[GSquared]

Just had to share this - got my new ice cream machine today (Simac Gelataio). Did a ginger ice cream and served it with pears poached in Pinot. There goes the next few days.....

I used egg white as an emulsifier, but have been told that CMC gives better results. Any opinions?

[kokopuffs]

What's CMC?

[GSquared]

Sorry - egg YOLK. I now realise that CMC is in fact a stabilizer that retards the growth of ice crystals, whereas the egg yolk I used (the ice cream did not have a custard base) acted as an emulsifier. Gad, this is complicated!
Do I in fact have to worry about emulsifiers and stabilizers when producing ice cream for immediate consumption?

[GSquared]

K, CMC, according to my source is (deep breath) Carboxymethyl cellulose, used as an alternative to Guar gum or Xanthan gum.

[momoreg]

You don't need stabilizers for homemade ice cream.

I have the same machine, BTW. It's excellent.

[Suzanne]

Yes, the great thing about homemade is that it's the real thing, without any gunk added. I mostly make sorbets -- such fun to puree some kind of fruit(s), add other stuff for flavor, and whirl up a one-of-a-kind treat. My current favorite is iced almond milk -- so easy and sooooooo good. If you want a recipe, let me know.

[Pete]

I try to stay away from stablizers and emulisfiers when making ice creams and sorbets at home or in a restaurant situation. Usually you are making smaller batches, that get used up pretty quickly so they are not needed. Every once in awhile I will add a little eggwhite to a sorbet as a stablizer. I most often do this with citrus based sorbets that have no puree added to them. I find the puree will help stablize a sorbet for a few days. Sorbets made with just the juice tend to separate out a little faster. I also try to respin my sorbets after 3 days of using it. The constant "in and out" of the freezer inevitable causes ice crystals to form, making the sorbet icy or grainy.

[GSquared]

Thank you, guys. I was wondering about fruit juice sorbets, Pete - thanks for the tip.

Recipe please Suzanne!

[davewarne]

Hi,

Are you using uncooked egg in your ice creams and sorbets?
We used to finish off a sorbet with a raw egg white or some meringue when I was training ( 35 yrs ago ) but it is much discouraged now by health dept. Have resorted to cooking the meringue and cooling before adding to the mix.

Dave

[Suzanne]

Iced Almond Milk (my variation of the basic recipe on tha package)

To 1 liter of Italian Almond Milk [i](sorry, I don't know the brand name; it's just plain almond milk, NOT the American brand Blue Diamond "Almond Breeze"), add 200 grams granulated white sugar, grated zest of 1/4 of a lemon, a small splash each of orange flower water, almond and pure vanilla extracts, and a pinch of ground cinnamon or canela. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Pour into ice cream machine and process until frozen.
-----------------------------

At least, I THINK that's how I did it the last time. Definitely those ingredients. Splashes may have been bigger or smaller.

Hope you like it!

[GSquared]

Thanks, Suzanne. I will give the recipe a bash soonest.
I do use uncooked eggs,DaveWarne. A little lightly beaten egg white in a sorbet really does wonders. Do you think, at least as far as home cooking is concerned, the salmonella thing is really a problem?

[GSquared]

Suzanne, just done your almond milk recipe - delicious! I had to make the almond milk and did not have orange blossom water, but the result definitely bears repetition. Thanks again!

[davewarne]

Well, ( GSquared),

We all used to do the same as you. When we had a major salmonella scare and everyone was running around like headless chickens ( forgive the pun ), the health dept decided to advise us in the restaurant business that using undercooked or raw eggs was a risk we shouldn't take. No more runny yolk fried eggs etc. Discount the fact that the outbreaks were mainly due to very poor cooking practices. The upshot is that if there is an incident at my establishment and raw eggs have been found to have been used, then they chop my head off.
I have substituted 'cooked' egg techniques but for some things it is impossible. Souflees come to mind, soft = undercooked and so on. So I take a risk on occasions. I use a temp probe on things like custards for ice creams.
I must add that at the age of 8 I was in hospital for 7 weeks with, you guessed it, salmonella food poisoning.I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
I've got a couple of nice recipes, one is Calvados Ice Cream that I'll put on next time.

All the best

[Suzanne]

Here in the States there are "pasteurized egg products" available both wholesale and retail. They are more expensive than shell eggs, but much more acceptable to the health authorities. Perhaps you both (GSquared and davewarne) should look into whether or not you have them in your venues.

One of the big producers here in the New York area is Papetti. They sell whole eggs, plain yolks, sugared yolks, and plain whites, among other products. Some are available fresh in 5-gallon buckets, some frozen in 1/2 gallon cartons (6 to the case). Retail, the whites come in pint (or maybe smaller) cartons, refrigerated.

Hope this helps you.

PS -- SO GLAD you liked the almond milk sorbet. It's one of my favorites!

[GSquared]

Thanks, Davewarne. I guess that I am not going to worry overly much about salmonella and eggs in the context of home cooking. In 1999 the incidence of Salmonellosis in the U.S.A. was 17.7 cases per 100,000 of the population. Of the reported cases, eggs accounted for only 1 case per 100,000 - the rest was due to contaminated orange juice, mangos, raw sprouts, parsley and even roast beef. I reckon that the observance of basic hiegene and common sense in the kitchen is is a good middle road to follow rather than the extreme of discarding runny yolks, hollandaise sauce.......