How do I keep the smooth texture in my ice cream?

[iNow]

So, I've got an electric ice cream maker. Love it. The ability to make your own combinations far exceeds anything offered by Ben & Jerrys (IMO). Just mix the ingredients, pop them into the chiller bowl, and turn it on. 20 minutes later, homeade ice cream.

 

I can also make slushes out of juice, or frozen margaritas and daquiris in it, which totally rocks, but I've been working on my ice cream recipes. Simple vanilla is still a top player, but I've also done well with chocolate chip mint, and I experimented with a chocolate cinnamon swirl with hot chili powder that came out nicely (although the girlfriend didn't much care for spicy in her chocolate like I do). The peanut butter and banana was mushy, because I forgot to freeze the banana before putting it into the mixer, and I'm planning a caramel and apple one soon.

 

 

Anyway, here's my question...

 

When the ice cream comes out, it's very soft and smooth textured. Quite delicious. Then, when I store some in the freezer, it gets hard (solid, in fact), and the texture completely changes. When I take it out of the freezer, it needs some time to de-solidfy before eating (this is a standard home freezer, no industrial stuff). Then, when I can finally get to it with the spoon, it's almost crunchy or crispy. Icey...

 

I presume it's from the slow freezing process whereby ice crystal formation is breaking the smooth bonds in the cream, almost like little spears and daggers. That makes sense. I get that... but, here's the thing.

 

When I buy ice cream at the store, it is smooth and luscious and creamy, despite the fact that it's in a sub-freezing temperature freezer. I want to know how do they keep it so smooth, when mine gets all crystallized and crunchy and turns into a solid block? Do they add gylcerine or something?

 

I'm just curious. I love my homeade ice cream, but have to eat it all right after making it to prevent it from turning to crap. It'd be nice to save some for the future without it getting ruined. Your thoughts?

[insane_alien]

its all to do with the initial freezing. freeze it fast and all is well, you can then let it sit in a normal home freezer and it will keep the texture. you can do an experiment to prove this by taking a tub of ice cream from the store, leaving it to completely melt then bung it in the freezer till solid again. it will not have the same texture.

[YT2095]

wot he sed!

 

it`s all about Crystal formation, the Bigger crystals are made by growing them Slowly and is very advantageous for some things, sadly Icecream isn`t one of them

[iNow]

So, I was on to something with the crystal formation idea, but didn't follow it through. Sounds like if I could somehow get access to a blast freezer, I'd be all good since the crystals wouldn't have time to grow?

[DrP]

Heston Blumenthal freeses his ice cream with liquid nitrogen - if you have access to it then it's supposed to make the best ice cream. You just pour it into your ice cream mix and stir - the fast freeze makes VERY small crystals.

Edited October 15, 2008 by DrP

[YT2095]

if you could get a blast freezer, you`d be in Icecream heaven

[iNow]

Not too likely for either a blast freezer or liquid nitrogen in my future, but thanks for the quick replies guys.

[ParanoiA]

Sorry, I'm still mesmerized by the notion of an electric ice cream machine...20 mins...cool. Why haven't I heard about this before? Ice cream is my absolute favorite legal vice. I know what I'm asking for christmas now.

[YT2095]

there are many different sorts, but basically it`s like a very slow dough maker setting on a bread machine, but around it is a jacket of cooled material (some are frozen in the freezer 1`st, some are automatic), you pour in your mix and the paddles rotate slowly, keeping it moving whilst the outer (frozen) jacket cools the mixture to the point of Icecreamyness

 

Sorbet and Granita are nice too.

[iNow]

I use this one:

http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=314&item_id=423&cat_id=10

 

 

My girlfriends parents have a similar model, works just as good for a few bucks less:

http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=45&item_id=82&cat_id=10

 

 

If I'd had the money to burn, I'd have gotten this bad boy:

http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=313&item_id=422&cat_id=10

[ParanoiA]

Oh yeah, that commercial grade one looks awesome. I think that first one, the one you have, is more in my price range. Not sure I can wait til christmas though...

[iNow]

Well worth the investment. I really love the sorbet, too. I just pour in some juice from the shelf on the juice aisle. It's so easy, and so good.

 

Quick tip: It's best to use chilled ingredients. So, what I'll do is mix my cream, sugar, and flavors (that's really all there is to ice cream) together and pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then, I turn on the machine and poor them in. The texture is better when the ingredients are cool.

