them invent their own flavors. They also love making their own popsicles, ditto.
I go through phases of making ice cream or sorbet when people come over and just freeze the canister ahead of that. We do the actual ice cream freezing while people are having after-dinner drinks.
posted by BibiRose at 7:36 AM on July 2, 2014
I go through phases of making ice cream or sorbet when people come over and just freeze the canister ahead of that. We do the actual ice cream freezing while people are having after-dinner drinks.
posted by BibiRose at 7:36 AM on July 2, 2014
I bought an ice cream maker the same time my chickens started laying eggs. I love my ice cream maker so much. In fact. I think I will make ice cream tonight.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:41 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sophie1 at 7:41 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hand cranked ice cream is a bit of a tradition in Mrs. Mosley's family.
Mine, too. We had an old one that looked like it came over on the Mayflower, and it got most of its use during berry season. Reading this thread, I ca close my eyes and hear the grinding noises it made.
Grandpa converted their hand-cranker to electric by making a fitting for his electric drill where the crank hooks on. Somehow he had it rigged so you could either use the drill or put the crank back on. I guess it depended on how strong the ice cream craving was.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:47 AM on July 2, 2014
Mine, too. We had an old one that looked like it came over on the Mayflower, and it got most of its use during berry season. Reading this thread, I ca close my eyes and hear the grinding noises it made.
Grandpa converted their hand-cranker to electric by making a fitting for his electric drill where the crank hooks on. Somehow he had it rigged so you could either use the drill or put the crank back on. I guess it depended on how strong the ice cream craving was.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:47 AM on July 2, 2014
You Say Soft, I Say Serve
I say creemee, actually. Preferably maple.
PS: If you make a lot of ice cream, you can get large(r) quantities of cream at Costco for cheaper than the grocery store.
posted by maryr at 7:48 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I say creemee, actually. Preferably maple.
PS: If you make a lot of ice cream, you can get large(r) quantities of cream at Costco for cheaper than the grocery store.
posted by maryr at 7:48 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread has just encouraged me to consider another experiment - I have some raspberries I need to use up and I was going to make a simple raspberry fool with them.
But...what if I made the fool...and then ran it through the baby ice cream maker??
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on July 2, 2014
But...what if I made the fool...and then ran it through the baby ice cream maker??
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on July 2, 2014
But where in NYC can I get real крем брюле ice cream in a real стаканчик? All I saw in Brighton Beach was vanilla and shit!
posted by prefpara at 7:57 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by prefpara at 7:57 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ice cream is one food where I sometimes prefer blog recipes over printed cookbooks (although I have, like, five ice cream cookbooks). The advantage is that on blogs, usually the writer has actually made the recipe, and you can read comments from readers who have made it either successfully or not...so you can get a sense whether it's a real recipe or just somebody's optimistic guess. Sometimes recipes are lies, and I've found this especially true with desserts.
Right now my freezer is broken, but my most recent batch of ice cream was a couple weeks ago: roasted strawberry ice cream. Personally I felt the custard and vanilla overwhelmed the fruit in the ice cream, but my girlfriend loved its complexity. Also, the "roasted strawberries" part of the recipe makes a great dessert topping. (Use Real Butter is a great blog and I am jealous of her photo skills.)
posted by cribcage at 7:58 AM on July 2, 2014
Right now my freezer is broken, but my most recent batch of ice cream was a couple weeks ago: roasted strawberry ice cream. Personally I felt the custard and vanilla overwhelmed the fruit in the ice cream, but my girlfriend loved its complexity. Also, the "roasted strawberries" part of the recipe makes a great dessert topping. (Use Real Butter is a great blog and I am jealous of her photo skills.)
posted by cribcage at 7:58 AM on July 2, 2014
I have the attachment set for the Kitchenaid mixer, because I am loathe to own any single-use kitchen thing. Works well, but like any other maker, takes freezer room.
Though it's not as versatile, the NYT made a grievous oversight in omitting buttermilk ice cream which really is all I need. Sometimes with chocolate chips, sometimes without, fruit goes well, but - heartbreakingly good just plain.
posted by Dashy at 7:59 AM on July 2, 2014
Though it's not as versatile, the NYT made a grievous oversight in omitting buttermilk ice cream which really is all I need. Sometimes with chocolate chips, sometimes without, fruit goes well, but - heartbreakingly good just plain.
posted by Dashy at 7:59 AM on July 2, 2014
Is it worth having an ice cream maker at your house?
