101 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
# Ice Cream Making
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## Terminology
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### "Ice Cream"
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Depending on who you ask,
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the presence of certain ingredients
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might disqualify a desert from being "ice cream".
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I tend to believe (sometimes begrudgingly)
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that the _popular_ definition is "correct",
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in this case that ice cream is everything that a normal person might call ice cream,
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which includes frozen custard, frozen yogurt, and gelato.
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If I am referring specifically to egg-less ice cream,
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I will state as such.
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### "Dairy"
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In this note and my ice cream recipes,
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I use **dairy** to refer to the mixture of milk, creams,
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milk/cream mixtures (see [[#Half and Half]]),
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eggs, yogurt, what have you,
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that makes up the majority of the stuff that you put in the ice cream machine
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that, after churning, becomes ice cream.
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## Churning
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## Storage
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### Containers
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Churned ice cream needs to be stored in an airtight container,
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otherwise ice crystals will form and ruin the texture.
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### Added Alcohol
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The addition of alcohol before storage
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will lower the melting point of the ice cream,
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giving it a softer texture.
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This is especially helpful for certain recipes
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with large pieces of fruit or cookies,
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which can freeze hard and crunchy.
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The recommended ratio is one tablespoon of spirit
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(usually vodka, brandy, or rum)
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to one cup of dairy.
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Add immediately after churning.
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## Recipes
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### Churn Time
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Recipes frequently say to churn "according to manufacturer instructions"
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which is funny because my Cuisinart's instructions
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say to churn according to the particular recipe.
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The secret is that it doesn't matter.
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The ice cream is done churning when it sticks to the hook
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and visually stops circulating.
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That is, it's done churning when it's done churning.
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### Recipe Scale
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Recipes rarely mention what volume churn they're intended for
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(although they might provide an Amazon affiliate link)
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I have a Cuisinart ICE-21P1, a 1.5 quart model.
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Cuisinart does not give direction on maximum volume of un-churned ingredients.
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When making [[mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream]],
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using three cups milk/cream and about a half cup of mix-ins,
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there was exactly enough capacity.
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### Half and Half
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Ice cream recipes use a ratio of milk and cream
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in order to control the fat content of the result.
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Usually just milk and heavy cream,
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but some evil people prescribe **half and half**.
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I rarely consume milk or cream, and they spoil quickly,
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so I'd prefer not to keep on hand
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any more milks of varying fat content than necessary.
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Luckily (as might be surmised from the name)
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half and half can be made at home,
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but not from half milk and half heavy cream
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(which are the dairy solutions I keep stocked).
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Half and half is half milk and half _light_ cream.
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light cream has about half the fat of heavy cream,
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so one part heavy cream to three parts whole milk
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is the correct ratio.
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### Sugar
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The source I referenced while writing [[mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream]]
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directs one to pre-whisk the sugar into the dairy,
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but other recipe sources, including mine for [[strawberry-ice-cream]],
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just have you dump everything in the churn and hit go.
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I feel like this ought to be sufficient.
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