Ice cream aficionados insist that you can tell the quality of a person’s ice cream by the taste of their vanilla. It is such a simple and pure flavor that making it incorrectly is very noticeable.
The well kept secret to good vanilla ice cream is knowing the right vanilla to use. I have been told by a couple of professional small batch ice cream makers that there is a relationship between vanilla extract and butterfat content. There was a study published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 1997 that proved that as fat increased, vanilla flavor decreased in ice cream (you can find the study here). This means that when you make high fat ice cream at home you have to either increase the quantity of vanilla or find a stronger vanilla extract.
Another little secret of the ice cream manufacturing world is that they all use vanilla extract to flavor their ice cream. It is rare to find a manufacturer who uses beans for flavor. Those little flecks in your commercial ice cream are from vanilla beans, but they are added for appearance. Those specks do not add any perceptible vanilla flavor.
Through my experimentation, I found that Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract works the best for my formulation. It gives a deeper vanilla flavor when compared to using an equal amount of the ubiquitous McCormick brand. If you don't know any better, McCormick tastes fine, but in a side by side comparison its flavor is sweeter and lighter in the finished product.
My vanilla ice cream is “French Vanilla” because of its eggs. Cook’s Illustrated performed a blind taste test on commercially available ice creams and French Vanilla was not the winner. The taste testers preferred the Philadelphia style ice cream that does not contain eggs. You can find the article here. Of course, they were testing store bought brands which have other additives to help control texture and improve shelf life. Homemade ice cream is missing those ingredients so the use of eggs helps yield a better texture. Personally, I prefer the flavor and texture of the eggs because they add a bit of decadence that elevates vanilla beyond the ordinary.
Vanilla Ice cream
2 cups whole milk
2 cups cream
1/2 cup Sugar
6 egg yolks
1 TBL vanilla extract
pinch of salt (optional)
1. Pour the milk and cream and half of the sugar into a pot and bring to a slight simmer stirring occasionally.
2. As the milk and cream are heating, place the egg yolks into a bowl with the sugar (and salt if using) and beat until it is a pale, frothy liquid.
3. Once the milk/cream mixture is simmering remove it from the heat and temper the egg mixture by adding a small amount of the hot milk/cream and stirring thoroughly. Repeat this process a couple of more times to ensure that the eggs have warmed up. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
4. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
6. Cool the custard to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
7. Freeze in your ice cream machine.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Cherry Ice Cream
My in-laws visited this past weekend and because of our baby and their potentially late arrival time, my wife thought it better for us to cook dinner on Friday night. After a long day of working, there is limited time to do much in the way cooking so my wife made a simple and rustic French meal of roasted chicken and vegetables from the Bouchon cookbook. For dessert I reached into Dorrie Greenspan's Baking cookbook again for her 15 minute Chocolate Amoretti cake. I picked the dessert because I had to make it on a weekday and it was simple. While reading the recipe she made a note that she uses Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream with this cake.
Amoretti means almonds in Italian and cherry and almonds are a wonderful flavor pairing. So I thought why not add some homemade cherry ice cream? It is the middle of winter so getting good fresh cherries is not easy, but I found some great ones produced in South America. I prefer to be a locavore and eat in season, but cherry ice cream is what was needed so I had no choice. Although these cherries were very good, I felt that more cherry flavor was necessary so I bought some concentrated cherry juice to compensate. The dried tart cherries add an incredible dimension to the ice cream. The kirsch helped the dried cherries stay softer when frozen and lend a great little alcoholic bite which reduces the tartness on the palate. This ice cream was delicious right out of the freezer, but became even more spectacular after the second day in the freezer.
Cherry Ice Cream:
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
¾ cup of sugar
1 lb. fresh cherries - pitted
4 oz. concentrated cherry juice
2 oz. water
1 cup dried cherries
Kirsch
1. Combine cherry extract, water, ¼ cup of the sugar in a small saucepan and reduce to about ½ cup of liquid. Add the cherries boil for 30 seconds, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the cherries and set aside to cool.
2. Combine, milk, cream, ¼ cup of the sugar in another saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
3. While the cream/milk is heating, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until it is incorporated.
4. Once the cream mixture is at ready, remove it from the heat. Temper the eggs by mixing in a small amount of the cream, stir thoroughly, and repeat three times. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Add the cherry puree.
7. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the bowl and chill overnight.
10. About 45 minutes prior to freezing, place the dried cherries into a small bowl and pour in enough kirsch to cover them. Some of the cherries may get discolored spots on them but do not worry they will not be noticeable once mixed into the ice cream.
11. Freeze the ice cream. Drain the cherry pieces and add them in the last couple of minutes and allow the ice cream machine to mix them throughout the custard.