OH HELL YES.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:09 AM on July 2, 2014
OH HELL YES.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:09 AM on July 2, 2014
For those who want something smaller that makes a little less (and is a bit more fun), try a ball ice cream maker. Put in the ingredients, give it to a couple of hyper toddlers and TA DA!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:13 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:13 AM on July 2, 2014
Regarding ice cream makers, if you get serious then set up some search criteria on eBay to find one with a built-in compressor. I have a wonderful Italian Musso Lussino that I bought on eBay for about $100 (they retail for $700 and up). It's great because it only takes 20 minutes, you don't need to keep the cannister in the freezer and it makes awesome frozen drinks too. But damn, it's loud.
posted by carmicha at 8:13 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by carmicha at 8:13 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
After the Ben & Jerry's Cookbook (*insert sound of heavenly chorus here*) -- Blessed Be Its Name, Though Flimsy Be Its Binding -- David Lebovitz's book "the Perfect Scoop" has good recipes.
I am lazy so I do the B&J's Sweet Cream Base, but I use the combinations of flavors that Lebovitz suggests. His recipe for Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream is probably my favorite, having dislodged the old champion (the Alberta Peach flavor that I gobbled whenever it showed up at the Haagen-dazs where I worked as a kid).
posted by wenestvedt at 8:15 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I am lazy so I do the B&J's Sweet Cream Base, but I use the combinations of flavors that Lebovitz suggests. His recipe for Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream is probably my favorite, having dislodged the old champion (the Alberta Peach flavor that I gobbled whenever it showed up at the Haagen-dazs where I worked as a kid).
posted by wenestvedt at 8:15 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have a wonderful Italian Musso Lussino that I bought on eBay for about $100 (they retail for $700 and up).
*gasp*
I have been hinting to family that I would like one with a compressor someday as a big-spendy Christmas/birthday gift, but this makes it a lot more within reach.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
*gasp*
I have been hinting to family that I would like one with a compressor someday as a big-spendy Christmas/birthday gift, but this makes it a lot more within reach.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:15 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
... perhaps those of us in brooklyn should start thinking about an ice cream making meetup?
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 8:18 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 8:18 AM on July 2, 2014
Musso Lussino that I bought on eBay for about $100
Buh?? Wow. I would buy the hell out of one at that price.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:26 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Buh?? Wow. I would buy the hell out of one at that price.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:26 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
For a chocolate custard base, I like Alton Brown's version (8 yolks). I mess around with the cream proportions and sometimes mix the cocoa powder with melted good quality baker's chocolate. Last night I made chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream using dark chocolate chunks. Delish.
posted by carmicha at 8:26 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by carmicha at 8:26 AM on July 2, 2014
The Musso Lussino was missing its directions, which probably lowered the "Buy It Now" price but was nothing a little Googling couldn't cure. It was probably another $30 to ship.
posted by carmicha at 8:27 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by carmicha at 8:27 AM on July 2, 2014
Some day I will use the egg whites to make meringues or meringue bowls.
posted by carmicha at 8:30 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by carmicha at 8:30 AM on July 2, 2014
Morgenstern's is tasty! I've been there with another mefite a few times for "lunch" and it doesn't disappoint. (They even have a flavor for my namesake: fernet black walnut, which tastes like a bitterer and better version of vanilla.)
I've historically been sort of meh about ice cream and I'm excited by the range of interesting flavors and the DIY-spirit that've been cropping up in NYC and beyond. I got an ice cream making book recently (from Jeni of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, who is probably worth a FPP in herself) and I would love a meetup for it, and they trembled before her fury!
posted by ferret branca at 8:32 AM on July 2, 2014
I've historically been sort of meh about ice cream and I'm excited by the range of interesting flavors and the DIY-spirit that've been cropping up in NYC and beyond. I got an ice cream making book recently (from Jeni of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, who is probably worth a FPP in herself) and I would love a meetup for it, and they trembled before her fury!
posted by ferret branca at 8:32 AM on July 2, 2014
I want a compressor-based ice cream maker so much right now. So much.
posted by jeather at 8:38 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jeather at 8:38 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Is it worth having an ice cream maker at your house?
It depends on your feelings about ice cream. Me, I am somewhat of a stickler. Mostly there is the cheap shit, which is defined by the presence of adulterants like carrageenan and guar gum. Note that some of the cheap shit, like current B&J or Breyer's can be quite pricey. But the guar gum means it's still cheap shit.
