The Food Lab: Real Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Machine
It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments.
This ice cream is the real deal. [Photograph: Kenji Alt]
Real Ice Cream Without the Machine
You can make ice cream without the machine: See the recipe here »
Like bicyclists who don't stop at stop signs and baths that aren't deep enough, unitasking kitchen tools are a major pet peeve of mine. Unfortunately a few of them* are absolutely required. Take the ice cream maker, for instance. Unless you want to sit whisking a bowl of custard over a salt and ice bath for a good half hour, there's no other way to make ice cream at home.
*Kitchen tools, not self-entitled bikers—who needs them?
Sure, I've seen the hacks, and I don't like any of 'em. There are the so-called "magic ice cream" recipes that have you fold whipped cream into an eggless base so that it doesn't form a solid block when you freeze it. There's a real name for fluffy stuff: it's called frozen mousse, and it's more akin to cool whip than real ice cream. I mean, it's called ice cream, not ice fluff, right? Ice cream needs to be dense, and it needs to be rich with egg yolks.
Then there are those recipes that simply take frozen fruit, mix it with a couple ingredients, and puree them in a food processor (bananas are a popular choice). These are better than the cool whip version, but they don't fool anyone: That's a thick smoothie, not ice cream.
When I say ice cream, I mean the real deal: Ice cream that's rich, smooth and creamy on the spoon. Ice cream that melts slowly into a luscious, tongue-coating custard. The kind of badass ice cream that makes lesser people feel guilty for eating it. The kind of ice cream worth getting out of bed in the middle of the night for. I mean real ice cream.
My goal this week: Keep the ice cream, lose the machine.
Breaking the Ice
My first test was destined to be a failure: I made a regular ice cream base by whisking 8 egg yolks with a cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until it was pale yellow and ribbony. I then tempered it with 2 cups of hot heavy cream and 2 cups of hot milk. I cooked this base up to 180°F on the stove top, carefully whisking to avoid scrambling the eggs until it thickened into a glossy custard base.
Now normally, you'd chill this base and throw it into an ice cream machine to churn as it freezes. I decided to skip the machine, and throw it straight into the freezer to freeze on its own. A day later, and here's what I had:
You can clearly see that the ice cream base has formed large crystalline structures. Rather than feeling creamy on the tongue, it tasted icy and wet. It also took some major force to hack a piece out of the nearly solid block of frozen custard.
So what exactly does churning accomplish? Well, as the ice cream freezes, its water component (milk and eggs are mostly water) has a natural tendency to form into large crystalline structures. Imagine the water molecules as individual blocks of Legos, and the freezer as an overzealous kid who really really wants to build them into a big castle.
Leave him to do his work, and the castle will be built in one large, tough-to-break structure. Churning the ice cream as it freezes prevents this structure from forming. Like trying to build a Lego castle in an earthquake, a few pieces may get stuck together, but not many.
So in order to make perfect ice cream, I'd need to figure out a way to either prevent these large crystals from forming, or to break them up after they do.
Easy, I thought. I'll just take that frozen brick of custard, cut it into pieces, throw it in the stand mixer, and churn it. As it slowly melts, the ice crystals should break up, then I can simply throw it back into the freezer and I'm good to go, right?
Wrong.
What I ended up with was not smooth and creamy ice cream, but something more akin to a wet concrete with shards of broken glass.
So breaking up the shards was a fail. I'd need to find a way to prevent the crystals from forming in the first place.
What kinds of things can hinder the formation of larger ice crystals? Sugar helps by physically getting in the way of the water molecules as they try and crystallize (that's why low-sugar ice cream recipes turn out such bad results). Similarly, fat and milk proteins help by stabilizing the mix so that some air can be incorporated, loosening up the structure.
Increasing the amount of sugar was not an option, but what about increasing the proportion of fats and proteins to water? What if I were to use evaporated milk in place of the regular milk? That should reduce the water content, thereby increasing the proportion of fat and protein without drastically affecting flavor.
It was an improvement—enough that I'd use evaporated milk in all of my ice cream (hacked or regular!) from now on. But it still needed lots of work.
