The Science of Ice Cream Making

Last weekend was a busy one for my husband and I. We ran a half marathon in Staten Island and took my niece to an Aquarium in Connecticut. As such, there was little time for making ice cream (blasphemous, I know). I had originally wanted to make a flavor in honor of the Staten Island Half, but I could not think of anything that screamed Staten Island. If anybody has any suggestions for a Staten Island flavor, I would be happy to hear them.

For this week, I decided to go in a different direction. I made two ice creams flavor to make up for having no ice cream last week. The first flavor I made is not exactly an ice cream, but a sorbet (close enough). 

I made lemon sorbet (this was a special request from my husband, who wanted something fruity). The lemon sorbet came out quite well, I thought. It reminded me of the Italian ices I used to have as a kid, but better.

Lemon Sorbet:

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

2 1/4 cups lemon juice

Directions:

Bring the sugar and water to boil in a pot over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, add the lemon juice. Churn in ice cream maker and freeze over night before serving.

The other ice cream flavor I made was Coffee Butter Almond Ice Cream. I had high hopes for this ice cream, but alas, it did not come out so well. I ended up throwing the batch away.

One thing I have noticed since embarking on this project is that although many of the flavors come out quite well, I have struggled with the consistency or texture of my ice cream. When scooped into a bowl, my homemade ice cream tends to melt very fast. I have followed all the usual guidelines, always freezing my ice cream churner for at least 24 hours in advance and allowing the batter to sit in the fridge for 24 hours before churning it. Nonetheless, the ice cream seems to turn soupy very quickly. 

I did some research online and found that most commercial ice creams that are bought in a store contain what are called "stabilizers" that prevent the ice cream from crystallizing and help make the ice cream firmer. The water in milk and the fat in cream tend to separate (something I have noticed with my ice creams when I allow them to sit in the fridge). The stabilizers prevent this separation from taking place and make for a more solid ice cream. In other words, stabilizers are like a bonding agent or glue for food. As you may have guessed, stabilizers are not natural. Many of the stabilizers used in commercial ice creams include: guar gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum and locust bean gum. There are debates as to how harmful these stabilizers are. Some claim not at all and others claim they are toxic. It all depends on the research you want to believe. I am not well versed enough in science and the ingredients in stabilizers to know which side is right in this debate. My personal bias though is that real food, even unhealthy real food, is always better than fake food, especially fake unhealthy food. As such, I would like to avoid using commercial stabilizers in my ice cream. I did do some research into natural stabilizers, however, and found that egg yolks are often used as stabilizers. In the chocolate ice cream recipe I made and loved, I used a lot of egg yolks. I also thought the texture of this ice cream was the most ice cream like. As such, I will be using recipes with a lot of egg yolks in them from now on.

The other thing I found out in my research is that sugar, like alcohol, does not freeze. Sugar, however, does dissolve. This is the reason that many ice cream recipes call for dissolving the sugar in milk over heat before making the ice cream. I strongly recommend doing this and perhaps heating the sugar and milk for a couple extra moments to make sure the sugar has really dissolved. Good luck!

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Emma Watson Ice Cream (aka Butterbeer Ice Cream) #heforshe

Recently, the UN launched a gender-equality campaign called He For She. The campaign was announced by the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson. For those of you who don't know, Emma Watson is the actress who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.

I understand and even share at times the skepticism that surrounds celebrity political causes. I also understand the critiques that it should not take a young and attractive female actress to bring attention to the cause of feminism,which promotes valuing women as individuals and not for their youth and beauty. Nonetheless, I think Emma Watson's speech is a fairly good one. As Ms. Watson stresses, feminism is "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes." At a time when our society has become increasingly polarized and feminism has become wrapped up in negative connotations, He For She is a campaign that is meant to bring people together to recognize and celebrate our common humanity as both men and women. It is a shame that we need a celebrity to bring attention to the issue of gender inequality, but if Emma Watson's celebrity status can bring about a positive change for gender equality, then this is a good thing.

If you have not had a chance to see Emma Watson's speech, you can watch it below:

As a supporter of gender equality and a fan of Harry Potter, I decided to make an ice cream flavor that I associate with Emma Watson's role as Hermione Granger. That flavor, of course, is butterbeer (a popular drink in the Harry Potter books). I had wanted to make a butterbeer ice cream anyway, so this seemed like the perfect excuse to do it.

As I began to do some internet research on what butterbeer ice cream might include, I came across a vast number of websites that had already created their own butterbeer. Many people were engaged in arguments about which butterbeer recipe was most authentic, which I found ironic given that butterbeer is fictional, and thus no one has a better basis for claiming their recipe is more authentic than another. Nonetheless, I found this recipe, which I picked because it sounded tasty. I also added some of my own modifications.

Butterscotch Sauce:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp water
3 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp heavy cream

In a small saucepan combine dark brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vinegar, salt and heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, put mixture in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.

Ice Cream Base:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cream soda
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk milk and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in cream soda, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together, cover and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.

Once the ingredients are cold, mix the butterscotch and ice cream base together. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn for 20 - 30 minutes.

This ice cream definitely tastes better after it has been in the freezer for a day or two. It has a strong butterscotch flavor, which I enjoy. I particularly like to imagine that I am sitting in Hogsmeade enjoying butterbeer with all my friends from Hogwarts. It makes the ice cream taste even better.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.