Pat, there have been a number of times that after making caramel I no longer had any interest in making ice cream. I just wanted to stand there with a wooden spoon and mercilessly lick freshly made soft, warm caramel off of it until I passed out from caloric overload!

That caramel is fabulous. Not ALL of it made it into the ice cream

Recent interesting combinations: Meyer lemon-mascarpone; clementine-black-pepper; peach-rose.

Does anyone have - or know where I can find - a good recipe for ginger ice cream? I had one, but the book is currently in storage.

Can't give you exact quantities, but the way I always make it is to put (fine-dice) ginger and some vanilla bean in while scalding the milk/cream, make the custard (for a normal vanilla recipe) and keep the ginger in while it's cooling, then strain before freezing. Can't remember exact quantities (and ginger varies greatly in potency from root to root), so use a bunch and taste along the way, straining when it's strong enough.

Yeah, so that probably doesn't help much .

Thanks, Jake, that approximately what I've found on the web but I swear I had one that wasn't custard based.

I see no reason why you couldn't employ the same technique for a non-custard based ice cream. Your chilling time remains your primary infusion time (and I've never gotten the ginger to a good-enough texture to leave it in, so I strain it. I suppose if you got VERY young ginger, you could slowly sweat it in some butter before adding the milk/cream to scald and you might get away with it).

For ginger ice cream, wouldn't you use chopped candied ginger? I could see also using some essence of fresh ginger, maybe put through the food processor with liquid and strained, or simmered in liquid until infused, and maybe even some powdered ginger, all three (if you really love ginger).

I have a jar of something that calls itself "instant Salabat ginger brew" that I got from an Asian grocery grocery. Brand name Ludy's, made in Philippines. Ingredients "ginger and sugar", the ginger is ground up. It's a folk remedy for "colds, fever, stomach ache, and rheumatism." Mix with hot water, it's a darned tasty brew -- if you like ginger.

I bet it would be delightful in ginger ice cream.

I used this recipe over the weekend. The ice cream turned out very well (I used almonds instead of peanuts), although I think that I will make it without almonds or nuts next time.

Ginger-Peanut Ice Cream

1 cup raw peanuts (note: only 1/2 cup of chopped nuts is needed for the ice cream itself; the rest is for garnish)
1/3 cup chopped candied ginger
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup light-brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp. Salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger

1. To make peanuts more fragrant and flavorful, dry-roast them in a frying pan over moderate heat for 3-5 minutes. When cool, coarsely chop peanuts and set aside.

2. Place candied ginger in small bowl and add just enough water to barely cover. Set aside to plump and soften.

3. In a saucepan over moderate heat, bring milk, cream, sugars and salt to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into saucepan. While stirring with a wooden spoon, simmer over moderately low heat until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170-175 degrees if you have a thermometer). Do not allow the mixture to boil.

4. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean metal bowl. Cool to room temperature. Stir in soaked ginger. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.

5. Freeze custard in an ice cream maker until soft-frozen then add fresh ginger and ½ cup peanuts. Continue churning ice cream until frozen. Transfer to an airtight container and place in freezer to harden.

6. To serve, scoop ice cream into dessert bowls and garnish with remaining chopped peanuts.

Ice Cream will not freeze!! Help!

So. I am attempting to make Burnt Sugar Ice Cream. Recipe is 1 cup of sugar and ¾ tsp salt cooked in a dry pan until it melts and is well caramelized. Then you add one cup of heavy cream and stir until the caramel dissolves. Then one cup of milk, and heat till just boiling. In a separate bowl you wisk 6 egg yolks and then temper them with the hot milk. Put the whole mix back in the pot and cook till thickened.

I then put the mix in the fridge over night. And then into the Cuisinart ice cream maker (bowl frozen solid.) Let it mix for 40 minutes. And. Nothing. Not one single ice crystal.
Lots of very tasty, caramely, very smooth stuff. But not ice cream. Not at all.

This happened to the first batch, which I thought was an anomaly.
Now its happened in the second batch as well.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what is going on here??

The only thing I can think of is that your ice cream maker isn't working properly. Is this an electric thing, or a hand-crank like a Donvier? Either the bowl wasn't frozen properly or the machine has malfunctioned in some way.

You can remedy this, to SOME extent, by just pouring the goods in a container and put it in the freezer. Take it out from time to time and vigorously stir it up. (If you have a hand mixer, you should use it.)

