This strawberry and balsamic vinegar ice cream recipe will show you how to make a rich, bright, and extremely creamy ice cream. The tangy and bright flavour of the balsamic vinegar adds depth to the sweetness of the strawberries.
The recipe will be split into two sections: SECTION 1 will cover the science of ice cream making as well as preparation tips, SECTION 2 will cover the recipe. I strongly recommend starting with section 1.
THIS RECIPE WAS UPDATED ON 17th JANUARY 2016
SECTION 1: THE SCIENCE OF ICE CREAM MAKING AND PREPARATION TIPS
1. Freezing the bowl and equipment
For this recipe, I use the Cuisinart ICE 30BC (click here for my review), which comes with a removable bowl that needs to be frozen overnight before it can be used. The following is a list of domestic ice cream machines with in-built compressors that I’ve tried and would also happily recommend:
- Lello Musso Pola 5030 Desert Maker (click here for my review)
- Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker (click here for my review)
- Lello 4080 Musso Lussino (click here for my review)
- Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker (click here for my review)
TIP#1 – Cling film
For the Cuisinart ICE-30, the day before you start making your ice cream, take the bowl and cover the top with cling film; use an elastic band to help keep it in place. The cling film will help prevent water vapour in your freezer, as well as any ice that may fall in, from freezing to the inside of the bowl. Any water that freezes at the bowl wall will likely be incorporated into the mix during the churning process, with possible implications for texture if a sufficient amount is incorporated.
It’s also important to freeze enough water in some ice trays to make an ice bath. We’ll be using an ice bath to quickly cool the ice cream mix once it’s been heated, minimising the time the mix spends in the ‘danger zone’, between 5 (41) and 65°C (149°F), where bacteria likes to multiply.
TIP#2 – Freezing the container
Take a 1 litre plastic container and the freezer bowl and put them in your freezer overnight. Freezing the plastic container will remove any stored heat. Heat stored in the container causes the ice cream that contacts the side and bottom to melt, resulting in an increase in ice crystal size.
1.1. Ice crystals in ice cream
Ice crystal size is a critical factor in the development of smooth and creamy ice cream (Donhowe et al. 1991). Smooth and creamy ice cream requires the majority of ice crystals to be small, around 10 to 20 µm in size. If many crystals are larger than this, the ice cream will be perceived as being coarse or icy (Drewett & Hartel 2007; Goff & Hartel 2013).
Ice crystal size is determined by the mix composition and by the freezing process, of which there are two stages: 1. the dynamic freezing stage, where the ice cream mix is frozen in an ice cream machine while being agitated to incorporate air, and 2. the static freezing stage, where the partially frozen ice cream is hardened without agitation in a freezer. Ice crystals form only during the dynamic freezing stage and grow during the static freezing stage.
In this recipe, we will be looking at what we can do to promote the development of small ice crystals during the dynamic freezing stage and then preserve these small crystals during the static freezing stage.
2. Setting the freezer temperature
Your freezer’s temperature has a significant effect on residence time and on ice crystal growth.
2.1. Residence time
If you’re using the Cuisinart ICE 30BC, or any other machine that requires you to freeze the bowl before it can be used, your freezer’s temperature will have a considerable effect on residence time. Residence time is the length of time the ice cream mix spends in your ice cream machine during the dynamic freezing stage and has a significant effect on ice crystal size (Russell et al. 1999; Goff & Hartel 2013; Drewett & Hartel 2007; Cook and Hartel 2010). Russell et al. (1999) found that ice creams made with shorter residence times had smaller ice crystals.
Your freezer’s temperature determines the temperature of the freezer bowl when you leave it to freeze overnight. Lower freezer bowl temperatures can lower the bulk temperature of the ice cream faster, reducing residence time and improving the ice crystal size distribution (Russell et al. 1999; Drewett & Hartel 2007).
TIP#3 – Lower your freezer’s temperature
Set your freezer’s temperature as low as it will go, ideally between -23 to -29°C(-9.4 to -20.2°F), to get your freezer bowl as cold as possible. The colder you can get your freezer, the colder it will get the freezer bowl and the shorter the residence time is likely to be. The shorter the residence time, the smaller the ice crystals and the smoother the texture is likely to be.
I’ve found that my freezer’s temperature has a noticeable effect on residence time when I use my Cuisinart ICE 30BC. When I set my freezer to ‘super freeze’, which gets the temperature down to about -27°C (-16.6°F), it takes about 18 minutes to churn an 800g batch of ice cream. When I set it to -18°C (-0.4°F), it takes about 30 minutes to churn the same amount.
