winter: ice-cream season!

[patandchickens]

Just a thought to those "enjoying" a cold January:

If you have an ice cream maker, either the salt-and-crank type or the freeze-the-gel-jacket kind, this is the time of year to make ice cream without using any electricity. Make yer icecubes outside, or on those really cold nights chill the gel jacket outside, for free!

I have both kinds but prefer the gel jacket kind (I am far too lazy to want to try to reclaim the salt from the other kind, and without reclaiming the salt it goes thru a *lotta* salt) which needs like 0 F (-18 C) to chill properly. I could do this in my chest freezer but it seems stupid to waste freezer electricity on that. But the last few nights we've been into the -20s C, and in fact today it is STILL -22.5 C at almost noon, so we have been making a lot of ice cream

(Plus, I scored a quart of heavy cream at the milk store for half price b/c it was nearing its sell-by date)

So yesterday we had banana ice cream for dessert; this morning I made some vanilla-and-spices ice cream that is in the freezer now, the jacket is re-chilling to make plum sherbet out of some failed plum jam this evening, and I *should* be able to get in two more batches before this cold snap is over tomorrow evening

Pat

 

[abifae]

Mmmmm! I do frozen custards.

The big issue is... it freezes too hard because I cannot add enough sugar to change the freeze point. So I make TINY batches.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't honestly put much sugar in ice cream, although doubtless more than you would. Maybe 3 Tbsp per 1.5 c cream? Although commercial cream is already sweetened, which is annoying.

Care to share your frozen custard recipe?

Pat, who also wants to try just dumping a can o coconut milk into the ice cream maker to see how that works out, I've never done that before but I bet it'd be good

 

[FarmerJamie]

Plum sherbert? That sounds soooo good.

 

[abifae]

I just cook cream and add egg yolks (one for every 1/4 cup of cream).

Strain it over chocolate, stevia, or whatever I want to use and mix thoroughly.

Cool over night and put in the ice cream maker with nuts and fruit or whatever I'm using.

Very basic recipe.

 

[Homemaker]

I'm an icecream fiend. Don't have a maker yet though. But, I'll remember this one for later. Good idea!

 

[abifae]

Frozen Desserts is wonderful to learn about ice cream! It's how I found out getting a Not Hard ice cream was hopeless for me if I'm going to insist on cream only and no sugar.

 

[freemotion]

Mmmmm! I do frozen custards.

The big issue is... it freezes too hard because I cannot add enough sugar to change the freeze point. So I make TINY batches.

I freeze leftovers in popsicle molds and small cups with wooden sticks in them, then bag 'em up and eat like popsicles. YUM!!! We ate up all our mint chocolate chip goat's milk ice cream this way. What a great idea. I have plenty of mint extract (homemade) and while Mya is lactating and the icicles are hanging off the roof, it is time to make some ice cream!

Gotta save some eggs, as I won't eat raw bought eggs and I prefer my ice cream raw.....Hmmm, how to get dh to leave the eggs alone for a few days? I'll have to hide them....

 

[abifae]

Freem, can't you bribe him with the ice cream???

 

[freemotion]

I can try but he is the kinda guy that sees what is in front of him at the moment....so if he sees eggs, and he is hungry, he will forget about saving them for ice cream and will scramble them up. I'll have to hide them.