Are you making this for company tomorrow? In that case, I would say you have dissed the Culinary Gods in some way and they are getting their revenge.

Its an electric Cuisinart with the bowl you stick in the freezer. The bowl was in the freezer for a few days, frozen solid. The machine performed exactly as it always has in the past.

I'm having a dinner party for 25 on Saturday. I thought I would start with the ice cream early in the week since it would keep in the freezer. I'm beginning to panic about the rest of the cooking now!!

I'd put the mixture in the freezer for a while to reduce the termperature several more degrees before putting it in the cuisinart machine.

Too much sugar.
reduce sugar to 2/3 cup.
increase milk to 1 1/2.

1 cup of sugar, plus 3/4 tsp of salt to only 2 cups of liquid is a pretty high sugar and salt concentration-- it's depressing the freezing point too far and won't work. This is the ice cream ratio I use-- just caramelize the sugar in it.

1 Qt Half and Half
10 yolks
10.5 oz sugar
pinch salt

I use a totally different recipe (caramel ice cream) which I created myself. I've made this 20 or 25 times now and it works:

Caramel-1 1/4 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 whole stick unsalted Vermont butter
In a heavy bottomed saucepan scald the cream and keep warm. In another heavy bottom saucepan combine the sugar with 1/2 cup water over medium heat and stir until it dissolves and the liquid is "clear." Turn the heat to high and boil the misture, without stirring, until it is a light to medium amber color. (Note: this is tricky and the key to correctly made caramel-not to cook this too long.) This takes me about 5 to 5 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth then whisk in the butter (chunks at a time) and let cool.

Ice cream base: 2 cups heavy cream (pasteurized Lewes Dairy if possible), 1 cup whole milk (NOT 2 or 1%, cream top if available), 6 organic egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, scald the cream and the milk. In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, whisk egg yolks and sugar. Add the scalded cream mixture, turn up the heat until the water is boiling and whisk the mixture continuously until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the caramel.

I do not use salt. Rather I dissolve sugar in water and boil, then remove from the heat and stir in cream and then butter. Later I stir this into the ice cream base which I make. Follow this closely and it WILL turn out the way you expect.

Ah HA! That makes sense. I was thinking it had to be something like that, but my kitchen science just isn't up to snuff. Thank you!

If you want more pronounced saltiness, a tiny bit of fleur de sel sprinkled on top of caramel ice cream is delicious.

I've never been very pleased with the results from my Cuisinart ice cream maker. The ice creams are usually a touch bit too icy no matter what tricks I try. However, thanks to the recipes from the Chez Panisse Desserts cookbook, I'm churning out some stuff I'm really happy with. I think it's the higher cream ratio of these recipes that does the trick in a home ice cream machine. I'm having a bowl of fresh strawberry and rosemary ice cream right now, but the mojito experiment a few weeks ago was probably my best concoction (it actually tasted a lot like a mojito).

Mojito Ice Cream
Zest of one lime
1 bunch mint leaves
1 cup half-and-half
2 cups cream
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tb rum

Bring half-and-half, cream, mint and lime zest to a simmer.
Turn off heat, cover and let steep 20 min or so.
Bring back to a simmer
Whisk yolks and sugar together and slowly add in liquid while whisking
Return to pot and cook until thickened
Cool overnight in the fridge, maybe adding a couple drops of green food coloring
Freeze in ice cream machine, adding rum at end
(Adapted from the vanilla base in Chez Panisse Desserts)

This might be good over some grilled or roasted pineapple.

David Lebovitz's new ice cream (and sorbets, granitas, toppings, mix-ins, etc) focused cookbook is a lot of fun to play with too: The Perfect Scoop. I've really enjoyed both the roasted banana and peach ice creams so far and think I'll do toasted almond/sour cherry next.

Hmm, would you be willing to post the recipe for the toasted almond/sour cherry ice cream? I can't get that book from the MoCo library system, and I've heard really good things about it. Sour cherries should be at the Farmers Market this Sat. (fingers crossed) and this sounds like a fine application for them.

cjsadler, was the strawberry ice cream made with a custard base? What is the base like in that ice cream (specifically, how much cream and milk?)? I'm curious because I've been fiddling with ice creams recently with very little success. I have felt as though all of my recent efforts have been far too icy (also in a cuisnart/krups/$50 job type thing) and am trying to figure out corrections. I would be curious to hear more about where you have had success.

