I Scream, You Scream, We all….
Well, you know the rest. I just finished making some vanilla ice cream – actually it is churning away as I write – and I was thinking back to times in the store when I would be asked about ice cream. I was surprised to learn how few people knew what ice cream really is or how to make it. I guess I have been a kitchen geek too long to remember what it was like to have only a passing interest in the finer points of culinary processes.
To me, homemade ice cream is so much better than even the best store bought variety. I have fond memories of it from the family gathering at my grandparents home every summer. The men would staff the old wooden hand cranked bucket, and churn the luscious treat. (It was a great day for their tired arms when they bought a motor for the ice cream maker.) We kids couldn’t wait to taste the wonderful results from their labor and then later talk about our ice cream headaches like wounds received in battle. Never had a headache felt so good.
Now each time I am asked about ice cream or the machines used in its production, I dutifully explain the process. And so, I will here as well.
Definition
Ice cream is just that, frozen cream. Actually, it is a combination of cream, (and/or milk), egg, sugar and some flavoring such as vanilla. This mixture is frozen and incorporated with air using paddles cranked by hand or machine. The varying amounts of milk fat and air result in the differing textures and styles; such as the difference between ice cream in North America and gelato in Italy. The original method of freezing involved ice and salt, a giant bowl and much manual effort to stir.
History
Ice cream has many roots in lore and legend. Everything from Marco Polo, to Caesar Nero, and Charles I, but a book by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir, “Frozen Desserts Definitive Guide To Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati And Other Frozen Delights“, states that the historical accuracy of these legends are sketchy at best.
From their book:
Most books are full of myths about the history of ice cream. According to popular accounts, Marco Polo (1254-1324) saw ice creams being made during his trip to China, and on his return, introduced them to Italy. The myth continues with the Italian chefs of the young Catherine de’Medici taking this magical dish to France when she went there in 1533 to marry the Duc d’Orleans, with Charles I rewarding his own ice-cream maker with a lifetime pension on condition that he did not divulge his secret recipe to anyone, thereby keeping ice cream as a royal prerogative.
Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support any of these stories. They would appear to be purely the creation of imaginative nineteenth-century ice-cream makers and vendors. Indeed, we have found no mention of any of these stories before the nineteenth century.
Chris Clarke, in his 2004 book “The Science of Ice Cream“, states the history of ice cream is associated with the understanding of refrigeration techniques, which seems quite logical. Ice cream in the form we know today has only around 300 – 400 years of history. As with all things, information was learned and forgotten or lost at various times throughout history. There is evidence that ancient Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans ate frozen delicacies. However, the earliest known ice cream-like concoction recorded in written form is from China.
According to the International Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers, in 1774, a caterer named Phillip Lenzi announced in a New York newspaper that he had just arrived from London and would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream. Thomas Jefferson is known to have been a big fan of ice cream from his visits to France and we know of his hand written recipe in the Library of Congress. Dolley Madison served ice cream at her husband’s Inaugural Ball in 1813.
The first improvement in the manufacture of homemade ice cream (from the labor intensive method in a large bowl) was given to us by a New Jersey woman (sometimes listed as from New York or Philadelphia), Nancy Johnson, who in 1846 invented the hand-cranked freezer. By turning the freezer handle, one agitates a container of ice cream mix in a bed of salt and ice until the mixture was frozen. A similar type of freezer was patented in 1848, by William Young who was clever enough to call his machine the “Johnson Patent Ice Cream Freezer.”
Commercial ice cream production began in North America in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851, by Mr. Jacob Fussell, known as the father of the American ice cream industry.
Whatever its origins, ice cream is a treat popular around the world and found in many flavors and styles.
Misconceptions
Most people think it is too much effort to make ice cream at home. I hope to rid you of that notion once and for all. It couldn’t be easier to do. And you will find there are many methods, techniques and styles of ice cream and all are pretty darn good.
Myth – you must make a custard to make ice cream. False. Technically, custard is a cooked mixture of eggs, milk and sugar. It is known to some as crême anglaise. It does give ice cream a richness and enhanced flavor that I think superior, but it is not a requirement. There are plenty of no cook recipes to try. If time is an issue, you can use the ingredients as specified in a recipe without cooking them. The shortcut won’t produce the same flavor or texture, but you will be eating ice cream sooner. However, don’t shortcut a recipe that specifies heating a liquid to dissolve an ingredient (such as sugar), infuse an element (cardamom, for instance) or melt one (chocolate). NOTE: If you ever have need of crême anglaise and don’t feel like doing the work, go buy a good quality vanilla ice cream and let it melt, then pour over the fruit or cake or what have you.
Myth – it takes a long time to make. False. Once combined and cooled, freezing ice cream takes around 20 minutes in any of the “frozen bowl” type ice cream machines (more on that in a minute). Even if you went the custard route and infused flavors and melted other elements, you can use an ice bath to quickly cool the custard. Your over all time commitment including the freezing in the machine, shouldn’t be more than 2 hours. Setting up the finished ice cream in the freezer takes maybe 2-4 hours, but you aren’t doing active work for that phase.