Overriding Overrun
Churning also does another thing: it introduces air to the mix. The amount of air incorporated to the mix is referred to in the industry as overrun, and is given as a percentage representing the total volume after churning over the volume of the unchurned base.
So, for example, say I started out with 2 cups of ice cream base and introduced enough air to the mix while churning to make 3 cups of frozen ice cream. That's 50% more volume added during churning, so the ice cream has an overrun of 50%.
In small amounts, overrun is a good thing. It keeps the texture looser and creamier. Most premium ice creams, like Häagen-Dazs, have an overrun of about 25% while cheaper brands, like Breyers, can have an overrun of as much as 94%. At this level, the ice cream melts much faster, and loses a lot of its richness.
What if I were to artificially incorporate some air before freezing? I knew that if I whipped some of the cream and fold it into the cooked ice cream base, I'd be flirting dangerously close to the "frozen mousse" territory that I wanted to avoid in the first place, but I decided to give it a go anyway and see what came of it.
The results were not stellar:
The scoop on the left, weighing in at 1 ounce is a batch of the icy ice cream made by simply freezing the ice cream base without churning. The scoop on the right, weighing in at only 5/8ths of an ounce is the batch I made by whipping the cream until it doubled in volume before incorporating it. As you can see, its overrun is about 75%.
The good news: Less ice crystal formation. Turns out that by incorporating air into the mix, the water molecules are kept far enough apart from each other to prevent them from crystallizing.
The bad news: 75% overrun is better than Breyers, but that ain't good enough for me.
For my next attempt, I tried whipping only half of the cream before folding it in. This one came out with an overrun of about 33%, but still had a few shards of large ice crystals.
Better, but still not good enough.
*Interestingly, the ice cream also comes out much paler. This is because when the ice crystals are further apart, rather than reflecting of a solid surface, the light waves refract through the small crystalline structures.
Fast Freeze
So how could I reduce both crystal formation and overrun even further?
A thought struck me: I knew that when freezing meat or fish, the more rapidly the food is frozen, the less cell damage there is due to ice crystal formation. Would speeding up the rate at which the ice cream base froze help me minimize crystal formation as well?
The rate at which a given volume changes temperature is dependent on the temperature of its surrounding environment, as well as the amount of surface area exposed to it. There's no way for me to get my freezer to get any colder, but as it turns out, there's a simple device that is custom designed to freeze liquids in your freezer as fast as possible: an ice cube tray.
I made a new batch of ice cream base, this time pouring it directly into a couple of ice cube trays instead of quart containers.
It worked! This time, minimal crystal formation, and only 33% overrun. The only problem that remained was: who the hell wants to eat ice-cube shaped ice cream?
The solution was as simple as throwing the cubes into a food processor:
In fact, whirling it in the Cuisinart gave me another distinct advantage. I could save the unwhipped portion, freezing just a base of eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, and whipped cream. This cut back on the water content of the mix, further reducing crystal formation. I could then add the cream and the cubes of ice cream directly to the food processor. By doing this, ice crystal formation went down to virtually zero, and I even managed to beat an extra 9% of air out of the ice cream with the cast moving blades, getting my overrun all the way down to just 24%. That's even less than the best commercial brands!
I finally had perfect, creamy, rich ice cream with no faking, no hacking, and no ice cream machine. Now if only I wasn't such a pack rat, I'd be able to throw my ice cream machine away.
Continue here for the recipe for Real Ice Cream Without the Machine »
Follow Kenji on Facebook or Twitter. About the author: After graduating from MIT, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt spent many years as a chef, recipe developer, writer, and editor in Boston. He now lives in New York with his wife, where he runs a private chef business, KA Cuisine, and runs the collaborative blog GoodEater.org about sustainable food enjoyment.
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64 Comments:
Incredible! I can't wait to do this.
JacobEstes at 9:23AM on 07/16/10
Or you could modify a freezer with a homemade churner and a complex system of gears and pulleys operating off of a dryer motor like the guys on "Food Jammers" .... lol
winternutt at 9:25AM on 07/16/10
Kenji, your articles rock! I didn't think enough to ask, but deep down I wanted you to address the subject of making ice cream without an ice cream machine. Although I do like a bit more overrun than you do, I didn't imagine one could come up with such a successful recipe without the fancy equipment. As usual, your explanations were informative and clear. I'm going to try it!