2.2. Ice crystal growth
No new ice crystals are formed during the static freezing stage but the existing small crystals grow in size until the temperature decreases to -18°C (-0.4°F), or ideally -25 to -30°C (-13 to -22°F), to halt this growth. If the ice crystals grow too large during the static freezing stage, a corse or icy texture will develop (Arbuckle 1986).
Quick hardening during the static freezing stage limits ice crystal growth (Goff & Hartel 2013). Similarly, Donhowe (1993) showed that faster cooling of ice cream during hardening resulted in smaller mean ice crystal size.
TIP#4 – Promote quick hardening
To promote quick hardening during the static freezing stage, make sure your freezer is as cold as it will go, ideally -25 to -30°C (-13 to -22°F). Place your ice cream at the back of your freezer where it’s coldest. Try and clear some space in your freezer when chilling your ice cream. Putting ice cream in a densely packed freezer will reduce heat transfer, resulting in an increase in freezing time.
3. Setting your fridge temperature
It’s also important that you set your fridge to between 0 and 2°C (32 and 35.6°F) to increase the rate of crystallisation of the fat globules when you age your mix overnight. Crystallisation of fat during the ageing process helps maintain the shape of ice cream when it is served and also helps minimise the rate at which the ice cream melts (Goff & Hartel 2013). If you don’t allow the fat globules sufficient time to crystallise, it is likely that your ice cream will suffer from relatively fast meltdown and less retention of shape.
4. The size of your pan
The size of the pan you use will affect the rate of evaporation and heating time. I use a large pan with a 23cm diameter to achieve a 15% reduction after 25 minutes heating at 72°C (162°F). If your pan is smaller than 23cm, you will likely need to continue heating your mix for a further 5 minutes or so to reach the desired 15% reduction. Let’s have a look at why it’s important that you heat your mix for the full 25 minutes at 72°C (162°F) and achieve at least a 15% reduction. .
5. The importance of heating time and temperature
There are three principal reasons why we will be heating our mix to 72°C (162°F) and holding it there for at least 25 minutes: 1. to pasteurise the mix, 2. to improve foaming and emulsification, and 3. to improve body and texture.
5.1. Pasteurisation
If you’re running a business and making ice cream to sell, you need to ensure that you are in compliance with food safety legislation. Here in the U.K, the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1995, Schedule 6, part v 1 (a) states:
1. Pasteurised ice-cream shall be obtained by the mixture being heated—
to a temperature of not less than 65.6°C (150.1°F) and retained at that temperature for not less than 30 minutes;
to a temperature of not less than 71.1°C (160°F) and retained at that temperature for not less than 10 minutes; or
to a temperature of not less than 79.4°C (174.9°F) and retained at that temperature for not less than 15 seconds.
Ice cream needs to be pasteurised in order to destroy all pathogens and the enzyme phosphatase that may be harmful to health. This is just as important for those of us making ice cream to sell as it is for the home cook.
5.2. To improve foaming and emulsification
The second reason we’ll be heating our mix to 72°C and holding it there for 25 minutes is to improve whey protein foaming and emulsification. Foam formation and its stability is important for texture and for the retention of air that is incorporated into the ice cream during the dynamic freezing stage. Heating milk so that the whey proteins undergo partial protein unfolding yields a more voluminous and more stable foam and improves the emulsifying characteristics of milk protein (Philips et al., 1990). At high temperatures, however, foaming and emulsifying characteristics may be impaired due to protein aggregation (phillips et al., 1990).
At what temperatures, then, do the whey proteins found in milk start to undergo beneficial partial protein unfolding and at what temperatures do they start to aggregate? Sava et al. (2005) held that thermal denaturation of whey protein involves 2 steps: an unfolding step at 70 to 75°C (158 to 167°F), and an aggregation step at 78 to 82.5°C (172.4 to 180.5°F), that mostly follows unfolding.
TIP#5 – 72°C (162°F) for 25 minutes
I’ve found that when I hold my mix at temperatures above 72°C (162°F) for a prolonged period of time, the unpleasant ‘eggy’ hydrogen sulphide taste begins to form and becomes noticeable on eating. I would therefore recommend heating your ice cream mix to 72°C (162°F) and holding it at this temperature for 25 minutes as this significantly improves ice cream body and texture. I’ve run several tests where I have kept the temperature constant at 72°C (162°F), as well as the composition, but have varied the heating times. I’ve found that a mix heated for 25 minutes produces smoother and creamier ice cream than compared to mix heated for 5, 10, and 15 minutes at the same temperature.
5.2.1. Surface hydrophobicity
Surface hydrophobicity is also important in determining emulsifying activity (Monahan et al., 1993). Damodaran (1996) held that denatured proteins have better foaming properties, attributed to increased hydrophobicity, and greater interfacial contact. Sava et al (2005) found that surface hydrophobicity increased considerably at temperatures between 70 and 77.5°C (171.5°F) when whey protein was heated for 45 minutes, with greater increases noted after longer heating times.
