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Help! Trying to make Ginger Ice Cream

post #1 of 19
6/2/06 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
Hey All,

I just got one of those nifty cuisinart ice cream makers and decided to try it out by making ginger ice cream from the following recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._16346,00.html

Upon mixing the cream and ginger, it immediately curdled, which worried me from the get go. I finished the recipe anyway hoping it would work out, but after heating the final mixture I ended up with a solid blob and none of the cream described in the recipe. In retrospect I think I cooked it too long and the egg solidified, but still, should the initial cream mixture be curdling like that? It seems to me this would be a problem with any sort of acidic component to an ice cream made in this fasion...
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post #2 of 19
6/2/06 at 6:47pm
Made this plenty. Didn't have time to look at the url.
Steep the ginger in milk.
I ran it cold-cold.
slice the ginger
GTG
curdled? hum
be back later to read. This isn't a hard formula. Here, we can get it straight.
Pan
formula have cream and milk?

Never! Live To Work!:::::::Work To Live!::Life Is To Short!!
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post #3 of 19
6/2/06 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
Yes the formula calls for 3 cups heavy cream (I used light cream) and 1 cup whole milk (I used skim).

I tried it again, but this time I pressed the ginger after grating it to get the liquid out. This dramatically reduced the curdling but there was almost no ginger flavor now. I pulled the final mixture off the stove after only a few minutes this time. It still wasn't as thick as described in the recipe but there were a lot less solids. While it was liquid, I couldn't get it through a strainer as described in the recipe. I ended up with a similar yield of watery yellow liquid to my last attempt.
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post #4 of 19
6/3/06 at 3:32pm
Gross
I've made ginger ice cream for kids camp....slice ginger, add to dairy (1/2 & 1/2) heat until almost comes to a boil then let sit for a while to give the cream time to infuse. Sugar, pinch of salt, bit of vanilla.....sieve, chill, then process.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #5 of 19
6/3/06 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Shroomgirl. After doing a bit of googling around, sliced ginger seems to be the way to go, even though a number of recipes do call for grated. I got this microplane zester the other day and was all excited to try it out but the fact is it tends to make kind of a wet paste out of the ginger that I think was causing the problem.

I've noticed the ice cream recipes I've seen are split about 50/50 on whether or not to use egg yolk. For any ice cream pros out there, how much of a difference does it make to use egg yolk and heat it to make a custard? I am trying to go for the firm consistency that one gets from store-bought ice-cream, just creamier and better flavor :lips:

EDIT: If you have anything to add, Panini, I could use all the advice I can get :)

It occurs to me that to avoid the curdling, but still get the more intense flavor of the grated ginger, I could try making it almost like a hollandaise. Make a sugar syrup, add the grated ginger, lightly simmer for 20 mins or so adding water as necessary. Whip the yolks and then slowly whisk in the hot syrup, then add the dairy and whisk the mixture in a double boiler until the right consistency is reached. In this case the yolk acts as an emulsifier so it shouldn't curdle, right? Also, perhaps I should heat the yolk mixture to thicken and THEN add the dairy. It seems to work for hollandaise sauce so why not for this? Thoughts?
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post #6 of 19
6/3/06 at 4:44pm
Mrs. B,
Unfortunately, I have little experience with small batch freezers.
If you want to achieve a nappe ( coat the back of a spoon)with the anglaise, you really need the yolks. I don't make icecream without.
You also want to think about slapping it down. Adding cold to hot to keep it from foaming and keeping the rich dense texture.
With the formula you referred to, I would infuse the milk with the sliced ginger, salt, 25% of the total sugar(so the milk won't scorch) and refrigerate overnight. Make your anglaise/custard, chill ASAP. Start machine with the chilled anglaise and then add the infused milk. Almost 95% of the time I add some pure vanilla.
One thing about ice cream, your formula should taste great before churn. If it doesn't taste good to start, don't run it. Tweek it to taste. The MOST CRITICLE ITEM TO REMEMBER WHEN MAKING ICE CREAM, is to have FUN!!!
pan