Then there's actual ice cream, which is free of such adulterants. You should look at the ingredient list and see something like "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, strawberries," and possibly eggs and te ingredient list for Heath bars or similar. Like Ash from Alien, you should admire its purity.
Thing is, actual ice cream is hard to get these days. Almost all the brands that used to be ice cream are selling the cheap shit now. I think there are some Haagen Dazs flavors that are still ice cream but that's about it. So when you want actual ice cream, it's a a most easier to mae it yourself than to go hunting for it. And non custard ice cream is STOOPID easy.
Yes, an ice creammaker will mostly just sit in your pantry. But when you've got the itch, it is far and away the best way to scratch it.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:08 AM on July 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
It depends on your feelings about ice cream. Me, I am somewhat of a stickler. Mostly there is the cheap shit, which is defined by the presence of adulterants like carrageenan and guar gum. Note that some of the cheap shit, like current B&J or Breyer's can be quite pricey. But the guar gum means it's still cheap shit.
Then there's actual ice cream, which is free of such adulterants. You should look at the ingredient list and see something like "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, strawberries," and possibly eggs and te ingredient list for Heath bars or similar. Like Ash from Alien, you should admire its purity.
Thing is, actual ice cream is hard to get these days. Almost all the brands that used to be ice cream are selling the cheap shit now. I think there are some Haagen Dazs flavors that are still ice cream but that's about it. So when you want actual ice cream, it's a a most easier to mae it yourself than to go hunting for it. And non custard ice cream is STOOPID easy.
Yes, an ice creammaker will mostly just sit in your pantry. But when you've got the itch, it is far and away the best way to scratch it.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:08 AM on July 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
Farm-to-table principles aside, store-bought ice cream has more consistent texture, freezes more comfortably, and lasts longer than what you'll make at home. I love my Cuisinart and I'm kind of snobby about making my own stuff from scratch, but that doesn't mean I don't also buy Brigham's. It very much depends what criteria you personally are looking for in the vague and abstract term "better."
posted by cribcage at 9:21 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by cribcage at 9:21 AM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Mostly there is the cheap shit, which is defined by the presence of adulterants like carrageenan and guar gum. Note that some of the cheap shit, like current B&J or Breyer's can be quite pricey. But the guar gum means it's still cheap shit.
The "gelato" from Haagen-Dasz makes me spit.
You know the difference between ice cream and gelato? I asked at the class I took, and they said that the only difference between gelato and the "ice cream" I was familiar with was....consistency. That's it. Gelato is meant to be a tiny bit softer, so it's served maybe five degrees warmer. So you can "make" gelato out of any ice cream by just leaving it out on the counter for 15 minutes or so before serving it (or, if you are making it from scratch, by just taking the stuff out of the freezer sooner after you churn it, which is even better because yay eating homemade goodness even sooner).
Haagen Dasz released its "gelato" after I got back, and I got curious and tried it - and that nice smooth and creamy and soft consistency you get in Italy by just letting your ice cream warm up two degrees? Haagen Dasz uses carrageenan, and so instead of gelato I got a mouthfull of gummy gak.
Fie. Just let your ice cream melt a few minutes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:21 AM on July 2, 2014
The "gelato" from Haagen-Dasz makes me spit.
You know the difference between ice cream and gelato? I asked at the class I took, and they said that the only difference between gelato and the "ice cream" I was familiar with was....consistency. That's it. Gelato is meant to be a tiny bit softer, so it's served maybe five degrees warmer. So you can "make" gelato out of any ice cream by just leaving it out on the counter for 15 minutes or so before serving it (or, if you are making it from scratch, by just taking the stuff out of the freezer sooner after you churn it, which is even better because yay eating homemade goodness even sooner).
Haagen Dasz released its "gelato" after I got back, and I got curious and tried it - and that nice smooth and creamy and soft consistency you get in Italy by just letting your ice cream warm up two degrees? Haagen Dasz uses carrageenan, and so instead of gelato I got a mouthfull of gummy gak.