Could you tell me about the digital scale you're using. In particular, does it convert to decimals and/or grams, or does it only weigh in fractions of a pound? I have trouble reading my own manual (with a needle going in a circle) kitchen scale and I might be in the market for a new one.
samiamb at 9:27AM on 07/16/10
Kenji, Thanks for a wonderful article. As someone who has already made the impulse purchase of the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment, can you also post your new ice cream recipe that uses condensed milk with a regular ice cream maker? Thanks!!
KSmith at 9:41AM on 07/16/10
I was able to make ice cream without a machine at home, but I used a different method. I made a simple custard base with brown sugar instead, cooled it, added my flavourings, which in this case was raisins plumped in dark rum. Once everything was cool, it went right into the freezer in a very heavy metal bowl. Every 20-30 minutes, I'd pop open the freezer and with a metal spoon, I'd scrape the top, not unlike you would when making a granita. After several hours of doing this, I was able to get the rich, creamy texture you'd want. It takes a whole day, but like you Kenji, I also detest unitasking tools.
illcosby at 9:46AM on 07/16/10
Nothing to do with ice cream, but with the exception of high-traffic intersections, it seems unfair to expect bikers to stop at every stop sign. It takes so much effort to come to a stop and get going again, and visibility on a bicycle is much better than a car. So it's a fairly easy matter to be sure that breezing through won't cause any accidents or impede others!
cookiequiz at 9:56AM on 07/16/10
@KSmith
Yes - just follow the recipe, adding all of the cream (without whipping) to the ice cream base before chilling. Throw it in an ice cream machine, and presto.
@Samiamb
Read this for a guide on scales. That one is the OXO Good Grips electronic scale. It unfortunately does do the eannoying thing of using fractions instead of decimals, but only when measuring in ounces (I believe - I'm not at home right now, so I can't double check). It measure in whole grams if you want it to.
@cookiequiz
I guess I'm talking more about 2 scenarios which seem to happen frequently (especially when I was living in Cambridge, where bikers are exceptionally self-entitled).
a) You are walking and come to cross the street. Motorists stop for you, but bikers don't, so often you are walking past a car and a biker nearly hits you as he runs right through the stop sign.
b) You are driving and come to a four-way stop. You arrive at the intersection first and stop and are about to continue across it, then a biker going orthogonally to you arrives at the intersection, ignores the stop sign, goes straight through, then gives you angry looks because you nearly hit him (and it's only because he ignored the stop sign!).
The dichotomy between the morally superior attitude of some bikers and their flagrant disregard for traffic laws can be so infuriating. Anyone with me on this?
(I'm of course not referring to all bikers. I'm sure Ed is as courteous as can be).
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 10:10AM on 07/16/10
This is confusing to me on several levels. For some reason, sticking them into an ice cube tray to increase the rate of heat transfer should result in less uniform larger crystal growth, not the smoother texture that you describe. Furthermore, the increase in surface area would only compound that problem as more locations of crystallization might occur... did you ever end up trying various levels of aeration coupled with the speed freeze? Not that it's very practical to try, but I'm curious how much introducing air has to do with prevention of ice crystals vs. the rate of cooling. Methinks a slowly cooled mixture that is aerated in batches might yield the same result.
myinnerfatty at 10:10AM on 07/16/10
I just toss the ice cream base in a quart zippy, put that in a gallon zippy with some ice and rock salt, and mush it around til it's set.
Jamileigh17 at 10:11AM on 07/16/10
What's wrong with the "kick the coffee can which is within a coffee can" or the "double Zip-loc baggies while wearing gloves" methods? ;)
Gator Pam at 10:12AM on 07/16/10
@Kenji, great thinking! I am more than happy with my ice cream maker, but truly appreciate the your thought process here.
On a tangential note, though, does anyone have a recommendation for a 0.1g precision scale? The display looks like my OXO scale, which I love, but I'm starting to play with some "molecular gastronomy" recipes (for lack of a better term) and need more precision.
Grease at 10:14AM on 07/16/10
As a kid, we always loved to make "kick the can" ice cream. Adults may find the kicking part tedious, but if you have kids and trust them to make it around the block a few times, it works.