Amoretti means almonds in Italian and cherry and almonds are a wonderful flavor pairing. So I thought why not add some homemade cherry ice cream? It is the middle of winter so getting good fresh cherries is not easy, but I found some great ones produced in South America. I prefer to be a locavore and eat in season, but cherry ice cream is what was needed so I had no choice. Although these cherries were very good, I felt that more cherry flavor was necessary so I bought some concentrated cherry juice to compensate. The dried tart cherries add an incredible dimension to the ice cream. The kirsch helped the dried cherries stay softer when frozen and lend a great little alcoholic bite which reduces the tartness on the palate. This ice cream was delicious right out of the freezer, but became even more spectacular after the second day in the freezer.
Cherry Ice Cream:
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
¾ cup of sugar
1 lb. fresh cherries - pitted
4 oz. concentrated cherry juice
2 oz. water
1 cup dried cherries
Kirsch
1. Combine cherry extract, water, ¼ cup of the sugar in a small saucepan and reduce to about ½ cup of liquid. Add the cherries boil for 30 seconds, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the cherries and set aside to cool.
2. Combine, milk, cream, ¼ cup of the sugar in another saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
3. While the cream/milk is heating, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until it is incorporated.
4. Once the cream mixture is at ready, remove it from the heat. Temper the eggs by mixing in a small amount of the cream, stir thoroughly, and repeat three times. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Add the cherry puree.
7. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the bowl and chill overnight.
10. About 45 minutes prior to freezing, place the dried cherries into a small bowl and pour in enough kirsch to cover them. Some of the cherries may get discolored spots on them but do not worry they will not be noticeable once mixed into the ice cream.
11. Freeze the ice cream. Drain the cherry pieces and add them in the last couple of minutes and allow the ice cream machine to mix them throughout the custard.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
My first post was going to be a recipe for vanilla ice cream because vanilla is the best judge of an ice cream maker’s skills, but I had a change of heart. My sister-in-law wanted my Mexican Chocolate ice cream for her birthday party. Not having made it in a while, I forgot how good it was. Once I made it, I decided to bump vanilla to another post.
This recipe is simple. Actually, it’s a no brainer since I use store bought Mexican chocolate. There were no trial and error measurements of cinnamon and almond extract. I use Abuelita from Nestle, but Ibarra works just as well.
To jazz it up for her birthday, I adapted a brownie recipe from Dorrie Greenspan’s Baking cookbook to include cinnamon and chipotle peppers and served it together. Everyone loved it, but thought it was a bit of chocolate overload. Since this is a blog about ice cream, I will be happy to provide you with the brownie recipe if you ask, but I won't post it.
Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream:
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
¾ cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 bars Mexican chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Combine the cream, milk, and ½ cup of the sugar in a saucepan and heat to a bare simmer stirring occasionally.
2. Combine the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and the salt. Beat until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture turns pale yellow.
3. Coarsely chop the chocolate.
4. Once the cream mixture is at ready, remove it from the heat. Temper the eggs by mixing in a small amount of the cream, stir thoroughly, and repeat three times. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the contents are completely melted. If you are having problems getting the chocolate to melt, you may return the pot to the heat briefly.
7. Stir in the vanilla extract
8. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the bowl and chill overnight.
10. The next day, mix the custard in your ice cream machine.
This recipe is simple. Actually, it’s a no brainer since I use store bought Mexican chocolate. There were no trial and error measurements of cinnamon and almond extract. I use Abuelita from Nestle, but Ibarra works just as well.
To jazz it up for her birthday, I adapted a brownie recipe from Dorrie Greenspan’s Baking cookbook to include cinnamon and chipotle peppers and served it together. Everyone loved it, but thought it was a bit of chocolate overload. Since this is a blog about ice cream, I will be happy to provide you with the brownie recipe if you ask, but I won't post it.
Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream:
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
¾ cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 bars Mexican chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Combine the cream, milk, and ½ cup of the sugar in a saucepan and heat to a bare simmer stirring occasionally.
2. Combine the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and the salt. Beat until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture turns pale yellow.
3. Coarsely chop the chocolate.
4. Once the cream mixture is at ready, remove it from the heat. Temper the eggs by mixing in a small amount of the cream, stir thoroughly, and repeat three times. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the contents are completely melted. If you are having problems getting the chocolate to melt, you may return the pot to the heat briefly.
7. Stir in the vanilla extract
8. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the bowl and chill overnight.
10. The next day, mix the custard in your ice cream machine.
Welcome to the Ice Cream Fellow
Ice cream is supposed to be fun. Some of my flavors may seem a bit gourmet or strange, but don’t let that intimidate you. The Ice Cream Fellow promises that he does not stand on pretensions. The point is to enjoy yourself both making and eating ice cream. I encourage you to try my recipes and let me know how they turned out. If you have suggestions for improvement, this fellow is all ears.
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