Functionality of whey protein also depends on its solubility. Heating at a temperature between 70 (158) and 75°C (167°F) results in a minimal loss of solubility. Sava et al. (2005) noted a decrease in solubility of only 10 to 20% compared with the native protein after 45 minutes.
The literature points to an optimal heating temperature for whey protein at somewhere between 70 (158) and 75°C (167°F). In this temperature range, whey proteins undergo reversible unfolding, which improves foaming and emulsification. Holding whey protein at between 70 (158) and 75°C (167°F) for an extended period of time significantly increases surface hydrophobicity with only a minimal loss of solubility, which improves foaming.
5.3. To improve body and texture
The third reason we are going to heat our ice cream mix to 72°C (162°F) and hold it there for 25 minutes is that heating milk also improves body and texture because of the denaturation of proteins and the consequent increase in their water-holding capacity (Goff & Hartel 2013), which contributes to smooth and creamy texture by helping to minimise ice crystal growth.
6. Weigh your pan
Before you start preparing your mix, it’s important to first weigh your pan and record its weight. This is necessary so that you can check the level of reduction after 25 minutes heating.
The starting weight of our mix will be 1000g. After 25 minutes of heating and a 15% reduction, you should have a mix weight of 850g plus the weight of your pan. If your mix weighs more than 850g plus the weight of your pan, put it back on the heat and continue heating.
Here is how to check the level of reduction after heating for 25 minutes:
My 23cm diameter pan weighs 1606g.
1606g pan + 1000g starting mix = 2606g starting weight.
After 25 minutes of heating, my total weight (1606g pan + 850g 15% reduced mix) should be 2456g.
If my total weight after 25 minutes heating is greater than 2456g, I will continue heating until the weight falls to 2456g or less.
7. Why is skimmed milk powder added to ice cream?
The use of skimmed milk powder in commercial ice cream making is usually associated with economy-style ice cream as it is a cost effective way of reducing the more expensive cream whilst maintaining total solids. In homemade ice cream, however, I’ve found that it is essential for the promotion of smooth and creamy texture.
Skimmed milk powder’s primary role in homemade ice cream is to increase the non-fat milk solids (NMS), namely the whey protein. Flores & Goff (1999) demonstrated that milk proteins had a large impact on texture by limiting ice crystal size and enhancing their stability. I’ve not been able to achieve the same smooth and creamy texture in my homemade ice cream after 25 minutes of heating without the addition of skimmed milk powder.
SECTION 2: THE RECIPE
Makes just under 1 quart (1 litre) of ice cream
PREP TIME:
About 15 minutes
HEATING TIME:
About 30 minutes
EQUIPMENT:
Food thermometer
Ice cream maker
A zip-lock bag
Ice trays
1 litre plastic container
Ingredients:
Cream
Full-fat, semi-skimmed, or skimmed Milk
Unrefined sugar
Skimmed milk powder
Egg yolks
700g fresh strawberries
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1. The importance of butterfat
Milkfat contributes significantly to the rich, full, and creamy flavour and to the smooth texture of ice cream (Goff & Hartel 2013). It’s important that you check the fat content of the cream and the milk that you’ll be using in order to calculate your mix.
Above is the spreadsheet I use to calculate my mixes and I’ve included it for you guys to calculate the exact quantities of milk and cream that you will need. Simply enter the cream fat (usually found on the back of the cream carton and around 35% for you guys in the U.S) and milk fat percentages in the two yellow cells at the top of the spreadsheet. This will then give you the quantities of milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and skimmed milk powder needed (in grams) in the cells in blue.
You can use full-fat, semi-skimmed, or skimmed milk. Here in the U.K, our double cream and skimmed milk contain around 47.5% and less than 0.5% of fat respectively, which I have entered as the default values. I recommend using organic milk and cream and organic free-range eggs whenever possible. I use organic milk and cream and organic free range eggs for my business and find that I get a much richer flavour from organic milk and cream and a much deeper colour from free range egg yolks.
2. Preparing the strawberries
Hull and cut the strawberries into quarters and add to a large pan. Cover with 20g of sugar.
Over a medium heat, heat the strawberries until the water starts to evaporate, stirring frequently. Once the water starts to evaporate, continue heating and stirring for about 13 minutes to concentrate the mix; you should be left with a nice thick strawberry pulp.
Take the pan off the heat, transfer the strawberry pulp to a bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once the pulp has cooled, stir in 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, cover with cling film, and place in the fridge overnight to infuse.
3. Heating the mix
Weigh your pan and record its weight. We will use this weight to check whether we have achieved the desired 15% reduction after 25 minutes of heating.
