Hand crank ice cream tips wanted

[SweetSilver]

We have a White Mountain hand crank.  I need to make soy ice cream, and a dairy ice cream with no egg yolks.

General advice wanted as well.  

I know the texture is going to be a bit different, but mine is really icy.  Too cold/too much salt in the ice?  Not enough fat or sugar?  It also freezes unevenly.  Maybe that's where the ice bits are coming from after I freeze it in the fridge.

Help!

[Cynthia Mosher]

Hmmm. It could be too much time cranking. That too icy thing will happen with regular milk and egg yolk ice cream cranked too long.

Maybe try some avocado in the recipe to get more of a creaminess?

[SweetSilver]

Hmm, interesting, both...... I'll need to give it a try.

[Caneel]

Full disclosure - I gave my ice cream maker away after two frustrating summers.  Growing up, homemade ice cream at my grandparent's farm was a weekly Sunday tradition and I was bound and determined to carry it on.  I also experienced the ice issue to some extent.

Not enough fat or sugar?  Very likely.  My food science knowledge is fussy but a certain amount of sugar is needed to aid in the freezing process.  Try making a simple syrup - add sugar to boiling water and stir very well until dissolved - as a sweetner.  This will blend well into your base.   Simple syrup is used in many old-timey cocktails as well as a sweetener for ice tea and lemonade.  I used to bartend and it definately produces a better result.  The sweetness is intergrated into the liquid in a different way then just adding granulated sugar.   As I got deeper into my research, I ran into many recipes that called for corn syrup as an ingredient that aids in creating a smooth texture for homemade ice cream.  I didn't have corn syrup on hand so I used simple syrup.

Fats in the base will make it much creamier.   My best results were with custard bases but those require yolks.  Also, I had better results using heavy cream instead of milk.

There is a famous ice cream lady whose name I can't remember (Jenny maybe?) that released a book a while back all about making ice cream (she owns a chain of gourmet shops) and she uses cream cheese in many of her bases.

Concerning the uneven freezing - Are you pre-chilling your base?  If not, try chillling it in the fridge for 24 hours prior to when you put it in the maker. 

Any kind of home-use maker will only get the ice cream so firm.  Like Cynthia mention, I had attempts where my base went from looking good and creamy to breaking down in a way, seperating a bit.  My maker called for 20 minutes of mixing and then finishing the hardening in the freezer. 

[pek64]

I considered getting the same ice cream maker and making dairy free ice cream (I still miss that from my childhood), but it was a luxury I couldn't afford. I did check recipes online when dreaming of the day I could get one. Most of that info is packed away right now. One thing I remember is that, like bread, you have to get the feel of when to stop. With bread it's kneading, with ice cream it's cranking. If you start changing too many variables it may be harder to know what's wrong and what's right.

Good luck. If you work it out, let me know!

[SweetSilver]

This has been such a crazy August--moving, fair, readying the old house for new tenants, family visits, beach visits, work-- I am tired just typing that!

I wanted an ice cream maker because the only good organic soy ice cream is heavy with rice syrup--an allergen for my daughter-- and eggs for me.  I need dairy, no eggs.  The only organic ice cream that didn't use eggs used tapioca starch, locust bean gum *and* guar gum and xanthum gum and, as you would expect, it was tasty but almost chewy.

My manual said 20 minutes.  I crank 20 minutes.  Uneven chilling-- ice bits and some unfrozen mixture.

When I have a minute I'm going to try--scratch that.  When I have a minute after I first clean my toilet and shove all the mountainous crap that has built up during this insane summer, I'm going to pull out my freezer and experiment some more.

Question: how do I know when I can stop cranking?

[pek64]

Found recipe on internet.

2c heavy cream
1c whole milk
2/3 c sugar
dash salt
vanilla extract

Combine -- mix well.
Chill
churn until consistancy of soft serve
Freeze to make hard

Hope that helps.

I have no idea how to make that dairy-free for me.

[SweetSilver]

I once made a dairy free mix that my friend cranked at a party.  I used 1/2 soy milk, 1/2 coconut milk (regular), some sugar and eggs yolks, cooked and refrigerated.  It's hard working with sweetened soy because of the sugar already in it, but my guess (??don't ask) seemed right.  We just ate the ice cream straight out of the mixer that time, as it was a party.

I'll give that recipe a try.  I think the consistency itself is more to do with the cranking, so I'll just need to keep trying.  Bad ice cream (is there such a thing?) really just needs some chocolate syrup on top.

[pek64]

You originally said you didn't want eggs. Change your mind?

[SweetSilver]

No, eggs are no good.  That was recipe from when eggs were thought to be OK.  But that was a good recipe that I offered up for a dairy- free recipe.  Of course, I didn't crank it myself.

[talia rose]

We make ours with a rice/hazelnut milk and put cashew butter in it. The cashew butter really cuts the iciness and replaces it with creamy goodness!

[root*children]

I honestly don't see how someone could "over crank" ice cream in a hand crank!!   You are supposed to keep on crankin until your arm is about ready to fall off.  Too icy would mean you either aren't cranking it enough or it's just too watery.

As for recipes, we only use ones without eggs, just b/c my kids don't like the egg ones - and there definitely is a taste difference, but not in a negative way.  The eggs just make it taste like frozen custard instead of regular ice cream.  So, without eggs tastes more like store bought.
 

A dairy-free recipe we really enjoy is the one from Veganomicon book - 1/2 c. cream of cocunut milk (just stick the can of coconut milk in the fridge for a bit and then open it and scoop the cream off the top - use the watery part in some other recipe), 1 cup soymilk, 3/4 cup sugar, 6 oz silken tofu, 1 Tbs vanilla extract.  So creamy, and delicious!

That's a simple vanilla recipe, so you could add whatever flavorings to it that you like :)