A delicious ice cream serving will easily raise your smile even on the hottest day. Your smile will even be wider knowing that you made the ice cream at home. Homemade ice cream comes with numerous benefits. First, even the poshest store will not store your esoteric flavor combo. Secondly, homemade ice cream is tailor-made to fit all your health needs.
Having invested in a good ice cream maker, it’s about time you learnt some basics in ice cream making. You will not get the best ice cream, even with sophisticated machines, if you do not know how to make homemade ice cream. Frozen dessert making is an art and can only be perfected with time. Let’s start the ice cream making journey!
What Are The Key Ingredients?
There are five key ingredients and you need to sticking to the basics. These include sugar, ice crystals, fat, air and other solids. These solids will include minerals and proteins found in milk.
Some ice cream recipes will include an emulsifier. The common emulsifier in use is xanthan gum. Egg york is also used in traditional small scale recipes.
The Different Ice Cream Making Techniques
1. The Philadelphia Style
This is a style that is known to make delicious ice cream flavors by mixing ice cream, sugar, milk and Philadelphia flavors. The ice cream delivered by this style is best served on cones. The ice cream can either be made using the French, American or New York style. The French style is a little challenging and takes more time as it requires custard making.
The Easy Way Out
Mix your whipping cream (400g) with caster sugar (100g). Add vanilla extract (1 teaspoon). Freeze the mixture. Let it sit for 30 minute. Remove and stir to break the ice crystals. A fork will do the job with ease.
Breaking the ice crystals gives you a uniform slush. Repeat the whole freezing and stirring process for three times. Leave the mixture to settle in the freezer for an hour.
After one hour, the ice cream will be ready to serve. You may realize that it adopts the cottage cheese look from the overenthusiastic forking.
2. The Mousse Style
This is the egg-based ice cream making style. It is rather tedious and labor intensive but will also deliver delicious ice cream servings. The trick to getting it done fast and easy is getting ready made vanilla ice cream. This is rich and delicious and requires no whisking.
How To Make The Ice Cream
Heat 50g of sugar in 125ml water. Stir thoroughly to make smooth syrup. Beat two egg yolks and ensure that they have achieved the fluffy look. Add the sugar syrup to the egg York. Ensure that you are still stirring the egg yolk as you add the syrup. The stirring should continue until when a thick creamy white mousse is formed.
With the white cream, you can then stir the vanilla ice cream. Mix it with the white mousse and fold gently. Ensure that the mixture is thoroughly mixed and set in a freezer. Let it sit for some hours. The results will amaze you. The ice cream is not only smooth but is so delicious ice cream that everyone will want some more.
3. The Traditional Custard Style
This is a style that has no issues with richness. All you need is standard vanilla ice cream, whole milk (375ml), whipping cream (225ml), egg York (6), vanilla pods (11/2) and caster sugar (120g).
Making Ice Cream Custurd Style
Heat the cream and milk along with vanilla seeds and pods. Remove from fire just before it starts to boil. Set aside and beat the egg yolk with sugar in a separate bowl. Pour the warm milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Stir thoroughly and return to the pan. Heat the mixture for 15 seconds at a temperature of 80oC. This should pasteurize the mixture and form custard.
In absence of a thermometer, you can use a spoon to tell when its ready. Dip the spoon and check whether it coats the back of the spoon. If it does, turn off the heat and cool the mixture rapidly. Place in a fridge and let sit for 4-5 hours. This allows the delicious ice cream flavors to develop. It also lets fat droplets to crystallize giving the ice cream the fine texture.
4. The Skimmed Milk Powder Style
It’s common to use ready ice cream in recipes but what about using skimmed milk? This technique is new to most people and we find it necessary to introduce you to it. Skimmed milk makes thicker ice cream as it introduced more solid content without adding extra weight.
Here’s How To Go About This Recipe
Mix whole milk (1 pint), skimmed milk powder (50g), 6 vanilla pods and sugar (2 tablespoons). The vanilla seeds can be scrapped and added to the egg York. Heat the milk mixture to boiling point. Turn down the heat and allow simmering before leaving to infuse for 20 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolk, caster sugar and vanilla seeds until it gets the fluffy appearance. Heat the milk mixture and add the fluffy egg yolk. Beat continuously until custard is formed. Turn off the heat and allow cooling before freezing. Your ice cream is ready to serve.
Conclusion
Investing in a good ice cream maker is important but it’s not mandatory that you have one to make homemade ice cream. Ice cream treats are easy to make and the tips outlined here should sharpen your ice cream making skills. Perfect this art and the ice cream maker will be an added advantage and not your sole option.
You never know what tomorrow brings and your kids will be looking up to you to teach them how to make homemade ice cream treats. This is not to mention the joy that comes with delicious homemade treats on special occasions. Save your time and money without compromising on the tastes.
Easy ice cream recipes are no longer a secret but outstanding techniques are. You can now be sure of making the best ice cream with ease and boost your dairy profitability. Your ice cream making escapades will boost your dairy milk preservation and boost your returns.