Explanation/recipe here: http://kids-educational-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/kick-the-can-ice-cream-provides-kids-summer-and-science-fun
and here: http://www.cookingcache.com/dessert/kickthecanicecream.shtml?rdid=rc1
I can't vouch for the recipes on those websites, just the technique.
Marcusj42 at 10:16AM on 07/16/10
Also, could this be adapted for gelato by not whipping the cream and decreasing the fat ratio?
Grease at 10:17AM on 07/16/10
@myinnerfatty
Slow freezing creates larger ice crystals, because there is more time for the water molecules to move around and rearrange themselves into larger structure. Fast freezing prevents this.
Here's an excerpt from a USDA fact sheet (not that they can always be trusted, but this one is right):
This is all in line with my own observations, so I believe it's correct. Whipping is a major part of what prevents it from freezing solid, but rapid freezing is essential as well.
@Grease
No, it wouldn't work - the fat content is essential to prevnting it from freezing solid, as is the whipping.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 10:20AM on 07/16/10
I am totally trying this - I almost bought one of the cuisinart ice cream makers yesterday but held back (too many other things to purchase right now).
And I am with you on the bikers. I work at a major University which means LOTS of bikers. I think it is great and I wish I lived close enough to bike to work myself. However, I am getting really tired of getting glared at because I dare to WALK in the Crosswalk obeying the traffic signals and cause a biker to pause at a red light. Grrr. Or - I actually might want to walk on the sidewalk without having to dive out of the way for safety. Common courtesy and obeying traffic laws goes a long way....
arwenb at 10:24AM on 07/16/10
I prefer Breyer's to Haagen Dazs. What should I do to increase the overflow to at least 40-50%? Whip more of the cream?
NovaChild at 10:26AM on 07/16/10
Kenji - so every time you want to have the ice cream you take a few cubes and mix it with the cream in the processor?? Not do the whole batch in the food processor and freeze again the results, right?? Please clarify for me.
By the way... I love your articles, you sound like Alton Brown all the way. Congrats.
MadelynRodriguez at 10:28AM on 07/16/10
@Kenji: Awesome article! I have two questions. (1) What do you think of using dry ice while churning the ice cream base in a stand mixer, as Heston Blumenthal does? (2) Are you a fan of Toscanini's?
Aaron Mattis at 10:36AM on 07/16/10
And, I guess, (3) How would you substitute vanilla bean for vanilla extract?
Aaron Mattis at 10:41AM on 07/16/10
You are my favorite food writer, thank you for this article. I have been wanting to make homemade ice cream for so long but I live in a shoebox and I'm trying to save a bit of money, so I loathe the idea of buying something like an ice cream maker. Do you think you could do a follow-up piece about how to make a few different flavors? I'm not sure when I would add in other ingredients. I would love, for example, to make a salted caramel ice cream, or even a really good strawberry. Any ideas would be appreciated.
LizLemon at 10:53AM on 07/16/10
And by the way, I'm with you on your biker rage. I mostly walk here in DC, but even for a walker, the bikers here can be infuriating. I think the taxi drivers are still the worst here though. Lately I've been seeing a lot of bikers here riding on the sidewalk--get off!!! Sidewalk is for walking! Ugh.
LizLemon at 10:56AM on 07/16/10
Are there any equipment substitutions for the food processor step?
kimbodian at 11:06AM on 07/16/10
@LizLemon To make caramel ice cream you'd have to caramelize the sugar and arrest the cooking with the milk, then melt any seized caramel back down and add it to the egg yolks - you essentially have to rearrange the procedure of the recipe. BTW when I make ice cream I always heat the sugar with the liquid to make sure it dissolves (I do this at home and in the professional kitchen at work). Strawberry is easier since it just involves mixing in roughly pureed strawberries.
@kimbodian These are the instructions I wrote up on my site for making ice cream without a machine: http://verysmallanna.com/no-machine-required/ I've posted them before, they really are helpful, especially if you don't have a food processor (like me).
VerySmallAnna at 11:17AM on 07/16/10
@Grease - I use a MyWeigh Triton T2 scale for various charcuterie projects and it should work well for your purposes too. The downside is that it has a weight limit of 550 g.
