Homemade Ice Cream

Kerber's mocha chip in a chocolate cone

Man oh man, I sure do love ice cream. It's not uncommon in the middle of winter to find me bundled up in a blanket sitting in front of the fireplace eating a bowl of ice cream and complaining about being cold. It's a measure of discomfort I'm willing to live with for the sweet reward of rich ice cream. I could eat ice cream every day and, in fact, in the summertime I do. My favorite ice cream usually comes from small local creameries, dairies and ice cream shops where the ingredients are fresh and the recipes are handed down from generation to generation. One of my Instagram friends has been posting pictures for the past few months from his local creamery Kerber's Dairy in N. Huntingdon, PA. Every time I see his pictures, my craving becomes uncontrollable. I finally organized an outing and a handful of friends gathered at Kerber's to sample their frozen treats.

While enjoying a 14% butterfat mocha chocolate chip ice cream in a chocolate cookie cone, I got into a discussion with my friends about the differences between ice cream, frozen custard and gelato. We all proposed our theories and shared our experiences. When I got home, I did a little research.  There are a number of factors that contribute to the flavor, texture and mouthfeel of our favorite frozen creamy sweets. All forms of ice cream are basically a mixture of milk, cream, sugar, flavorings and sometimes egg yolks. These ingredients have a chemical reaction that makes ice cream what it is - smooth, creamy and uniform. American style, also known as Philadelphia style ice cream has no egg yolks, but it is churned at a relatively high speed which incorporates a lot of air into the final product and it is frozen at a lower temperature which makes the ice cream firm and scoopable. The butterfat content affects the richness of the final product, but too much butterfat can also mute the flavor. Gelato has egg yolks and a lower butterfat content, which allows more of the flavor to come through. It is churned more slowly to incorporate less air and it is also frozen to a slightly higher temperature, giving it a more creamy texture. Frozen custard is always made with egg yolks and has very little air incorporated, making it much more smooth and dense. Most high quality ice cream starts with a custard base, which is hot milk or cream added to whipped egg yolks, then cooked until it thickens. After doing all this research, I was inspired to make my own.

I've made ice cream many times using a standard, basic ice cream maker. It has a double-walled tub lined with material that freezes solid. The frozen tub fits onto an electric motor and a paddle attachment is placed in the middle. The ice cream base is poured into the frozen tub and the motor rotates the paddle, simultaneously churning and freezing the ice cream in about 20 minutes. The soft ice cream is then placed in the freezer for several hours to harden. There are special machines for gelato and frozen custard that churn at a much lower speed to incorporate less air. Perhaps one day I'll invest in a fancy ice cream maker. For now, the basic model will have to do. I had a container of strawberries in the freezer that I'd picked a month before so I stocked up on the rest of the ingredients and put my double-walled tub in the freezer.


HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

2 cups half & half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup of white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups of strawberry puree
1 tsp of vanilla extract
The zest of one lemon
1 tbsp of corn starch
a pinch of salt

Having done this a number of times, I have tested many variations in fat content, ingredients and flavorings. I have tried all kinds of different proportions of milk and cream, even adding some 2% milk to see if I could get good results with less fat. It didn't work at all and my final product was full of ice crystals. Some recipes call for more heavy cream than milk, but I find that too fatty and the ice cream leaves a film on the roof of my mouth. I prefer the combination of half & half and heavy cream. Half & half is an equal mixture of whole milk and light cream that has somewhere between 10% and 12% butterfat. Adding the heavy cream, which has about 25% butterfat, adds the richness I like without adding too much butterfat.

For this recipe, white sugar is fine. But I have made brown sugar ice cream and it is very good, especially with the addition of vanilla bean an candied pecans. I also find the addition of lemon zest adds a pleasant tartness without adding the acid, which would cause the dairy to curdle.

Finally, I have a secret weapon which allows me to add less egg yolks. When I first started making ice cream, the recipes I found called for as many as 6 egg yolks. That's because egg yolks have lecithin in them, which is an emulsifier and keeps the ice cream base from separating. Picture a jar of vinaigrette and think about how the oil separates from the vinegar. When you add a teaspoon of mustard, the dressing stays emulsified. Egg yolks have the same effect, but too many egg yolks make the final product taste too eggy. The answer is corn starch, which also acts as an emulsifier, helping bind the fat molecules to the water molecules so the mixture stays together and doesn't get icy. I found a couple recipes in which the corn starch completely replaces the egg yolks, but I have not been brave enough to try it yet.

The preparation is pretty simple. I started by putting the strawberries in the food processor. When I first started making ice cream, my motto was the chunkier, the better. But whole frozen pieces of fruit are very unpleasant to eat. Unless they are dehydrated, the liquid in the fruit freezes in the ice cream and you end up with fruity little ice cubes that hurt your teeth when you try to eat them. Pureeing the fruit adds the flavor without the frozen bits. However, I didn't make the puree completely smooth as I like a few little shreads of fruit to be visible in the ice cream. I put the half & half and cream in a heavy saucepan over low heat and added the pinch of salt. In a bowl, I mixed the egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and lemon zest together and set it aside. When the cream was hot enough to form bubbles around the edges, I started tempering the egg yolks. This process involves slowly bringing the egg yolks up to temperature before cooking the custard base. If you just dumped the hot cream into the egg yolks, they would scramble. While whisking the egg yolk mixture, I added a slow drizzle of hot cream, a ladle at a time, until I had about a cup of cream incorporated. Then I poured the entire egg yolk mixture back into the pot, added the strawberry puree and returned the pot to low heat. Some folks prefer to add the fruit puree at the end so they can strain the custard after its cooked. You could do that if you like, I just chose to do it this way.