Once you’ve prepared the ice bath and weighed your pan, add 140g sugar and 46g skimmed milk powder followed by 78g egg yolks and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix the yolks, sugar and skimmed milk powder to help prevent the yolks from curdling during heating.
Add the cream and milk and spend a good minute or so mixing all the ingredients before you switch on the heat.
Over a medium heat, heat the mixture until the temperature reaches 71°C (160°F), making sure that you are constantly stirring. You’ll risk burning the proteins and curdling the egg yolks if you do not constantly stir the mix.
Once the temperature reaches 71°C (160°F), turn the heat down to medium-low, move your pan slightly off the heat, and continue heating and stirring until the temperature reaches 72°C (162°F). Use your thermometer to keep your mix at 72°C for 25 minutes, adjusting the position of your pan to help regulate the temperature. Remember that it’s important that you keep your mix at 72°C (162°F) for the full 25 minutes to obtain optimum foaming and emulsifying characteristics. A mix heated for less than 25 minutes will not have the same smooth and creamy texture.
4. Cooling the mix
After 25 minutes, take the pan off the heat and weigh it. If the weight is greater than 850g plus the weight of the pan, place it back on the heat and continue heating for another 2-3 minutes or until you get the weight down sufficiently.
Carefully pour the mix into the zip-lock bag and seal. Place it in the water bath and pour about a tablespoon of salt onto the ice to lower the temperature and cool the mix faster.
Once the mix has cooled to room temperature, place the zip-lock bag in the fridge and leave overnight to age.
5. Churning the mix
Once you’ve allowed your mix to age overnight, pour it into your machine followed by the strawberry pulp.
TIP#6 – Leave the compressor running for about 15 minutes
If you’re using the Cuisinart ICE-100, Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop, Lello Musso Pola 5030, Lello Musso Lussino 4080, or any other machine with an in-built compressor, with the bowl in the machine, switch on the compressor and leave it running for 10-15 minutes before adding the mix. This will ensure that the freezer bowl is as cold as possible when the mix is added, which will contribute to a reduction in residence time.
TIP#7 – Use your thumb to push the dasher against the side of the bowl
If you’re using the Cuisinart ICE 30BC, use your thumb to push the dasher against the side of the bowl as soon as you pour in the mix. This will ensure that the dasher scrapes off the layer of ice that freezes to the side of the bowl. Any ice that is frozen to the side of the bowl will act as an insulator, slowing the release of heat from the ice cream to the bowl and increasing the residence time. Remember that the longer the residence time, the larger the ice crystals will grow and the sandier the texture is likely to be. Goff & Hartel (2013) note that even a very thin layer of ice remaining on the bowl wall can cause a dramatic reduction in heat transfer. The longer you keep the dasher pushed against the bowl wall, the shorter the residence time is likely to be.
Use a spoon to push along any static lumps of ice cream and ensure that the mix is constantly moving whilst in the machine. Static lumps will likely take longer to freeze, giving the ice crystals more time to grow.
6. Extraction time
Your mix will be ready when it develops a nice dry, stiff texture, and starts forming ribbon-like swirls. When you remove the dasher, your ice cream should stick firmly to it.
The point at which your mix is ready for extraction will vary from 14-45 minutes depending on the machine you use. For the Cuisinart ICE 30BC, your ice cream should be ready at around 30 minutes of churning. For the Cuisinart ICE-100 and the Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop, this should be after 32 and 33 minutes respectively. For the Lello Musso Pola 5030, your ice cream will be ready after around 14 minutes and the Lello Musso Lussino 4080 after about 16 minutes.
Just before your mix is ready, quickly take the plastic container out of the freezer and have a large and a small spoon ready. It’s important that you empty your ice cream from the freezer bowl and get it into your freezer as quickly as possible. The extraction time, that is the time it takes to remove the ice cream from the machine and get into into your freezer, has a considerable effect on ice crystal size. This is because as you extract your ice cream from the bowl and into a plastic container, it spends time at room temperature. At this relatively warm room temperature, some of the ice melts from the large ice crystals and the crystals that were initially small melt completely. When you then get your ice cream into your freezer for the static freezing stage, the melted ice re-freezes onto the large ice crystals that survived. The result is that the total number of ice crystals is reduced and their size increases, the perfect formula for coarse texture.
TIP#8 – Get your ice cream into your freezer as quickly as possible
Just holding ice cream at relatively warm room temperatures as you’re extracting it from your machine results in an increase in mean ice crystal size and a decrease in the number of ice crystals present (Goff & Hartel 2013). It’s therefore important that you extract the ice cream from the freezer bowl and get it into your freezer as quickly as possible.