I'd rather not post the recipe w/o permission, but you can find links to what some others have posted here, here, and here. Not sure if the almond/cherry is among them, but plenty of other options to play with.

The strawberry ice cream and the other ice creams in the Chez Panisse Desserts cookbook mostly split the difference between philly and custard style ice creams (with less egg and more cream). I think you'll find this Slate article interesting. I agree with its conclusion about the Cuisinart-- it does better with philly style ice creams.

That was an interesting article. Sadly, I just can't stomach the idea of ponying up $200 for an ice cream maker. I think I'm stickin' with the $50 business and seeing what I can perfect in it. Maybe I'll give the Philly style a try. I had never really been willing to before, but if the end product is better, well, the proof is in the eating.

I put my Cuisinart freezing bowl in my chest freezer (-11F) and it turns out a pretty good product with very little ice. My guess is that the lower temp freezes the base faster producing smaller crystals.

If you have access to a chest freezer try it and see if that makes a difference.

Here's our recipe for Honey Lavender Ice Cream, which can also be found here:
http://www.inapinchspices.com/recipes/hone...ericecream.html

We gave out samples at our farmer's market booth and everyone loved it! We got great results with a standard home ice cream maker.

INGREDIENTS

2 ¼ cups whole milk
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
2 tbsp. In A Pinch Hawaiian Vanilla Sugar (or any premium brand vanilla sugar)
1 whole egg, plus 2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. corn syrup
2 tsp. In A Pinch Lavender (or any premium brand, or some that you've grown in your garden, as long as it's sweet with absolutely no bitterness)


INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine milk, cream, and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan and heat on medium-low flame. Split the vanilla bean in half down the middle and chop into large pieces. Stir mixture constantly while cooking. When mixture begins to boil, stir in vanilla sugar, corn syrup, lavender, and extract.

Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, constantly stirring. Remove from heat, strain, and set aside to cool. Remove one cup of the cream mixture and set aside. In a small bowl, combine egg, egg yolks, and remaining sugar in a bowl. Using a hand mixer set on medium, beat the mixture until it is thick and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).

Take the cooled cup of cream mixture and slowly mix it into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. When combined, strain and return the new mixture into the rest of the cooled cream mixture. Return saucepan to a low flame and cook, stirring constantly until the thickness can cover the back of a spoon. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes, cover with plastic wrap, and set in refrigerator to chill for 3 hours.

Pour chilled custard mixture into ice cream maker and turn on per machine's instructions. When thickened, the ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. Transfer ice cream to air tight containers and set in freezer.

You will need to freeze this overnight. Hope you like it!

James
In a Pinch Spices
http://www.inapinchspices.com

More noodling in the kitchen resulted in an interesting flavor and texture combination. On hand were so-called heavy cream (not enough fat to whip up properly ), and about an ounce and a half each of unsweetened and sweet dark chocolate. So I whipped up one egg with 1/2 c sugar, added a dash of salt, a glug of vanilla, and more Ceylon cinnamon than I meant to. Meanwhile, I melted the chocolate over lowest possible heat, then drizzled it into the ice cream base while stirring vigorously.

If you've worked with chocolate, you know that this is not a shortcut to making a smooth, uniformly chocolate ice cream. Instead, then chocolate hardened again, in very tiny long pieces because of the way it was mixed in. When frozen, the texture was like micro-chocolate chip ice cream. Also, with the Ceylon cinnamon it tasted more like Ibarra chocolate than anything else. And as I love Ibarra chocolate, this recipe, wierd as it is, is a keeper. Also, it passed the Mister test (not all of them do).

I've had gelato that had the really thin ribbons of chocolate instead of thick chips and really liked it. The thin ribbons melt in your mouth and add to the chocolateness.

Bought the ice cream accessory for our kitchen-aid last weekend and tried it out with one of the gelato recipes in the manual. Basically simmered some 2% with orange and lemon peel along with a few espresso beans and then egg yolked it. Turned out great!

I'm pretty much ignorant of ice cream theory and the finer points of getting good results, so any advice, tips, and/or recipes would be appreciated.

Haagen Daz,
Al

"butterfat city," with the implication that heavy, butterfat laden ice cream is a bad thing. Hmm....

And, York Castle, at one time was the original Gifford's from the '70's...

Perhaps it is best that I have no comment in this thread.