BerkelMan at 11:49AM on 07/16/10
@kimbodian
I tried a few batches in the stand mixer, and that works pretty well. You have to let the ice cream cubes soften slightly (like 10 minutes at room temp) or they'll fly out of the bowl. It comes out looser than with the food processor, so you have to refreeze it for a bit longer, but it still works.
@MadelynRodriguez
Yep - you freeze the whole thing again after pureeing.
@Aaron MAttis
1) I've never tried it, but I don't see why it would work, other than that the stand mixer might knock the hunks of dried ice out of the bowl. That happens when you try and mix ice cubes, for example. It makes a mess.
2) I liked Tosci's for a while, then I noticed the big window looking into their kitchen on the Main street location. The kitchen is absolutely filthy, and I can't stand a dirty kitchen, so I haven't been able to bring myself to go back. I did really like Steve's when it was still around, and these days Herrel's (Steve Herrel's newer shop) is good, as is Christina's in Inman Square.
3) Just scrape out the seeds from one vanilla pod and add them to the scalded milk mixture before tempering the eggs.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 11:59AM on 07/16/10
So this methodology requires, whipping half of the base, folding it back into separatedly base, freezing said mix into ice cube trays, then scooping out said ice cube cream into food processing, churn again, freeze again? Or I can just toss ice cream base into my ice cream machine w/ built-in compressor & eat soft serve in 30min.
Transferring the ice cream back & forth between vessels always created a loss, and that's a pet-peeve of mine since you don't wanna be licking the food processor & the ice cube tray, but I do love going over the dasher with a tongue.
As always, big ups to the science/problem solving (which this country so desperately needs) in the piece but... Single-purpose ice cream maker FTW.
SinoSoul at 12:13PM on 07/16/10
Ah, thanks for this! I am always seeing tasty looking ice cream recipes but I don't have an ice cream maker, and there are a few appliances in front of that on my "new kitchen gadget acquisition" list. (Current solution: one of myriad local ice cream places. Thanks, you crazy New Englanders and your heavy ice cream consumption.)
Also, as a pedestrian and driver in Somerville/Cambridge, 100% agree about bicyclers who do not stop at stop signs. And who run red lights.
SoRefined at 1:38PM on 07/16/10
@SoRefined
Ah - I knew I could count on a fellow Cantabrigian to back me up on the whole biker problem! Maybe it's just a college town thing.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 1:54PM on 07/16/10
@kenji thanks! I think I was thinking more towards... 'smaller more uniform crystal formation' a la metallic compounds rather than 'crystal prevention' per se. Color me convinced ;)
myinnerfatty at 7:14PM on 07/16/10
@VerySmallAnna: Thank you so much for your response. I want to make sure I understand what you're suggesting: Would I caramelize the called-for 1 cup of sugar first, then pour the can of evaporated milk into that in order to stop the caramel from cooking, and then add that to some egg whites that I had whipped with vanilla, and then heat that all to 180 degrees while whisking? Is that the sort of re-arrangement you are envisioning? Some further advice, if you could offer it, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
LizLemon at 9:04PM on 07/16/10
Yeah, I've tried the whipped cream folded into other ingredients method of no churn ice cream. It was sort of cool to do the first batch or two, but it doesn't come out like real ice cream. There'll still be some crystals. Never thought to use the ice cube trays. Anyway, perhaps you could also reduce crystal formation by using freezing thin layers in trays. Perhaps you would need to scrape it granita-style like someone else mentioned.
Also, I'm totally with you on the biker thing Kenji (though I also lived in Cambridge/Somerville). How can you not expect them to stop at every intersection? They are supposed to. It's the law. Anyway, those bikers should be more careful. I've had to pick up more than a few of them off the street and into my ambulance.
wunami at 1:23AM on 07/17/10
"I knew that when freezing meat or fish, the more rapidly the food is frozen, the less cell damage there is due to ice crystal formation."
Why is this?
inferno at 5:58AM on 07/17/10
@inferno
Sorry about the lack of explanation - Someone else asked and I answered in the comments. I'll copy and paste it here:
Make sense?