7. Static freezing
When you finish churning your ice cream, it will be extracted from your machine at around -5°C (23°F) and will have a consistency very similar to that of soft serve ice cream. Ice cream is usually served in its scoopbable state at around -12°C (10.4°F) and so you will need to get your ice cream into your freezer to harden. Because ice crystals continue to grow until the temperature drops to -18°C (0.4°F), ideally -25 to -30°C (-13 to -22°C), the faster you get your ice cream below these temperatures, the less ice crystal growth will occur.
After about 4 hours, depending on your freezer, the ice cream will have a nice firm scoopable consistency, somewhere around -15°C (5°F), and be ready to serve.
TIP#4 (again) – Promote quick hardening
To promote quick hardening, make sure your freezer is as cold as possible when you freeze your ice cream. Place your ice cream at the back of your freezer where it is coldest. Try and clear some space in your freezer when chilling your ice cream. Putting ice cream in a densely packed freezer will reduce heat transfer, resulting in an increase in freezing time.
8. Serving your ice cream
Serve your ice cream at around -15°C (5°F). If you can wait, allow the ice cream to warm to below -12°C (10.4°F) before eating. As the serving temperature is increased from -14.4 (6.1) to -7.8°C (18°F), flavour and sweetness become more pronounced.
9. Storing your ice cream
At -18°C (-0.4°F), it is recommended that homemade ice cream be kept for about a week. Ice cream can be stored for several weeks at -25°C (-13°F), and several months at -30°C (-22°F) (Goff 2012). Even at these low temperatures, however, ice crystals will eventually start growing in size. The longer you store your ice cream in the freezer, the larger the ice crystals will grow and the sandier the texture is likely to be.
Try to minimise the number of times you take your ice cream out of the freezer as temperature fluctuations especially promote recrystallisation during the storage of the ice cream (Donhowe & Hartel 1996). Goff & Hartel (2013) state that temperature fluctuations may be associated with 1. changes of temperature of storage, 2. heat shocks, where ice cream is left at room temperatures for extended periods of time, and 3. opening and closing of doors in freezers and storage cabinets. Changes of temperature of storage are associated with frost-free home freezers where temperatures can vary quite widely during the frost-free cycle (Ben-Yoseph & Hartel 1998). Heat shocks occur when ice cream is removed from the freezer, thawed before serving, and then the unfinished ice cream returned to the freezer.
TIP#9 – Switch off your frost-free setting
If possible, switch off your frost free setting when storing ice cream to prevent temperature fluctuations, which contribute to ice crystal growth.
I’d love to hear from you if you do give the recipe a try so do get in touch and say hello!
All the best,
Ruben 🙂
If you’ve found this post helpful and would like to say thanks, you can help me write more content by using the links below to order your ice cream goodies from the chaps at amazon. 🙂
References
Arbuckle, W.S., 1986. Ice Cream (4th ed). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Belitz, H.D., Grosch, W., & Schieberle, P., 2009. Food Chemistry (4th ed). Berlin: Springer.
Ben-Yoseph E, Hartel RW. 1998. Computer simulation of ice recrystallization in ice cream during storage. J Food Eng 38(3):309–29.
Cook, K. L. K., & Hartel, R. W. 2010. Mechanisms of Ice Crystallisation in Ice Cream Production. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 9 (2).
Damodaran, S., (1996) Functional properties. In: Nakai, S., Modler, H.W. (Eds.), Food Proteins – Properties and Characterization. VCH Publisher, New York, pp. 167–234.
Donhowe, D. P., Hartel R. W., and Bradley R.L., 1991. Determination of ice crystal size distributions in frozen desserts. J. Dairy Sci. 74.
Donhowe, D. P. (1993) Ice Recrystallization in Ice Cream and Ice Milk. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsm-Madison.
Donhowe, D. P., and R. W. Hartel. 1996. Recrystallization of ice in ice cream during controlled accelerated storage. Int. Dairy J. 6.
Drewett, E. M. & Hartel, R. W. (2007) Ice Crystallization in a Scraped Surface Freezer. J Food Eng 78(3):1060-1066
Flores, A. A. & Goff, H. D. (1999) Ice Crystal Size distribution in Dynamically Frozen Model Solutions and Ice Cream as Affected by Stabilzers. J Dairy Sci. Volume 82, Issue 7, Pages 1399–1407
Goff, H.D. (2012) RCI 720, -Finding Science in Ice Cream. Presentation – Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science.
Goff, H. D. and Hartel R. W. (2013) Ice Cream. Seventh Edition. New York Springer.
McGee, H., (2004) On food and cooking. New York: Scribner.
Monahan, F. J.,McClements, D. J. & Kinsella, J. E. (1993) Polymerization of whey proteins in whey protein-stabilized emulsions. J. Agric. Food Chem. 41:1826–1829.
