An Important Tip to Keep in Mind When Flavoring Homemade Ice Cream
Making ice cream at home is simply magical. Sure, cooking and baking are fun, but the dread of watching that machine turn what was once liquid—a simple combination of dairy, sugar, and flavorings—into a light, airy cloud, cold and creamy is unprecedented.
As impressive as the process is, making ice cream from scratch is actually a very accessible activity that shouldn’t be too intimidating for home cooks who want to try their hand. Once you get the hang of it, ice cream is an adaptable blank canvas for bringing out many of your favorite flavors. But there’s one very important tip to make sure what you put in your frozen dessert will really stand out. When using extracts, alcohols, or similar added flavors like essential oils, be sure to add them toward the end of making your mixture for maximum punch, not when baking your custard or while it is still hot.
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The Science of Tasty Spoons
Although there are many ways to prepare an ice cream mixture, most recipes require a step of cooking or heating the ingredients, especially in custard-based ice creams. These are made from tempered egg yolks, which act as a natural stabilizer and emulsifier that keeps your finished product smooth and creamy and prevents it from melting quickly. Additionally, the cooking process is important for killing bacteria. However, heat can also harm the flavor profile of your ice cream if you don’t have a little patience.
For example, the chemical composition of something like vanilla extract changes at high temperatures – and the volatile substances so important to its aroma and flavor may even dissipate completely. This means the best parts of an expensive ingredient can evaporate into the air rather than becoming your fluffy ice cream.
To avoid this, be sure to add these elixirs after your base has completely cooled or just before pouring it into your ice cream maker. About a tablespoon of extract, a few drops of essential oil, or a tablespoon and a half of alcohol per liter of base should do the trick, as these are usually concentrated and potent liquids.
Fun Flavors to Add to Your Ice Cream
Vanilla ice cream may be the most popular flavor, but there are plenty of ways to turn your dairy into a dream. Classic extracts like almond, mint, orange, and coconut are common, but you can also get your hands on lesser-known options like watermelon, mango, banana, and peach.
You can also experiment with essential oils, which are vapor distilled from plants and are pure concentrated sensory firepower. You can get them in familiar ice cream flavors like peppermint, or expand your repertoire to include lemongrass, tea tree, clove, and more.
With so many options at your disposal, you’re sure to find plenty that will always pair with your favorite hot fudge sauce or homemade caramel. And you can even use these additions to enhance vanilla whipped cream. When you master this simple flavor optimization strategy, your ice cream base will be ready to accommodate just about anything you can imagine.
Read the original article on Daily Meal.