The custard mixture must be stirred constantly while it's over the heat to keep it from scorching on the bottom of the pot. It should never come to a boil, which is why you want to keep the heat low. It needs to cook until it thickens and the best way to know when it's done is the spoon test. Lift your spoon out of the custard and run your finger along the back of the spoon. There should be a clear trail that you made with your finger and the custard should not run back into it. That's how you know when its thick enough.

Take the custard off the heat and if it looks a little lumpy, that's OK, just strain it into a bowl. Put the bowl into a bigger bowl filled with ice and stir the custard until it cools down to room temperature. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for several hours. You want this mixture to be cold when you put it into your ice cream machine. I made my ice cream base early in the day and in the afternoon I churned it. After its churned, the ice cream needs a few hours to fully solidify in the freezer. It was still a little soft when I served it, but the flavor and texture were perfect. I do love making my own, but there are so many excellent ice cream shops out there to try and there's no such thing as too much ice cream. The quest continues!

Vanilla Brown Sugar Ice Cream

When we got married back in 2005, my older brother sent us an ice cream maker as a gift and I used it quite often back in those days. As we've moved around the country in the last decade, we've jettisoned quite a few household items along the way. We've lived in several small abodes with minimal storage space and I have to admit I have looked at that ice cream maker several times and wondered if I should schlep it to the next locale or make someone very happy at our next garage sale. Thankfully, its still part of my culinary toolkit and with a particularly hot summer embracing us, I decided it was time to give the old gal a work out. 

In a recent spice purge I'd found a package of very good quality vanilla beans that I'd had for a number of years. I purchased them at  Le Rendez Vous french bakery and gourmet shop in, of all places, Colebrook, New Hampshire, where the human population of 2,300 people matches the moose population. Its quite an unlikely place to find the kind of high-end nibbles you'll find in Le Rendez Vous, yet there it is, an amazing shop in the middle of nowhere. The town sits just a few miles from the Vermont border and about 10 miles from the Canadian border and every year Colebrook plays host to the North Country Moose Festival, which is how I happened to come by these amazing vanilla beans. The radio network I worked for in NH sponsored the festival one year and I volunteered to man the booth and generally represent the station. Finding this package of vanilla beans transported me right back to the vintage car parade, moose calling competition and maple syrup tasting that I'd experienced that weekend. 

Vanilla is such a lovely vehicle for a wide pallet of other flavors. As I pondered my basic vanilla ice cream recipe and rummaged through my pantry, I decided to augment the vanilla with brown sugar and Vietnamese cinnamon. Knowing I'd be making ice cream in the evening, I put the tub of my ice cream maker in the freezer that morning to ensure it was frozen when I needed it.  

VANILLA BROWN SUGAR ICE CREAM

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean

4 large egg yolks

1 tbsp corn starch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

The secret to smooth, lucious, rich ice cream is finding the perfect balance of butterfat. I have experimented with a number of different combinations of milk, half and half, heavy cream and light cream with varying results. Too much fat and the final product leaves an unpleasant film on the roof of your mouth. Not enough fat and your ice cream will form ice crystals, making for a grainy final product. I have found that the best balance comes from equal proportions of whole milk and heavy whipping cream. However, I encourage you to mix it up and find the proportions that you like best. 

This recipe begins with the classic French creme anglaise, which is basically a loose egg custard that can be used on its own as a sauce or as a base for other desserts, such as creme brulee or ice cream. The cornstarch is not a typical ingredient in creme anglaise, but in a frozen preparation, it makes the custard a little thicker and helps it maintain a creamy texture once its frozen. Begin by putting the milk and cream in a heavy bottom sauce pan over low heat. Slice the vanilla bean down the middle and scrape the sticky seeds out of the center with the tip of your knife. Scoop all that vanilla goodness into the milk, along with the scraped pod, and heat it gently until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges and steam begins to rise from the surface. Don't let the milk boil! While your milk is heating, put the egg yolks in a shallow bowl and add the brown sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, salt and just a small splash of the milk before it gets warm. Whisk the egg yolk mixture until it lightens slightly in color and the sugar is mostly dissolved. 

Once the milk is hot, you're ready to temper the eggs. Tempering brings the eggs up to temperature slowly so they don't scramble. Take a ladle full of hot milk and drizzle it slowly into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Go very slowly at first as you introduce the hot milk into the eggs, adding a couple ladles of milk slowly while whisking, then adding a couple more ladles before pouring this mixture back into the pot with the rest of the hot milk. Now switch to a wooden spoon and heat the custard over medium low while stirring.  If you don't keep stirring, the custard will stick to the bottom of the pot and become lumpy. Stir until the custard thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Again, don't let this mixture boil! When its ready, strain it back into the bowl, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and put it in the fridge to get super cold. This mixture needs to be well chilled before it goes into the ice cream maker. By the way, that vanilla bean still had some flavor to impart. Pull it out of the strainer, let it dry a little bit, then put it into a jar of sugar and in a couple of weeks you'll have vanilla sugar to sprinkle on your pies and crumbles. 

Once the custard is fully chilled, follow the instructions for your ice cream maker and you'll be eating delicious, homemade ice cream in about an hour. Once the ice cream is churned, I like to put it into a loaf pan and let it firm up in the freezer for about half an hour and I serve it with a cookie or chopped candied nuts on top for a much needed crunch. The predominant flavor is vanilla, but the brown sugar and cinnamon make it deep and complex. Trust me, this ice cream won't last long, so get it while its.....um....cold.