Myhrvold, N., Young, C. and Bilet, M., (2011) Modernist Cuisine. China: The Cooking Lab
Phillips, L. G., Schulman, W. and Kinsella, J. E. (1990) pH and heat treatment effects on foaming of whey protein isolate. J. Food Sci. 55:1116–1119.
Russell, A. B., Cheney, P. E., & Wantling, S. D. (1999) Influence of freezing conditions on ice crystallisation in ice cream. Journal of Food Engineering. 29.
Sava, N., Van der Plancken I., Claeys W., & Hendrickx M., (2004) The Kinetics of Heat-Induced Structural Changes of B-Lactoglobulin. J. Dairy Sci. 88:1646-1653
Sava, N., Rotaru, G. & Hendrickx, M. (2005) Heat-induced changes in solubility and surface hydrophobicity of β-Lactoglobulin. Agroalimentary Processes and Technologies, Volume XI, No. 1, 41-48
Hi Ruben and thank you for this amazing website! I prefer to heat my mix in a plastic bag in a sous vide bath. How should I alter the recipe to end up with the same amount of water? My mix will not evaporate in a plastic bag, so I guess I need less milk and more cream, but how should I calculate it?
Hi I was wondering, what is the best temperature to cook the ice cream at for 25-30mins? In this strawberry recipe you say the ice cream starts to taste more egg like after 162 F, but in the Vanilla Bean recipe you mention to cook the ice cream at 170 F for 30 mins to achieve the best protein unfurling. After publishing both recipes, which temperature have you found most effective these days? 162 F or a higher 170 F? And does the 170 F temperature really produce more of an “eggy” taste? Thanks for all your research and recipes. They are the best ice recipes I have come across and the finished ice cream always receives many complements! Cin cin!
Hi Ruben,
I’m trying this recipe for the first time. I’ve tried several of your other echoes already. They’re all delicious!
Regarding the strawberries, is 700g the right amount? I’ve just cooked down the strawberries and it seams like a lot.
I love your site and guidance. It’s a great resource.
Keep it up!
Hey!
Can i use a similar approach with mangoes? Just substitute Strawberry with Mangoes?
Hi there Humayun!
Thanks for getting in touch and apologies for the delay in getting back to you! Yes I think you could use the same approach with mangoes. The water content in mangoes is slightly lower than in strawberries though so you may not need to heat them to reduce the water content. The sugar content in mangoes is also higher so you may need to reduce the sugar content in the mix. I’m also not sure how much mango you will need but starting with about 200g sounds reasonable; you can always increase this if you don’t get a strong mango flavour. Give the recipe a go with 200g of mango pulp without heating it and see how it goes!
I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Ruben
Hi, Ruben. I got a bit confused, the recipe says 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, but in the instruction it says 4 tsp. What to follow? Thanks 🙂
Hi there Tina!
Oops, that should be 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, not 4 teaspoons.
Please do let me know how you get on if you give the recipe a try.
All the best,
Ruben
Amazing site! Been using my ICE-100 and your recipes turn out great!
Hi Kelvin!
Thanks for the kind words! I hope the blog helps 🙂
All the best,
Ruben
Ruben,
Thanks for a great site!
Do you have any guidelines for transitioning between 25min recipe with milk powder and 60 min without. I’m not sure whether you prefer one method over the other? I have the lemon curd to taste test tonight and the strawberry will be ready in two days to see if I can’t taste a difference or notice a texture difference. But I assume that isn’t exactly a fair comparison of texture due to the lemon curds extra eggs?
I assume you want to end up with about the same proportions of butter fat and same non-fat milk solids once all reduction is done? Is it just a matter of tweeking ratios of the three ingredients (milk cream and milk powder) to achieve the same overall levels of NMS (~8-10%) and fat (~20%)? Or is there more to it then this?
Assuming a 13% reduction in 25mins and a 32% reduction in the 60 min recipe.
You would need more cream in the 25 min recipe to keep the butterfat levels high to counter the reduction in total milk and cream initial volume. This would then mean the milk volume would be reduced and this would mean to keep the NMS high you add the milk powder? If I play with a spread sheet will any ratio of these that lead to the same end proportion work?
Thanks
Nick
Hi there Nick!
Thanks for getting in touch. The reason I am updating my recipes and moving from 60 to 25 minutes heating is because the 60 minute method simply takes too long for people at home and so I think this puts a lot of people off trying my recipes. The texture in both heating methods is pretty similar with the 25 minute method producing ice cream that is slightly heavier because of the increase in fat and total solids.
Do you mean the same proportions of fat and NMS in the 25 minute method as in the 60 minute method? It is a matter of tweeking ratios but the heating time also plays a role because of the reduction in water content and the promotion of reversible protein unfolding.