I implied nothing of the kind, other than that it has a very high butterfat content. I like it....and eat it frequently.

If you do a search on Moorenko's, you'll find that I've praised it from the time they opened in Silver Spring.

Rich heavy ice cream is the best kind, IMO.

Has anyone here tried the recipes in Bouchon using creme fraiche for the base?

Not talking homemade here (don't ask me about my embarrassing gelato making incident), but has anyone tried the Ciao Bella mint chocolate chip? Wow! Tastes like REAL mint, not the candified version of mint. That's some good shit.

Not those specifically, but I've tried other recipes with creme fraiche or sour cream in the base, and was very pleased with the results - they give the ice cream a really lovely tangy flavor without making it overly dense.

Thanks for the feedback. The Bouchon recipe calls for 100% creme fraiche. I made the version with apples and calvados, and found it brutally expensive and extremely rich. Next time I might do 50-50 creme fraiche and whole milk.

The Perfect Scoop arrived recently and many of those recipes look fabulous.

I made the white chocolate ice cream from The Perfect Scoop yesterday, and, despite screwing up the directions pretty much every step of the way, that ice cream is good. The flavor is subtle but pleasant. It has a lovely color reminiscent of French vanilla ice cream.

I decided to make the marshmallow recipe he has in the book so I could add some marshmallow bits, and I broke up some Heath bars to incorporate as well. Given that it was a first effort, the fact that I got anything resembling marshmallow seemed a victory .

Biggest problem: I couldn't find the handle for the churn to the ice cream maker. It disappeared between taking the maker out of its storage spot and when I needed to churn .* I improvised, and the result was better than I would have expected. The only significant problem was with incorporation: the marshmallows floated to the top and the candy bar pieces dropped to the bottom. Oh well .


*Despite the fact that my husband and I both looked through the dish drainer for it, it finally surfaced this morning behind the dish drainer...

I made the butterscotch ice cream from The Perfect Scoop last night, but omitted the scotch and added chopped up See's Toffe-ettes and a little extra coarse sea salt instead of the pecans. So delicious.

For Thanksgiving dessert, I made pumpkin ice cream from the William's Sonoma website. I'm really happy with how creamy this ice cream is. My modification is to add crushed bits of graham cracker crust and caramel to the ice cream before putting it in the freezer.

A variation on the apple & calvados ice cream from Bouchon: regular cream base instead of creme fraiche, poached pears, pear liqueur, nutmeg. Mmmmm.

I've been making the flavor variations in The Perfect Scoop using the ratio from Bouchon (ten egg yolks, 2 pints liquid) with good success.

Have you been varying the liquid depending on the flavor? I'm curious because I've yet to come up with a good liquid ratio that seems to reliably work with different flavors. Too much cream=blech mouthfeel, too little cream=blech mouthfeel (with apologies to those who hate the term mouthfeel). I made the toasted almond, candied cherry recipe from The Perfect Scoop and while the flavor was good, it was way too rich IMO (I don't remember how many egg yolks it called for).

Just curious: why do people use "mouthfeel" and not "texture"?

Somehow, texture to me seems more like something I perceive or sense with my fingers, not my tongue. Probably not based on anything. (Oh, and I like to think I'm high-falutin'! )

Mouthfeel is more pretentious and makes you sound more sophisto. It's vocabulary inflation, using a 25 cent word when a ten-cent word would do, like saying you "sourced" something instead of just saying you bought it.

I had the most fantastic ice cream at the Blue Talon in Williamsburg, VA last weekend: Burnt Sugar. Each spoon tasted like the perfect first bite of Creme Brulee. Smooth, creamy, delicious.

I reckon the best test for bought ice cream is either the vanilla or the chocolate. But there's a real proper genuine pistachio which is phenomenal at Dolcezza on Wisconsin Ave NW around Q St (the precise address, along with other good ice cream parlors is on eatWashington). The pistachio isn't bright green but a sort of grungy decorator brown - which is how it should be. But the other flavors are just as good, too. In season, their strawberry ice cream just tastes like crushed fruit and cream.
York Tropical ice cream shop does some really weird and wonderful flavors, like Grape Nut, and Guinness. But there's something a bit fatty, rather than creamy, about the in-the-mouth feel for me.
Julia (of eatWashington)

Vanilla ice cream using Trickling Springs cream, Clear Springs milk and a Grade A Tahitian organic vanilla bean. Daaaaaamn, that's good.