Homemade ice cream is fresh, delicious and fun to make. What's more, you can customize your flavors or use the best-quality ingredients you can find. But it can be tricky to get ice cream to have that perfect firm, yet creamy consistency that is the trademark of good ice cream. Follow these tips to improve your own ice cream making technique.
Start With the Best Ingredients
Ice cream is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. So if you can afford it, buy organic milk and cream and free-range eggs, making sure that everything is as fresh as can be. If you're adding flavorings or ingredients, such as chocolate, vanilla or fruit, spring for high-quality products. For instance, real vanilla, or even actual vanilla beans, make far better vanilla ice cream than imitation vanilla.
Save Fat and Calorie Cutting for Later
If you're like most people, you try to watch what you eat and buy low-fat versions of cheese, milk and other foods. But ice cream depends on a high-fat content to create a creamy texture that won't get icy and gritty in the freezer. Once you get adept at making ice cream, you can experiment with using lower-fat milk products, such as half-and-half instead of heavy cream, but be aware that the texture and flavor won't be nearly as rich and delicious as a full-fat version. On a diet? Make ice cream an occasional treat, and serve yourself a smaller portion.
Know When to Add Flavorings
Flavorings, especially extracts or alcohol, should be added when the cooked custard has cooled. Don't add them to the custard when it's hot, or the flavors will deteriorate and won't be as pronounced. You could even wait to stir them in until right before you pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker.
Thoroughly Chill the Custard
Many ice cream recipes call for making a cooked custard out of eggs, sugar, and milk. After you've made the custard, it's important to chill it in the refrigerator until it's as cold as possible before putting it into your ice cream maker. Some experts even recommend "aging" the mixture overnight in the refrigerator, which will enable the mixture to be aerated as much as possible in the maker, yielding the creamiest, smoothest ice cream.
Freeze the Bowl
Speaking of freezing, if you're using the type of ice cream maker that comes with a freezer bowl, make sure to freeze this bowl for at least 24 hours before making ice cream. If the bowl is not cold enough, chances are your ice cream will never freeze.
Start the Motor First
Particularly when using an ice cream maker with a freezer bowl, it's important to turn on the motor before pouring into the ice cream base. The bowl is so cold that the mixture will freeze immediately upon contact, so you'll want it to already be in motion so that the ice cream won't freeze onto the bowl in a chunk.
Use Mix-Ins Wisely
Adding candy pieces, nuts or dried or fresh fruit to your ice cream can add a whole new flavor and texture dimension. Mix-ins should be small, around the size of a chocolate chip, so the ice cream maker can incorporate them into the frozen ice cream. Chill them thoroughly before adding them to the ice cream, and only add them when the ice cream is already completely frozen. The ice cream maker won't need more than a minute or two to stir them in.
Keep It Creamy
A common complaint about homemade ice cream is that it gets hard and icy when it's stored in the freezer. There are several ways to keep your ice cream from freezing solid in the freezer. David Lebovitz, author of the book, The Perfect Scoop, recommends adding a few tablespoons of alcohol (such as a fruit liqueur to fruit-flavored ice cream, or vodka when you don't want an alcoholic flavor). Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.
With a little practice and some good recipes (whether it's classic Vanilla or an adventurous flavor like Ovaltine ice cream), you'll be well on your way to making delicious homemade ice cream that will delight your friends and family.
Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
FAQs
When it comes to great ice cream, cold temperatures and speed are your friends: the faster you bring your base from liquid to solid, the creamier it'll be. In a 2-quart unit, a typical batch of ice cream will take between 18 and 25 minutes to churn.
What is the secret to good ice cream? ›
When it comes to great ice cream, cold temperatures and speed are your friends: the faster you bring your base from liquid to solid, the creamier it'll be. In a 2-quart unit, a typical batch of ice cream will take between 18 and 25 minutes to churn.
What not to do when making ice cream? ›
Pouring a warm ice cream base into the machine.
A warm, or even room-temperature ice cream base won't freeze. → Follow this tip: Before even thinking about churning your ice cream, make sure the base is totally chilled before pouring it into the machine. The colder, the better!