Yes you need more cream in the 25 minute method but this is primarily to counter the reduction in the level of reversible unfolding of the proteins (you don’t get as much with a shorter heating periods), as well as in beneficial foaming and emulsification characteristics.
The addition of skimmed milk powder in the 25 minute method is to increase the protein content in the mix. Protein plays a significant role in promoting smooth texture by retarding ice crystal growth. Because you don’t get as much reduction in the 25 minute method as you do in the 60 minute method, you don’t get as high a percentage of protein.
It is more a case of increasing the fat and protein content to retard ice crystal growth and promote favourable emulsification and foaming than it is to increase the total solid content in the mix. Yes you can play around with the ratios in a spreadsheet but you will have to test your recipes to see which fat/protein/total solids ratio creates the smoothest texture. A ratio that works well for 60 minutes heating probably won’t work well for 25 minutes heating. It is all a matter of trial and error.
Hope that helps.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Ruben
Hello Ruben,
I’ve just started making my own ice cream and your recipes are the best I’ve found. Thanks for posting them. I have tried several of your recipes and had success with them all. The lemon curd is without a doubt the most popular with everyone. I’ve made it four times and everyone wants more.
Now for the question, I’m planning to make a batch of peach ice cream and thought I might just substitute 700 grams of peaches for the strawberries in your strawberry balsamic recipe and do everything else the same. Do you think it will work? I think the peach balsamic combination could be very good.
Regards, Pat Matthews.
Hi there Pat!
Many thanks for getting in touch. Glad to hear the recipes are helping, especially the Lemon Curd 🙂
I’ve never tried making peach ice cream myself but yes I think substituting peaches for the strawberries will certainly work. Because peaches have a different water content to strawberries, I’m not sure what quantity you will need. Are you planning on heating the peaches to reduce the water content? You could simply start with about 300g of peaches, don’t heat them but simply mash or blend them to a pulp, and add that to your machine after you’ve added the plain ice cream base. If the texture of the finished ice cream is icy and coarse, you will have to increase the quantity and heat the peaches to reduce the water, which will also affect the flavour. It might take you a bit of trial and error to perfect.
I would also recommend using the recipe for the Lemon Curd to make your base as this will reduce the 60 minute heating time down to 25. I’m in the process of updating the recipes on the blog to reflect the new 25 minute heating method. So much to do, so little time!
I hope that helps. Let me know how you get on or if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Ruben
When do you mix the strawberries and ice cream base? I didn’t see you mention that step. I assume after they have both chilled seperately?
Hi Wendy! Thanks for getting in touch. First add the ice cream base to your machine and then, directly after, add the strawberries.
Let me know how you get on with the recipe!
All the best, Ruben
Thank you for explaining the purpose of the ice water bath. I tried to figure this out from the Jeni’s book, but never quite got it. How important do you think this really is? I have been letting my heated mixture drop to room temperature in a sealed container and then putting it in the refrigerator to age overnight. This seems to work, although I definitely have issues with texture.
Hi there again Perrin!
I would recommend cooling the mix in an ice bath because the longer you leave milk and cream out at room temperature, the more likely it is that it will develop an off flavour. I’m sure your method is fine as long as you don’t leave it out for too long.
Hope that helps! Ruben
High end Equipment would be needed you follow if as Niko suggestion of making ice cream with alternatives to eggs sugar and cream you’ll need a homogeniser and a rapid freezer etc.
I think the receipe you have here is excellent for the home ice cream maker.
It produces high quality ice cream from ingredients which are easily available from any supermarket.
I liken it to Haagen D style only with more delicate flavours and without the stickyness due to the additives use to extend shelf life.
Kiss principle . Keep it simple and straightforward .
salut niko c alain contacte-moi qd tu seras en france , com ca on bouge ensemble , je suis dispo des debut mai @ + bise a sylvia et aux enfants.
SALUT
DONNE MOI UN NUMERO OU TE JOINDRE URGENT
MAIL niko.icecreams@gmail.com
Hi
Sorry for the delay but abit busy at the time
I am french and actually with my family settle down in Goa, India and making ice cream there
So to go a little further in my views
What i was telling you last time still true
If you have to evaporate water in your mix to get it right it is simply because it was too much of water in it.
Proteins unfolding and agregation are far more complicate than what you explain
I mean what you say is correct but you simplify a lot.
I suggest you also to try to work without eggyolk and replace them by
1/ glycerol monostereates or GMS for the emulsifying properties
2/ cream or butter for the fat content
It work very well believe me.
You should also try to use different types of sugars like inverted sugar for chocolate when you need sweetness without too much dry solids and some like dextrose for lowering the freezing point;glucose can be very helpfull also.
All these type of sugars prevent from sugar cristallisation and the quality of your stuff will gain a lot.