Fie. Just let your ice cream melt a few minutes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:21 AM on July 2, 2014
From Serious Eats, Real Talk: Stop Bashing Ice Cream Stabilizers (Stabilizers don't make bad ice cream. Bad technique makes bad ice cream.):
posted by jedicus at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Stabilizers, including natural, plant-derived ingredients like guar gum, xantham gum, and carageenan, are just another kind of emulsifier that manipulates ice cream texture. (And FYI, egg yolks are a kind of stabilizer.) And not only do they emulsify fat and water, but they improve the stability of an ice cream, which means a) it's less likely to melt, and b) when it does melt, the fat and water don't break out of emulsion, so when the ice cream re-freezes it doesn't turn icy. Use stabilizers right and they make small but noticeable improvements to an ice cream base. Use them wrong and they can make ice cream oddly gummy and chewy.Personally I don't bother with them (apart from egg yolks) when making ice cream at home because my compressor ice cream maker only has a 1.5qt capacity, which is just enough for my wife, a few friends, and I to finish off a batch in one go. Thus, the melt resistance and re-freeze enhancement properties aren't very important for me. But I don't scoff at their use in high-quality commercial ice creams.
posted by jedicus at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
There are precious few supermarket ice creams left that can be labeled as "ice cream" instead of "frozen dairy dessert." Friendly's (with the possible exception of the "Xtreme" flavors) are all "real" ice cream. They've got stabilizers, but the texture is creamy, not gummy, and the flavors are all pretty good (coffee cookie crumble? Yes, please). I'm sort of fanatical about my Friendly's, and generally prefer it to the $5-a-pint brands.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:59 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by uncleozzy at 9:59 AM on July 2, 2014
When you have large ingredients mixed in -- think Oreo pieces -- they often lower the temperature of the mix long enough for some ice to form before the final freeze (using home equipment). So I can see how emulsifiers are very useful for large-scale producers.
But for me, when I can make exactly what I want, I will skip them.
Like beer, I will occasionally enjoy the cheap stuff, but I just prefer the Good Stuff when I have a choice.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:59 AM on July 2, 2014
But for me, when I can make exactly what I want, I will skip them.
Like beer, I will occasionally enjoy the cheap stuff, but I just prefer the Good Stuff when I have a choice.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:59 AM on July 2, 2014
When you have large ingredients mixed in -- think Oreo pieces -- they often lower the temperature of the mix long enough for some ice to form before the final freeze (using home equipment). So I can see how emulsifiers are very useful for large-scale producers.
Interestingly, alcohol lowers the freeze point; so someone making ice cream at home could counterbalance the affect of adding Oreo pieces by adding, oh, a bit of rum.
Interestingly enough.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:34 AM on July 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
Interestingly, alcohol lowers the freeze point; so someone making ice cream at home could counterbalance the affect of adding Oreo pieces by adding, oh, a bit of rum.
Interestingly enough.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:34 AM on July 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
But I don't scoff at their use in high-quality commercial ice creams.
I do, because there was nothing wrong with those high-quality commercial ice creams before they added them. Breyer's vanilla, back when the ingredients were "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla" was just fine. It had no problem that needed fixing. Nor did the Ben and Jerry's from the late 80s.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:38 AM on July 2, 2014
I do, because there was nothing wrong with those high-quality commercial ice creams before they added them. Breyer's vanilla, back when the ingredients were "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla" was just fine. It had no problem that needed fixing. Nor did the Ben and Jerry's from the late 80s.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:38 AM on July 2, 2014
Breyer's vanilla, back when the ingredients were "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla" was just fine. It had no problem that needed fixing. Nor did the Ben and Jerry's from the late 80s.
Maybe the only problem was that it didn't stay quite as fresh in your freezer if you left it in there for a couple months, but I don't see how "oh no that means I have to eat it faster" actually can be called a problem.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:03 AM on July 2, 2014
Maybe the only problem was that it didn't stay quite as fresh in your freezer if you left it in there for a couple months, but I don't see how "oh no that means I have to eat it faster" actually can be called a problem.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:03 AM on July 2, 2014
I just watched the videos for ice cream and ganache and will be putting both of my canisters in the freezer tonight, though it may require some advanced Tetrising to get them in. Today is farmer's market day and I will be getting a large quantity of stone fruit for eating and experimenting.
posted by mogget at 11:08 AM on July 2, 2014
posted by mogget at 11:08 AM on July 2, 2014
I do, because there was nothing wrong with those high-quality commercial ice creams before they added them. Breyer's vanilla, back when the ingredients were "Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla" was just fine. It had no problem that needed fixing. Nor did the Ben and Jerry's from the late 80s.
