Ice-cream makers: Making ice cream
How does an ice-cream maker work?
Using an ice-cream machine is surprisingly straightforward.
A motorised paddle saves buckets of time and creates a consistent texture
You pour your pre-chilled mix into your machine, which simultaneously churns and freezes it. Churning mixes in air and stops ice crystals from forming.
Most makers have a viewing window so you can watch the transformation occurring. After about 30-40 minutes, creamy, soft ice cream is all yours. In most cases, we’d recommend that you pop it in your freezer to stiffen it up a bit before it’s truly ready.
It’s easy to tell when the ice cream is ready. The paddle will stop, or struggle to turn as the ice cream thickens. You then switch off the machine.
What’s ice cream made of?
Basic ice cream starts with a chilled custard base: a mixture of egg yolk, milk/cream and sugar, plus flavourings.
Making custard can take a bit of practise but is a simple process
Making the basic ice cream mixture can take time. Most recipes involve heating and cooling liquid, which can take about an hour, and the fruit-based ice cream recipes involve peeling, chopping and grating.
None of this is hard work – it just takes a little organisation. And it’s all worth the effort as you end up with a delicious product that's fresh, natural and free from preservatives, stabilisers and artificial flavours.
What can I make with my machine?
One huge advantage of having an ice-cream machine is that you can make an infinite range of recipes. Each machine comes with suggestions but there are several books and websites – simply put ‘ice-cream recipes’ into an internet search engine such as Google.
As well as traditional ices, you can make sorbet and granita (a slushy dessert) or try using tofu, fromage frais or yogurt.
Be indulgent and virtuous
The joy of making ice cream at home is that you can exercise your conscience at the same time as you broaden your horizons.
Because you buy all of the ingredients yourself, it’s easy to know exactly what's going into your ice cream. With a little bit of research and some careful planning, you can use your ice-cream maker to ensure that living a more sustainable or eco-friendly lifestyle doesn't mean going without the occasional treat.
Here are some of the things that you could do to bring a more ethical dimension to dessert.
Reduce your food miles
Get the family involved by picking your own
Give a boost to local small businesses by using locally grown, seasonal fruits to make your ice creams. Build up an appetite by taking a trip to the local fruit farm to pick your own. It’s is a great way to spend a day with the kids, who’re sure to find the ice cream even yummier when they harvested it.
Save money by checking out Richard Mabey’s classic book Food for free and rediscover the joys of foraging in hedgerows for summer fruits and berries.
Visit your local farmers’ market for fresh produce straight from the farm.
Choose organic or compassionately farmed produce
Ice cream making uses a lot of eggs, milk and cream. If you’re concerned about the welfare of farm animals or the industrialisation of food production, choose free-range eggs and organic milk, cream and yogurt. Unrefined sugar, particularly from fair trade sources, is also worth investigating.
Choose fairly-traded ingredients
Lots of ingredients for ice cream are covered by the Fairtrade scheme
If you care that the people who grow your ingredients will receive a fair price for their efforts, there’s a wide range of fairly-traraded ingredients that can be used for ice cream making, including chocolate, sugar, dried fruits, fresh fruits, cocoa, coffee, honey, spices, syrup and rum.
For more details about suppliers, the Fairtrade website is a good place to start.
Buy seasonal produce
Get reacquainted with the changing seasons by eating fruits that are in season.
Although you can buy these fruits throughout the year, they will be at their best and cheapest when in season.
Don’t forget that tropical fruits will also be in season at different times of the year.
It is easy to find recipes to take advantage of seasonal fruits.
Recipe help
Some of our favourites websites for tracking down recipes are:
- BBC food – an excellent resource of ideas from the Telly chefs. More than 200 ice cream based recipes to choose from.
- Channel 4 food – 76 ice cream based recipes from Channel 4 cookery shows.
- Ice cream recipes.com – an American site with a good range of unusual recipes, including green tea and licorice.
Special diets and allergies
Making your own iced desserts makes it easier to avoid nuts
Being in charge of your own ingredients means you can make ice cream to cater to special diets.
Lower fat desserts, such as sorbets and frozen yogurt, are fairly standard. Alternatively, substitute lower fat versions of the main ingredients, such as cream and milk.
It’s easier for people suffering from nut allergies to ensure their frozen desert is entirely nut free.
There are also recipe books catering to people who require special diets, such as diabetics or people with dairy allergies.