I will go through your formulas little further and will let you know what i think
I don’t want you to take it bad but if i can help you in any sense it will be a pleasure
I like much passionate people like you seems to be
If you need any advice please mail me
All the best
Keep this power
Respect and regards
Niko
Hi Niko,
Thank you for your interesting e-mail and my apologies for the late reply. I do try to simplify my description of the effects of protein unfolding and aggregation on the quality of ice cream. This is because I want to keep my explanations simple for the home cook. I also do not fully understand when exactly proteins unfold or begin to aggregate and so I suspect that the simplicity of my definitions does, in part, stem from this lack of understanding.
Your suggestion of replacing egg yolks with glycerol monostereates or GMS does sound very interesting. I will try and get hold of these to see what effects they have on ice cream. I do want to keep my ice cream ‘all natural’ and so I try not to recommend ingredients that I wouldn’t eat myself.
I am interested in using alternatives to sucrose; I read that fructose works especially well in amplifying fruit flavours and so I want to give this a try.
Do you run an ice cream business in Goa or do you make it at home for friends and family?
Many thanks again for your advice. Do let me know if you try my recipes as it would be great to get your feedback.
All the best, Ruben
HI thanks also and sorry for the late reply i am actually running here a business and on the process of opening our 1st ice cream parlour in india our web site is on the way of creation i will let u know on the future opening i am chemist by formation and as french gourmet by birth so i join both and make a passion a living and listen with all the respect i owe you i cannot try your recipe for few reasons 1/ using only sucrose you are facing a cristallisation of sugar and by the way a coarse texture 2/ without stabilizer your ice cream has a shelf life too short for being sold 3/ without GMS *Glycerol monostearate overun will be too low for a good quality* *because a good ice cream need to be light enough to give time for the product to melt slowly( this due to isolant properties of air)* *like this the aroma spreads in your mouth* *But don’t take it bad because i really greet your efforts to make understandable a chemical process quite complicated* *I also would like to tell you that it is not because you use good ingredients than your finish product will be gooD* *If you don’t respect a minimum of basic rules you gonna miss your stuff* *MSNF and MILKFAT content are the 2 mains factors that you have to adjust to equilibrate tour formula* *On that the milk proteins are really very important and it is good than you notice that* *But again you have to diversify the sugars you are using think about glucose dextrose maltodextrine and so on* *Sorry to be critical and to don’t go too deep inside but i really busy here * *i will try to have a better look on your recipes and will come back to you* * * *And again please don’t take too bad my remarks because i think you are really doing something good for common people to make things more easy to understand* *Just try to work on the technologic side of the process* *I am open for any questions you can have* *If 1 time come to India ring me up it will be a pleasure to welcome you here* * * *Regards* *Niko * On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 5:09 PM, Ice Cream Science wrote:
> ** > Ice Cream Science commented: “Hi Niko, Thank you for your interesting > e-mail and my apologies for the late reply. I do try to simplify my > description of the effects of protein unfolding and aggregation on the > quality of ice cream. This is because I want to keep my explanations > simple”
Many thanks for your recommendations and your offer to help if I ever visit India. I hope your first parlour goes well. It would be great to have a look at your website so please do let me know once it is finished. I do need to invest in a professional ice cream machine so it will be interesting to see how this effects the overrun of my ice creams.
Good luck with your business venter and do keep in touch. All the best, Ruben
HI
Good point to invest in a professional machine;
Best i think is to go for an horizontal batch freezer
Overrun can be high and give you the chance to make very light and nice stuff
Continuous freezer is the best option but really expensive and compulsory in the case of big production unit
let me know when you get this machine
all the best
Niko
hi
you have a certain knowledge of ice cream technology but tell me why
1/you tell facts 3 or 4 times in a same post
2/some of your posts are non sense: if a mix need evaporation of water it’s because it was too much water when you start!!!
3/few things you say are actually without any serious scientific proofs
so as chemist by formation i just want to tell you that even if you learned a few things by reading and surfing through the web you should be cautious when you advance some theory and ascertain your posts before publish it.
It is i think the minimum respect to have to people working hard on new technology in food and diary products
regards
Hi there Niko,
Thanks for your e-mail. I will try my best to answer each of your points.
1. The reason that I repeat facts in the same post it to stress the importance of certain points. Certain points are of far greater importance to the home ice cream maker than others and it is these that I attempt to stress.
2. I’m not quite sure what you mean in your second point. A high water content is detrimental to ice cream texture and it is for this reason that I reduce it in a mix through evaporation. Does this address your point?
3. If you let me know which of the points that I have discussed in my recipes you do not agree with, I am happy to go through the relevant paper or source with you.
Hope this helps.
All the best, Ruben