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 9:16AM on 07/17/10
I've made ice cream successfully using my kitchenaid stand mixer, and I don't have the ice cream maker attachment. I make the standard custard base, whip it up in the mixer, then put the whole metal bowl in the freezer. Every 45 minutes to an hour, I take it out and quickly beat it in the mixer with the whisk attachment. I do this over and over (maybe 5 times) until it is about soft-serve consistency, then transfer it to a quart-sized container to freeze the rest of the way. It works really well this way, too.
wafflevision at 10:07AM on 07/17/10
I posted a comment about our simple condensed milk ice cream with whipped cream and it now appears to have vanished.
I checked back in to see the development of the conversation and noticed it was gone. Yet, there is a reference
"Yeah, I've tried the whipped cream folded into other ingredients method of no churn ice cream. It was sort of cool to do the first batch or two, but it doesn't come out like real ice cream. There'll still be some crystals. Never thought to use the ice cube trays. Anyway, perhaps you could also reduce crystal formation by using freezing thin layers in trays. Perhaps you would need to scrape it granita-style like someone else mentioned."
Are comments here often deleted?
ideasinfood at 11:32AM on 07/17/10
@ideasinfood: I'm pretty sure that I meant the comment by illcosby. Regardless, comments aren't deleted that often that I know of. SE hasn't been flooded with spam as far as I know and most people are pretty civil and nice in their discussions. The one easy to violate comment rule that I can think of is self-linking.
wunami at 2:15PM on 07/17/10
appears i just didn't know where i posted my comment
kenji kindly found it on the recipe itself
as for this ice cream being icy we have not had issues at all with the ratio of one can of condensed milk to one quart of cream which is then whipped
and a pinch of salt
ideasinfood at 4:19PM on 07/17/10
@Ideasinfood
Yep - I've never had mine come out icy like when making it with that method either, and it's super easy, which is a great plus.
On the other hand, it's not really like ice cream, per se, just a tasty, frozen treat. It doesn't have the richness or slow melt of ice cream. I find it to have more of a cool whip-like texture (though obviously less plastic-y and with much better flavor).
Did you guys write an article about that method in your blog? If so, do you mind posting a link to it so we can all take a look?
Thanks!
Kenji
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 6:03PM on 07/17/10
I tried the technique Harold Mcgee suggested in the NYTimes, which worked pretty well. Instead of rock salt and ice you just mix a brine and put it in the freezer in a couple of gallon zipper bags. You then sandwich those around your ice cream base in a quart bag. Because of the surface area it freezes quite fast. You do have to knead the ice cream base to keep it from freezing solid, but it's pretty easy.
oscarb at 7:06PM on 07/17/10
I've been obsessed with trying @VerySmallAnna's no-machine method (linked above in her comment) for months, but first it was too cold, and now we have no freezer space. D: But have you tried that method, and how does it compare to what you have here?
sar_t at 1:29AM on 07/18/10
I was all set on making this but then I found a cuisinart ice cream machine at the Goodwill for 12 bucks. However, I will confirm that the custard base+the unwhipped cream works great in a machine. The America's Test Kitchen cook book recommends adding vodka to prevent crystal formation, is it worth the trouble?
frackle at 3:03AM on 07/18/10
Re fast freezing: This is the difference between fine grained rocks from lava, and granite, which cools more slowly under the surface.
Or think of rock candy, which is an extension of that. To grow really large sugar crystals you suspend a string seeded with sugar crystals in a saturated solution for several days. Although it's not a cooling process, it still involves the reality that it takes time for the crystals to gather more molecules from the surrounding liquid.
On the other hand, when making fudge you want to let the mixture cool before you start stirring. You actually get larger crystals if you stir when it's warm. This sounds like a contradiction, but I think it's just because there's more time for seed crystals to form before it's cool, if you begin stirring when warm. Waiting til it's already cool means fewer seed crystals form before the fudge sets.
lemonfair at 7:35AM on 07/18/10
I'm with SinoSoul on this one. I'm way too lazy and impatient - after my custard base is chilled in the refrigerator, pop it in my $50 Cuisinart ice cream maker and I have ice cream in 30 minutes.
I guess I can see where most of you are coming from, but I make ice cream frequently - my ice cream maker is one of my indispensable tools, along with my bread maker.
