# Weird ice cream



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

I haven't made a lot of ice cream in my career, but I've made enough to sort of know what I'm doing. 

I know a lot of pastry chefs use stabilizers in their bases, but I don't know what the stabilizers are and what they are meant to do.

So.......I made this batch of french vanilla ice cream and it tasted great right out of the ice cream machine. But after a few days in the freezer (in a well sealed container), it had this "icy" kind of taste....not creamy, and also I had the sensation of "flour", like when you taste a thickened sauce that hasn't had the flour taste cooked out of it. Do stabilizers prevent this problem? And if so, what kind of stabilizer should I use?


----------



## rlyv (Oct 28, 2005)

Most stabilizers are made out of different types of gums (this is the ingredient list from Cremodan 30-  Mono & diglycerides, sodium alginate, locust bean gum, carrageenan, guar gum & sodium dioxide added to prevent caking.)

Carrageenan is an extract of seaweed, and guar is from the guar bean, sodium alginate from kelp or algae.  I use a stabilizer I got through Albert Uster, and it's basically the same as Cremodan.  I don't use much of it.  If I use it, I may use half the recommended amount. It will help with preventing icy-ness, but you can't use too much.  It can make the base gelatinous, and the ice cream can have a gummy or gluey texture after freezing.

I always use a custard base (cooked).  Egg yolks do help with the smoothness of the base, and even a little cornstarch can help as well. I'm not a fan of cornstarch only thickened bases.  The mouth feel just isn't right to me, just my preference.  

I make several gallons of ice cream and sorbet a week.  I don't have trouble with it being icy. 

Even when I do use a stabilizer, I really wonder if it's doing much.  I've noticed that when I strain the base, a lot of it is stuck in the chinois, so is there even enough left in there to do any good? Who knows. I've never had a complaint about icy ice cream, even when I don't use it.


----------



## sirgoose (Jul 18, 2013)

I'm posting on this topic because I too was searching for natural stabilizers. On my end, I'm in the opposite direction, I don't use any eggs, I try to stick to only dairy and use a little starch and corn syrup. My issue is that I'm coming out on the "buttery" side. I'm trying to figure out if I'm churning too long in my batch freezer or if the chemistry of the mix is too rich in cream. According to my calculations, I'm at about 14% butterfat which is not too much for an ultra-premium product. I just feel like maybe I need something to help the fat break up or stay broken up. Any expertise anyone?


----------



## marcoropke (Jul 18, 2013)

I use a straight method every single time without fail. I use a bit of Glucose Syrup, eggs, milk, etc..

Actually here is the recipe that always works, it makes about 1.5L for me.

*Recipe Ingredients:*


*720 ml* Milk

*1 piece* Vanilla: Vanilla Bean Bourbon

*150 ml* Milk

*40 g* Glucose Syrup

*8 piece* Egg Yolks

*280 g* Sugar

*450 ml *Cream Whipping
*Method:*


Heat the milk and vanilla pods. (150ml milk + vanilla pods)

Whisk together the remaining milk with the glucose, sugar and the egg yolks.

Once the milk is boiling add the egg mix to it and under constant stirring cook the ice cream to exactly 82 C.

As soon as the ice cream reaches the required temperature, take it off the heat immediately and strain it into a clean container.

Set the mix on ice cubes to cool it down quickly, once it is cold cover it with plastic and place it in the fridge to let it ripe for one day.

Next day add the fresh cream to it and mix it well.

Churn the ice cream now in the machine.
It should look like this near the end of the machine while it's churning:





  








2013-06-16_23-34-30__Screen_Shot_2013-06-15_at_2.2




__
marcoropke


__
Jul 18, 2013








Hope that helps

Marco Ropke


----------



## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

I will try that recipe. Will I see a difference if I use corn syrup in place of the glucose?


----------



## jgraeff1 (Jun 3, 2013)

Honestly I have never had to churn the ice cream I make.

The alcohol affects how hard it will set and crystallize.

I normally use condensed milk, eggs, sugar, cream, vanilla extract and liquor of my choice. Then I mix and let freeze it's awesome and smooth and creamy. 

I made lavender- amaretto this way yesterday and came out great.

This is the method I use unless I'm using dry ice or liquid nitrogen


----------