There was nothing wrong with them if everything went perfectly smoothly from manufacture through distribution to purchase to home storage to consumption. But that is often not the case. As the Serious Eats article points out:
And anybody scoffing at stabilizers should remember that egg yolks are a stabilizer. If you like rich, custard-base ice creams (like, say, Ben & Jerry's from the late 80s) then you are enjoying the benefits of a stabilizer in your ice cream.
posted by jedicus at 12:27 PM on July 2, 2014
There was nothing wrong with them if everything went perfectly smoothly from manufacture through distribution to purchase to home storage to consumption. But that is often not the case. As the Serious Eats article points out:
When you sell ice cream to grocery stores, you play a game of Russian roulette with your product. Even small changes in temperature can drastically alter an ice cream's texture—if it warms up a few degrees and starts to melt, it'll turn icy when it refreezes. A delivery truck could stall on the highway, or once it's made its delivery, the ice cream might be left sitting out on a hot curb. A grocery store might have problems with their freezer, say a temporary power outage or even just a poorly calibrated thermometer. With just one fault along a supply chain, that ice cream's perfectly creamy texture melts down the drain, and once it does it never comes back.The article goes on to point out that in many ways stabilizer-free ice cream favors huge brands like Haagen-Dazs that can control their own distribution channels, "using refrigerated delivery trucks optimized for ice cream and ensuring the product isn't subject to any melt-inducing high temperatures." Basically, it's go super-local (preferably buying from a place that manufactures on-site or just making it yourself), stick to huge national brands, or realize that stabilizers can be used judiciously.
...
The team behind High Road, a serious craft ice cream company based in Atlanta, stabilizes their ice cream too, because that's the only way they know it'll arrive in stores around the country in peak condition. Would the ice cream taste even better without stabilizers? Maybe. But great manufacturers recognize that distribution and storage matter just as much as the quality of your machine and ingredients.
And anybody scoffing at stabilizers should remember that egg yolks are a stabilizer. If you like rich, custard-base ice creams (like, say, Ben & Jerry's from the late 80s) then you are enjoying the benefits of a stabilizer in your ice cream.
posted by jedicus at 12:27 PM on July 2, 2014
Jedicus, I don't think anyone is criticizing the concept of stabilizers - people are just expressing distaste for certain kinds of stabilizers.
In other words, it's not so much "blech, stabilizers", so much as "well, okay then, but if eggs actually achieved what you needed, why did you start using seaweed instead?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:38 PM on July 2, 2014
In other words, it's not so much "blech, stabilizers", so much as "well, okay then, but if eggs actually achieved what you needed, why did you start using seaweed instead?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:38 PM on July 2, 2014
But where in NYC can I get real крем брюле ice cream in a real стаканчик?
Rego Park
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 12:54 PM on July 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
Rego Park
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 12:54 PM on July 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
mmmmm malted milk. My dad used to make us chocolate malted shakes with milk & vanilla ice cream. I LOVED them Still do.
posted by yoga at 12:57 PM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by yoga at 12:57 PM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Favorited as a thing of beauty.But where in NYC can I get real крем брюле ice cream in a real стаканчик?Rego Park
posted by Ice Cream Socialist
posted by Songdog at 1:27 PM on July 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
There was nothing wrong with them if everything went perfectly smoothly from manufacture through distribution to purchase to home storage to consumption. But that is often not the case.
That's fine, except that I am a real live person who actually ate ice cream without weird stabiliziers in it from normal run of the mill grocery stores and convenience stores. And cannot recall ever experiencing any of these problems, so their incidence must have been quite low.
More frankly, I simply doubt that they were added to high-quality brands like Breyer's or B&J's as a quality enhancement method instead of as plain and simple cheapenizing.
And anybody scoffing at stabilizers should remember that egg yolks are a stabilizer. If you like rich, custard-base ice creams (like, say, Ben & Jerry's from the late 80s) then you are enjoying the benefits of a stabilizer in your ice cream.
I was, at the time, enjoying a nice ice cream made with stuff that a normal person making ice cream for their own consumption might put into their ice cream. That includes eggs, since frozen custard has long been accepted as ice cream. I rather doubt that you will find more than a trivial number of people making ice cream for their own consumption that add seaweed and beans.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:38 PM on July 2, 2014
That's fine, except that I am a real live person who actually ate ice cream without weird stabiliziers in it from normal run of the mill grocery stores and convenience stores. And cannot recall ever experiencing any of these problems, so their incidence must have been quite low.