Myth – ice cream is solid in structure. False. All ice cream starts out as “soft serve” and only later becomes hard as it sets up in a freezer. If served immediately from the maker, ice cream will be soft and melt quickly. Depending on the style, makers vary the storage temperature to best achieve the desired texture and consistency. Cuisinart sells a soft serve machine for the home, which simply allows one to pour it out like we see at various “custard” stands. Commercial operations simply keep the ice cream at a controlled temperature to ensure a more viscous product. Some of the lesser quality “custards” will use emulsifiers to help maintain consistency.
Tips
Infusing: done during the initial phase of custard construction to extract essential oils and flavors. Here you can infuse spices (split vanilla bean), herbs, citrus zest, coarse coffee, or tea leaves. These elements are filtered out through a strainer before continuing.
Adding flavors: done to add additional flavors to your custard and is done after it has been cooled. Favorites are chocolate (which should be added while the custard is still warm so it melts), fruit purees or juices, liqueurs, vanilla extract or paste, oils.
Adding solids: these are the fun additives to kick up your ice cream. These are added after the ice cream is frozen and stirred in before you put it into the freezer for final set up. Try crumbled cookies, dried fruit, whole nuts, broken candy, chocolate chunks, jams, peanut butter, Nutella, marshmallows, basically anything your heart desires and your taste buds can enjoy.
Remember, do not pour hot or warm ice cream liquids into these makers. You will be working against the machines ability to freeze your yummy treats. Always chill the liquid in the fridge or an ice bath before using the ice cream maker.
Recipes
What recipe is best? Impossible to say. Each person, from each region, in each country has his/her own preference. There are thousands of books on ice cream available for sale, not to mention the thousands of recipes available online. My advice is try recipes and find which ones you like best and stick with it. Personally, aside from the book mentioned above by Lidell and Weir, I like the Donvier Ice Cream Dessert Book, by Sharon Creary . The various styles and recipes presented are easy to make and very delicious. From the Donvier book, the Lemon Custard Ice Cream, the French Vanilla Custard and Old Fashioned Strawberry ice cream are my favorites.
The Machines
So how do you freeze the ice cream? For many years, the only machines made for the home were those big, wooden, 5-6qt varieties. Now there are many affordable, effective choices for the home ice cream enthusiast. This is not to bad mouth these old reliable wooden bucket ice cream makers. These makers use the ages old method of ice and salt to freeze the ice cream. They come in 4, 5 or 6 qt sizes, with or without the motor. Be prepared to work in shifts if you opt not to buy the motorized version. These are great for family gatherings where copious amounts of ice cream are needed. The only drawback is that only one flavor can be made, so syrups and toppings will have to suffice for personal flavor preferences.
White Mountain 6qt Electric Ice Cream Maker
White Mountain Hand Crank Ice Cream Maker 4qt
Above, I mentioned a style of maker I call frozen bowl. These represent the bulk of the newer home models. The reason I call it a “frozen bowl” is that one is required to freeze a 1 – 1.5 qt bowl. The most readily available, and in my opinion most simply designed, is the Cuisinart. Additionally in this category, is the KitchenAid ice cream attachment. If you have a stand mixer from KitchenAid, this works just great. In fact, most think it is the best of these style machines. I can attest it works very, very well. I own an old Krups model, but neither it nor the Braun can be purchased anymore. I prefer the KitchenAid or Cuisinart to the Krups for design, efficiency and ease of use. And let’s not forget the Donvier model, which is hand crank only. It is very effective, and simply uses elbow grease to operate. For the 1 qt size, like this machine, the effort isn’t nearly as arduous as the older models mentioned above.
The main requirement is to make sure the bowl is frozen solid. If it isn’t, the ice cream won’t set up properly. The manufacturers suggest freezing the bowl overnight or 1 day, I say at least one day, two is best. In fact, if you have the room to spare, just keep the bowl in the freezer all the time. This way you don’t have to worry about how frozen the bowl is and it’s always ready – just whip up that custard and make ice cream when you want. Kitchenboy fan and true culinary fiend, Ty G., uses a piece of plastic wrap inside the bowl to keep out foreign objects and excess ice crystals. A nice thing about these models is you can buy extra bowls so multiple flavors can be made in rapid fire succession. The bowls are cheaper than buying two machines. With the KitchenAid, you would have to buy two whole sets to accomplish this, so it isn’t practical. However, Cuisinart does make a twin bowl model so you can make two flavors at once. Additionally, Cuisinart makes the aforementioned soft serve machine. Since ice cream is a make ahead type of treat, if you want multiple flavors and have only one bowl, you need to start making ice cream farther in advance and allow for refreezing of the bowl.
KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment
Cuisinart Double Ice Cream Maker
Cuisinart Softserve Ice Cream Maker
Self Freezing machines
Cuisinart makes a self freezing model for the home, as do foreign, mostly Italian companies. These machines are fast, effective, require no lead time, and do a great job, but are heavy, bulky and expensive. Unless you are doing mass quantities of various flavors, stick with the less expensive, frozen bowl models.
Cuisinart Self Freezing Ice Cream Maker
Lello 4qt Ice Cream Maker
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Saurooon