Cool your world with homemade ice cream
From M&Ms and cookies to garlic and corn, discover your own favorite flavor for summer's No. 1 treat.
from the July 11, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Ice cream is, by nature, a very simple recipe consisting of cream, milk, sugar, and flavoring, all churned to incorporate air, and chilled to a semisolid consistency.
When it comes to ice cream today, pastry chef and cookbook author Emily Luchetti has the scoop on making your own homemade ice cream. Real homemade ice cream.
In "A Passion for Ice Cream," Ms. Luchetti circumvents history and rather devotes her space to listing ingredients for making the best frozen desserts, reviewing ice-cream makers and other equipment; and explaining exactly what ice cream is.
Federal law, it seems, has set the standard. Ice cream must have at least 10 percent milk fat. This minimal amount, according to Luchetti, "isn't worth eating." In the churning process, air is incorporated into the mix, something called "overrun." The amount of air affects the density and quality of the ice cream. More air makes for poorer quality and – of course – cheaper price. High overrun can produce ice cream that is as much as 50 percent air. But "Who," Luchetti asks rhetorically, "wants to eat and pay for air?"
With homemade ice cream, you're in charge of quality control. You pick the ingredients: the freshest fruit in season, the best chocolate, the nuts you like, all this with no stabilizers, all without the dreaded high overrun. Then Luchetti takes you by the chilly hand and gives you 95 recipes with which to create the best ice cream you've ever had.
Before long, you'll be making, "Tin Roof Semifreddos with Roasted Pears and Spanish Peanuts," or at least a chocolate ice cream that you'll wish would never end.
So, maybe Al Gore didn't invent ice cream, or even the Internet, but maybe we can all sacrifice a little to do our bit to ease global warming by making more ice cream.
Pure and simple, without the adornment of additives to disguise it, vanilla is the standard by which all ice creams are judged. It's the perfect foil for fruit, fruit pies, and sauces. No wonder vanilla always ranks highest among ice cream lovers.
RSS feed