More frankly, I simply doubt that they were added to high-quality brands like Breyer's or B&J's as a quality enhancement method instead of as plain and simple cheapenizing.
And anybody scoffing at stabilizers should remember that egg yolks are a stabilizer. If you like rich, custard-base ice creams (like, say, Ben & Jerry's from the late 80s) then you are enjoying the benefits of a stabilizer in your ice cream.
I was, at the time, enjoying a nice ice cream made with stuff that a normal person making ice cream for their own consumption might put into their ice cream. That includes eggs, since frozen custard has long been accepted as ice cream. I rather doubt that you will find more than a trivial number of people making ice cream for their own consumption that add seaweed and beans.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:38 PM on July 2, 2014
Damn you all, I may have to buy an ice cream maker now.
posted by suelac at 4:44 PM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by suelac at 4:44 PM on July 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Simple lessons I learned from making ice cream:
1) Use dutch-processed cocoa, not raw cocoa
2) brown sugar in the base is pretty awesome
posted by and for no one at 5:28 PM on July 2, 2014
1) Use dutch-processed cocoa, not raw cocoa
2) brown sugar in the base is pretty awesome
posted by and for no one at 5:28 PM on July 2, 2014
This is an informative thread for people interested in ice-cream makers and whatnot, but where is the informative thread for people interested in Turkish orchid-root ice cream or khulfi or like that? Where, for instance, can an SF Bay Area dweller such as I get such treats?
posted by kenko at 8:59 PM on July 2, 2014
posted by kenko at 8:59 PM on July 2, 2014
There's the liquid nitrogen ice cream place... Smitten, IIRC?
posted by maryr at 9:33 PM on July 2, 2014
posted by maryr at 9:33 PM on July 2, 2014
... perhaps those of us in brooklyn should start thinking about an ice cream making meetup?
Wait a couple weeks until after I've done the Brooklyn Brainery class, and I'm in.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:47 AM on July 3, 2014
Wait a couple weeks until after I've done the Brooklyn Brainery class, and I'm in.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:47 AM on July 3, 2014
I have a Donvier type maker which I used about 3 times a year. My dad bought me an electric maker. I use it about once a month. The difference is really the prep time and the space taken up by the Donvier's cannister.
The Ben and Jerry's book is great - I'm on my second copy. The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook is also very good.
posted by plinth at 2:51 AM on July 4, 2014
The Ben and Jerry's book is great - I'm on my second copy. The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook is also very good.
posted by plinth at 2:51 AM on July 4, 2014
yes this is still open
I briefly mentioned an ice cream making class, and it was way fun - it was run by the woman behind a culinary history blog, Four Pounds Flour. (She was great fun; she's got a book coming out soon, too.) Her approach was also similar to this one - "here are four basic recipes, now you can customize them with whatever flavorings you want."
She also got a little bit into the history of ice cream, including some historic flavors - apparently, in the 17th Century, ambergris ice cream was a thing.
The ice cream posts on her blog are here for perusal, including discussions of other funky flavors.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:11 PM on July 16, 2014
I briefly mentioned an ice cream making class, and it was way fun - it was run by the woman behind a culinary history blog, Four Pounds Flour. (She was great fun; she's got a book coming out soon, too.) Her approach was also similar to this one - "here are four basic recipes, now you can customize them with whatever flavorings you want."
She also got a little bit into the history of ice cream, including some historic flavors - apparently, in the 17th Century, ambergris ice cream was a thing.
The ice cream posts on her blog are here for perusal, including discussions of other funky flavors.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:11 PM on July 16, 2014
Oh - and I think it was in the 18th Century that two other flavors that were popular were "orange" and "fennel", and I got the idea - why not both?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:14 PM on July 16, 2014
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:14 PM on July 16, 2014
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
This is not OK.
"Texture" is a fine term. It has a clear meaning and a lovely cadence, everyone understands it, and you lose nothing through its use. "Mouth feel" is none of those things. None. It's a horrible phrase that makes you sound like an overweening illiterate trying and failing to seem coy. It is as elegant and sensuous as the crusted scrapings from the bottom of the fanfiction barrel, and I need you to feel bad for what you've done and then stop doing it.
Thank you,
- Just about everyone.
posted by mhoye at 6:53 AM on July 2, 2014 [8 favorites]