 

 

 

You add the mixin's about 5 minutes before it finishes. Hmmm... One of these days, I need to add some chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups... Or some Andes chocolate covered mints to my chocolate chip mint...

[big314mp]

Looks like iNow is passing out heart attacks

 

Anyhow, I think the local ice cream company (Graeter's, if anyone is familiar) uses some gelatin mixed in with the starting ingredients to help the ice cream stay...soft-serve-esque, for lack of a better term.

 

Nestle makes a bunch of different types of chocolate chips (intended for chocolate chip cookies) that you could try.

[iNow]

Anyhow, I think the local ice cream company (Graeter's, if anyone is familiar) uses some gelatin mixed in with the starting ingredients to help the ice cream stay...soft-serve-esque, for lack of a better term.

Interesting idea. I may have to experiment. Thanks, mate.

[jdurg]

The best ice-cream I've ever made was with liquid nitrogen. Never had ice-cream that smooth and creamy.

[iNow]

Okay, some follow-up questions then...

 

How do I as a regular guy with a regular job in a regular cubicle obtain liquid nitrogen?

 

Next, how do I use it best once obtained? Put the ice cream in a container then surround the container with the liquid nitrogen? Pour the liquid nitrogen directly on top of the ice cream? Some other way?

 

What's the best way? I'm just dreamin' here, but welcome acquiring an actual understanding of how to do this properly.

[jdurg]

It's actually pretty easy getting liquid N2. The problem is getting the dewar needed to transport the N2 as the gas distributors won't sell it unless you have a proper container. They will, however, let you rent one if want but that does add to the cost. (I can't remember what I paid for the Liquid N2.)

 

The gas is sold by any welding supply distributor, or gas distributor. AirGas is a famous company that sells to the public.

 

Once you've got it, you mix all your ingredients into a large steel bowl and mix them thoroughly. Then you just pour the N2 right into the mixture while stirring. (It helps having an assistant with this). It will instantly freeze up into tiny, small crytals and give you the best ice-cream ever. You just need to let it, ironically, warm up quite a bit before you try and eat it. ;D

[iNow]

Holy Caesar's ghost, Batman! That's righteous, and far too simple. Thanks, jdurg.

[iNow]

So, I found a new trick and tried it last night. I added gelatin to the ice cream mixture before adding it to the machine. Worked quite well. The texture was smooth and creamy, and the gelatin seems to have helped prevent large ice crystals from forming when I put it in the freezer.

 

Last night was also part of a new flavor experiment, which turned out rather (and surprisingly) well. I was not very comfortable going into the experiment, but am quite pleased with the results.

 

I mixed a can of Fruit Punch concentrate with my milk/cream and sugar mixture, and to that added the half package of strawberry flavored Jell-O. The ice cream (as I mentioned scared me going into it) is a nice, mellow fruity strawberry ice cream cousin. It was so successful, I think next time I'll try a similar approach, but instead add a can of limeade concentrate to my milk/cream and sugar mixture along with lime jell-o. To be frank, that one scares me even more, but I'm encouraged at how well last nights fruit punch and strawberry turned out, so will give it a go.

 

 

I've also learned to make the mixture as cold as absolutely possible before adding it to the freezer bowl in the ice cream maker. This usually involves at least 4 hours of sitting in the refrigerator. But yeah... adding gelatin to the mixture helps tremendously as well. Who'da thunk it?

[iNow]

A note to readers... Lime Jello in my ice cream wasn't my best idea.

Note to self... Stick with unflavored gelatin moving forward.

[amit]

i have noticed one thing that when ever ice cream is freezed in refrigerator the ice chips or crystals are usually in the lower half. dont u all think it might also have to with fact that milk is a composite liquid much like a emulsion or mix. so what if i turn my container upside down every few min. will the texture be smooth now?

[iNow]

so what if i turn my container upside down every few min. will the texture be smooth now?

 

No, not very likely. The challenge is that the refrigerator cannot freeze the ice cream quickly enough, and the slow freezing process allows the ice crystals to form larger. The faster the freeze, the smaller the crystals. It's the crystals that impact the texture... Large crystals act like little daggers and make it "crunchier." Small crystals are less noticeable, and hence allow the texture to be perceived as smoother.