Ice Cream Project

 I love ice cream.  And yeah, as an overweight person, I can see the irony in that, but for whatever reason, I can keep ice cream in the house and not over-indulge, so that makes it a natural fit for me.  I can't say the same for cookies or brownies (which I also love), so I pretty much never keep those around.

I tend to make mini-versions of everything. Mini root beer floats. Mini sundaes. Mini scoops (about 1/4 cup). Those end up being around 250 calories, and I can usually make room in my calorie budget for that.

And once you get used to homemade ice cream, the stuff at the store starts tasting ... well, lacking.  I think the only commercial ice cream that I still love is Ben and Jerry's. I also quite enjoy Cold Stone even though their ice cream is merely OK - their confections are more about the goodies they fold into the ice cream.

Sections in this article:

• Library
• Tips, Tricks, Tools, Toppings and Mix-ins
• Vanilla Ice Cream Project
• Chocolate Ice Cream Project
• Strawberry Ice Cream Project

Library:

I have an embarrassing number of ice cream cookbooks.  Really.  

• Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop by Dana Cree <-- Favorite!
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer
• Mexican Ice Cream: Beloved Recipes and Stories by Fany Gerson
• The Perfect Scoop, Revised and Updated: 200 Recipes for Ice Creams, Sorbets, Gelatos, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments by David Lebovitz
• Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by Tyler Malek and JJ Goode
• Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, and Dabney Gough

Dana Cree's book is my favorite because it explains the science and chemistry of ice cream making and provides a base (pun intended!) for creating your own flavors. My second favorite is Jeni's book and that's the one I'd recommend for anyone who can't have eggs (all of her recipes are egg-free).  The Lebovitz book is solid as well.  The others are new to me, so they may also be excellent, but I don't know them well enough yet to recommend them.

I intend to add the following books to my collection (I'm waiting for a cheap enough used copy to become available):

• Rose's Ice Cream Bliss by Rose Levy Beranbaum
• Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream by Laura O'Neill, Benjamin Van Leeuwen, Peter Van Leeuwen, and Olga Massov
• Gelupo Gelato: A delectable palette of ice cream recipes by Jacob Kenedy

Tips, Tricks, Tools, Toppings and Mix-ins:

Here's a list of my tips and tricks for ice cream-making (ingredient substitutions, tools, tedious-but-effective egg tempering, etc.):

• Ice Cream Tips, Tricks and Equipment

Here's are my favorite topping and mix-in recipes (I'll be adding to this over time):

• Dorcas Gallaher Byland's Hot Fudge Sauce (my grandmother's recipe)
• Chambord - a lovely raspberry liqueur that is delicious poured over vanilla ice cream.
• Root beer - I love root beer floats!  
• Caramel sauce - this one remains soft and not too chewy/hard when frozen.
• Toasted almonds
• Homemade chocolate chips - Do NOT use regular chocolate chips (not even mini-chips). They will be hard, waxy, and flavorless as they are not intended for cold uses, and melt at too high a temperature. This is an easy recipe using your favorite chocolate chips and a little coconut oil.
• Peanut Mazapán - a crumbly Mexican candy made from peanuts and powdered sugar.

Vanilla Ice Cream Project

I'm currently working on a vanilla ice cream project (and a vanilla extract project, but that's for another post).  I'm trying at least 6-8 different vanilla ice cream recipes and reviewing them and setting 6 ounces aside of each for a taste test in a few weeks.  I'm also experimenting with using different kinds of vanilla beans (Madagascar, Ugandan, and Mexican, at least) and different vanilla extracts (commercially available varieties for now, but eventually, I'll use my own). I'm mostly using Madagascar beans from Vanilla Bean Kings, which I highly recommend. 

 I am hoping to figure out my favorite flavors and maybe even adapt the best aspects into one recipe.  Here are the recipes and reviews (if the recipe is available online - and most are - I link to the online recipe in the review):

• "Vanilla Ice Cream" from Hello, My Name is Ice Cream by Dana Cree, p.52.
• “Ugandan Vanilla Bean Ice Cream” from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer, p.148.
• “Vanilla Ice Cream” from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker and Dabney Gough, p.35. 
• “Vanilla Ice Cream” or “Helado de Vainilla” from Mexican Ice Cream by Fany Gerson, p.68.
• “Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia-Style" from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (revised and updated version),  p.29.
• “Vanilla Ice Cream” from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (revised and updated version),  p.28. 

Chocolate Ice Cream Project

• “Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Marzipan” or “Helado de Chocolate con Mazapán de Cacahuate” from Mexican Ice Cream by Fany Gerson, p.99.

Strawberry Ice Cream Project

• "Strawberry Ice Cream" from Rose's Ice Cream Bliss by Rose Levy Beranbaum, p.55.
• "Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream" -- this is the very first ice cream recipe that I ever developed using strawberries from a local pick-your-own place. It has an excellent flavor, but I think the texture needs work.