Ssteppe at 8:43AM on 07/18/10
In case you want to go the opposite route: http://www.triplemotion.com/
(My brother's website on hand-cranked ice cream.)
I'm very happy with my 70 year old unitasking White Mountain freezer.
cousincole at 10:34PM on 07/18/10
I've made frozen yogurt with the scrape method and it's not bad. Not as good as if it were churned, but definitely passable in 100+ degree weather!
I can't leave the "unfair to expect bikers to stop at every stop sign" comment alone. I drive a stick and it's more effort than an automatic to come to a stop and start up again, so maybe you won't mind when I just "breeze through" that stop sign while you're breezing by the other way? :D
scarletini at 12:23AM on 07/19/10
No comment on the "kick the can" or zipper bag methods Marcus42 and I suggested, Kenji? I would really like to hear your opinion of these long time scouting camp methods of making ice cream.
Gator Pam at 9:31AM on 07/19/10
Both Kick the Can and Ziplock methods intrigue me. I'm a fan of using the food processor to make hacked/bodged McGyver Icecream myself. I wrap ice blocks around the outside of the processor to mock the icecream maker . I've found it to be pretty good though using frozen fruit such as raspberries is essential to keep the temperature right down (Icecream base cubes would negate this though). I think If I used my food mixer instead and tried it I might get a better result. The metal would conduct the cool better plus the motor would be well away from the icecream. Anyways, I'm rambling - Great hack!
JustinOrde at 10:46AM on 07/19/10
@Gator Pam
Sorry - busy weekend!
I really dig the kick-the-can method. My only problem with it is that it requires a group of scouts or kids willing to do the work for you, as well as a place where you can kick a can around. A little tough in an NYC apartment! Also - where do you find cans that seal well enough?
As for the bag method, I've tried it, and it works, but you've got to be really diligent about agitating it, or you still get ice crystals. It doesn't come out quite as smooth as I'd like it to, and requires too much attention while it's freezing.
The method I've outlined here may be a little more work up front, but it doesn't rely on constant vigilance while freezing, which in my book is a plus. I just throw the base in the ice cube tray and forget about it, then I can spin it whenever I feel like it. 6 hours later, a day later, a week later—doesn't matter!
For me, that's more convenient, though I can easily understand how for other people, other methods may be more convenient.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 10:54AM on 07/19/10
I would have tackled this problem from the other direction by finding other uses for my ice cream maker. (If I owned one of those instead of a vitamix.)
AustynSN at 11:45AM on 07/19/10
I disagree that making ice cream requires a unitasker -- I find that the ice cream attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer makes a superior ice cream product (especially compared to the Cuisinart ice cream maker that I got as a wedding gift) and the Kitchenaid definitely is NOT a unitasker.
Mizbee at 12:47PM on 07/19/10
@Mizbee
I'm with you on that - that's what I have. But the ice cream attachment itself is a unitasker, that takes up lots of space. To be honest, I personally odn't mind. I keep it in the freezer, and it's not a big deal. This article was really more for those who really have space issues, and there are a lot of people like that out there.
Also, I just wanted a challenge :)
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 12:57PM on 07/19/10
I appreciate the article (and all of Kenji's articles in general), but I wrote a quick defense of the ice cream maker at http://blog.stephenpurpura.com/post/832196765/the-limits-of-hacking-ice-cream-kenji-style
Stephen Purpura at 1:24PM on 07/19/10
@Stephen Purpura
Hi Stephen - thanks for the feedback. I appreciate the response.
I would like to note, however, that as far as "being late to the game"goes, the method I wrote about here is different from the whipped cream/condensed milk method outlined in both of the sources (epicurious eateries/nyt) that you pointed out in the beginning of your post. In fact, I mention those methods in this story and specifically explain why I don't like them (it's nothing like real ice cream, more like high-end cool whip). Sorry, don't mean to sound defensive, but I do feel that if you are going to critique a recipe or story, the facts should be straight first!
I developed this recipe because as far as I know, there's no existing recipe for a real custard-based ice cream that doesn't require a maker. If you know of one, let me know!