How do you keep homemade ice cream creamy? ›
Here are some tips for making creamy, non-icy homemade ice cream: Use plenty of fat - A good ice cream base should contain ample fat, usually from dairy like cream, whole milk, or egg yolks. More fat means a smoother texture. Cook the base - Heating the ice cream base deactivates enzymes that can make ice cream icy.
How to make homemade ice cream smooth and creamy? ›
The trick is never overmix as if you freeze to much the fats coagulate and then the mixture is to fatty . Mix only smooth and then stop . Add your container to freezer and you should have creamy ice cream when frozen . Enjoy !
What are the 3 most important ingredients of ice cream? ›
If you have ever made ice cream, you already know what goes into it, ingredients such as milk, cream, and sugar. But there is one main ingredient that you may not have thought about, probably because you can't see it—air.
What is the best sugar for homemade ice cream? ›
Corn syrup is the most readily available, but others like glucose syrup and glucose powder are easy to find online. They don't just add body; they also make ice cream more resilient to melting and re-freezing, a godsend for those cursed with finnicky freezers.
Why does my homemade ice cream freeze so hard? ›
There are two things that will lead to a homemade ice cream getting rock solid after freezing for a while: the fat content and the sugar content. First, the fat content of ice cream acts as an emulsifier, stabilising the water and fat particles in the ice cream and preventing them from separating.
Why did my homemade ice cream turn out icy? ›
The more water there is in your ice cream, the more likely it will be to form ice crystals. You can normally swap out water for coconut milk or heavy cream.
What ingredient keeps homemade ice cream soft? ›
Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.
Egg Yolks: The most traditional thickening agent, egg yolks contain natural proteins and fats that contribute to a rich and luxurious texture in custard-based ice creams. Cornstarch: Often used in non-custard ice creams, cornstarch mixed with milk helps thicken the base and create a smooth mouthfeel.
How do you make homemade ice cream creamy and not icy? ›
Whole milk – I don't recommend replacing it with reduced fat or skim. Whole milk's higher fat content ensures that the homemade ice cream comes out creamy, not icy. Cane sugar – For sweetness. Vanilla extract – For warm vanilla flavor.
Why is my homemade ice cream not creamy enough? ›
So you can up the fat in your ice cream by substituting cream for milk or half-and-half in recipes. Even more effective, is that you can also add more egg yolks if making a custard-based ice cream, which will increase the creaminess due to their emulsifying properties.
Why put eggs in homemade ice cream? ›
Eggs are used in ice cream to add a rich flavor and color, in- hibit ice crystallization, and also to help stabilize or emulsify the fat and liquid so the resulting product is smooth and creamy. Commercial manufacturers use pasteurized eggs, stabilizers, and other ingredients to produce a safe and acceptable product.
Why does my homemade ice cream leave a film in my mouth? ›
Originally Answered: What causes homemade ice cream to leave a waxy film in the mouth? Ice cream with too much butterfat creates this coating. Making ice cream is really a science unto itself when it come to the perfect blend of ingredients. Ben & Jerry's as well as Haagen Daz are generally at 13% butterfat.
What makes expensive ice cream better? ›
Aside from better ingredients, the amount of churning that is done determines the quality of the ice cream. As ice cream is churned air is incorporated and it increases in volume. This increase is called overrun. Cheap ice cream can be as much as 100% overrun, meaning half of its volume is air.
What makes ice cream creamy and not icy? ›
If refrozen ice crystals become larger than 50 micrometers, the dessert will take on that undesirable crunchy texture. To ensure ice cream stays creamy, manufacturers typically add emulsifiers like lecithin and stabilizers like guar gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan, and pectin.
What makes ice cream premium? ›
"Premium" ice cream tends to have low overrun and higher fat content than regular ice cream, and the manufacturer uses higher quality ingredients. "Regular" ice cream meets the overrun required for the federal ice cream standard.
What makes ice cream taste creamy? ›
Ice cream manufacturers often rely on added ingredients to keep their products creamy. Many add emulsifiers (such as lecithin), milk powders, gums, and other stabilizers that bond with free water in the mixture, making water less available for crystallization.