The recipe does indeed work for other flavors - any flavor of ice cream where at least 1/4 of the dairy is heavy cream works. Just replace 16 ounces of the cream/milk in the recipe with a can of evaporated milk (not condensed milk, which is what the recipes you linked to use), and whip 1 cup of the cream (for an 8 yolk, 4 cup dairy recipe) before folding it in. Follow the rest of the instructions exactly as written.
That said, if you own an ice cream maker, there's no reason to ever use this hack!
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 1:40PM on 07/19/10
Thanks, Kenji. I'm not going to turn into a troll on your blog. The point of my post is that just because you can use this hack to produce something that is a custard mix and tastes like ice cream doesn't mean that it will easily produce ice cream that people prefer to eat for all flavors.
I use the beer cooler sous-vide hack all of the time and I think it's much more useful than most people give it credit for. And when your readers tell me that they're skipping Toscanini's Ice Cream for your recipe, I'll be impressed!
Stephen Purpura at 2:38PM on 07/19/10
@Stephen Purpura
No worries - there was nothing trollish about your comment or blog post at all. It all makes sense. I just wanted to clarify the one part that I felt was a little inaccurate.
But agreed - until I test it on every flavor, can't say it's better or worse. I can say for sure that it's better than any other existing no-ice-cream-maker hack that I've tried so far.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 2:46PM on 07/19/10
So now I get to throw out the Ice Cream Machine to make room for the Cuisinart.
MrJPeoples at 8:49PM on 07/19/10
The biker comment really got my attention! What about cyclists who expect you to treat them like pedestrians whenever it suits them? As someone who's hyper-vigilant when I approach a crosswalk in a car, it drives me crazy to see a cyclist come screaming out into a crosswalk and expect all the cars to see them and stop. Decide if you're a pedestrian and then be that. You're giving cyclists a bad name.
Now, ice cream, back to you...
mcmvoices at 4:10PM on 07/20/10
My family thanks you! I never remember to freeze the bowl for the ice cream machine, but made a yummy apricot frozen yogurt today. Thanks! (I didn't see this in your recipe, but I had to put in half the cubes at a time and pulse 20-30 times. BUT, I didn't have the cream to help me out.)
myrnie_twin at 12:33AM on 07/21/10
@Grease: Here's a small balance scale scale for twenty bucks http://balance.balances.com/scales/464.
I use (and love) the Oxo scale after having stored my beautiful glass-top Salter scale on its edge overnight... NEVER DO THAT TO ANY SCALE!
Off to make Ice Cream.... (definitely rates capital letters!)
Calvinator at 5:37PM on 07/21/10
I love to beat cream till it forms soft peaks, then add a can of condensed milk and beat again. Throw that in the freezer and wait for it to freeze! It's so tasty. XD
Jathar at 5:48AM on 07/22/10
Haven't read all the comments as they started sounding technical. Just beat the mix and throw into a shallow tray and freeze for an hour approx. take it out and beat again and refreeze, if you're fussy you can rebeat again but I don't think it needs it.
nondomesticgoddess at 8:25PM on 07/25/10
if sidewalks were meant for bikes, it would be called sidebikes.
end of story.
:p
dropkickacid at 2:27AM on 08/06/10
I love making ice cream so this was a delightful article to read because I absolutely adore your articles! I don't know if this is meant more for the forum, but thought I'd might ask.
When I make ice cream in my Cuisinart ice cream maker, I have different variations on the amount of cream, milk, egg yolks for different recipes, and I churn it for about 25-27 minutes it has the perfect, creamy ice cream consistency, if not a tad runny. I plop it in a container and freeze it, then it is ROCK HARD. After much scraping to procure a scoop, it still melts in my mouth the same as creamy ice cream and tastes as creamy, but what did I do wrong? I was trying to understand the portion about volume and overruns, but it left me a bit baffled. Am I not churning it enough? Is there too much liquid that it freezes harder? (I tend to use a lot of the recipes from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop")
Help me!
(And p.s. I live in Boston and agree about the cyclists, but sometimes they have to be that way to deal with the Masshole drivers. Just saying.)
jessjess at 12:17PM on 08/10/10
The ice cube tray method isn't exactly new. That's how they've made kulfi since forever
tellner at 2:19AM on 08/12/10