Never! Live To Work!:::::::Work To Live!::Life Is To Short!!
Paninicakes.com

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post #7 of 19
6/3/06 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 
What color should peeled ginger root be? The last time I bought some, it was a light orangy color, and very soft and moist. The stuff I got today is a darker color with hard, almost woody parts in it. The anglaise came out just perfect this time (thanks for the help!) but the flavor lacks the tanginess that my first attempt had. I think I got a bum ginger root.
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post #8 of 19
6/3/06 at 9:11pm
Good fresh ginger should be light in color. Should look crisp anf fresh ,almost yellowish.fresh and crisp looking. Should also have a texture that snaps. Almost sounds what you have been using has seen it's day. I say this because of the tangyness. Ginger is more subtle. You should not be picking it up in the front of your mouth, it should show up towards the back.This is how I view it. I prefer to pass along a little vanilla bean and flavor and the ginger is in the finish. I go for the same thing with fresh gingerale. I like a little burst from the carbonation followed by a earthy ginger flavor. I don't like the up front bite as in the commercial products.
Just my thoughts.
pan

Never! Live To Work!:::::::Work To Live!::Life Is To Short!!
Paninicakes.com

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post #9 of 19
6/3/06 at 9:50pm

Ginger Ice Cream

First time post, so let me know if I am doing something wrong.

I've had great success with ginger ice cream. I used crystalized ginger and heated the custard to 175 degrees. Let it sit over night and then into the machine.

If anyone is interested, I will pull the recipe.

Tomales
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post #10 of 19
6/3/06 at 9:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hrm. Unfortunately I am limited by the quality of the ginger I can get locally. I first piece I got, I thought was actually very good and physically it seemed to be as you described it. My first attempt at ice cream, while curdled, actually tasted very good. Sweet and spicy, the way I imagined it tasting. I guess I am used to the up-front bite of ginger beer, so I think of it in those terms.

The second batch was definitely skunky so I threw it out and made some chocolate so I could at least declare victory. I think I have the double-boiler heating of the anglaise down pretty well now. If anything I could probably make it thicker but I have nightmares of scrambling the eggs again and ending up with a chocolate omlette. :lol:

EDIT: Tomales, I am always curious to see if there are better ways to make a ginger ice cream. For my next batch I think I am going to try the method I suggested above of boiling grated ginger in a sugar syrup and then adding it to the egg mixture, but I have a feeling there will be many more batches to come so I will probably end up trying lots of methods :)
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post #11 of 19
6/4/06 at 8:42am
Mrs. B,
Anglaise is more involved than the ice cream w/o eggs. But worked well for ice cream camp. Think 5 mornings of creating various ice creams!!! It was a blast.
Where are you located that ginger is hard to find? Penzey's spice shops carry candied ginger and they ship. It's reasonable and top quality.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #12 of 19
6/4/06 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
I am in Albany, NY. I just moved here so I don't know the good places to shop for produce. I actually just got back from driving to a few places and I was pretty disappointed with the results. There is a large wholesale market (The Menands Market) with several retailers on the opposite end of town, but it is a rather long drive so I was hoping there was something closer. :rolleyes:

EDIT: BTW my first successful batch of chocolate ice cream was VERY good. Had I not scooped it in front of you you would swear it was store-bought. Perfect level of firmness. Now to make something with a little better quality ingredients. I used up most of the cream on my failed attempts and all I had was cocoa powder so the flavor was meh.
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post #13 of 19
6/4/06 at 9:46am
Thread Starter 
One more question: I was looking at formulae for sherbet, and I noticed that it calls for adding citrus juice to the dairy. Again, that should curdle immediately, right? Or am I missing something here? I would at some point like to make some citrus ice cream or sherbet so I am very curious as to how this can happen without a gross, watery mess like what I had before.
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post #14 of 19
6/9/06 at 4:37pm
Thread Starter 
Well I completed both batches and the verdict is in. Pan, your recipe wins a decisive victory here. I was actually surprised to find that yours had more flavor than my grated ginger version. To be fair, I used less ginger in mine because I figured it would have TONS of flavor by virtue of the way it was prepared. Not so much. Mine came out actually looking and tasting a dead ringer for french vanilla, and a pretty good one at that. I did add some vanilla, and the ginger flavor was pretty subdued so I can kind of see that working. Yours had a more distinctive ginger flavor in it, but that same vanilla nose. I see what you are saying about the flavor of ginger. The ginger definitely makes its presence felt on the "back" as you say, which is not really what I was going for. I was hoping to capture the smell of fresh ginger right after you crack a piece of root open. Sweet and spicy, more like a ginger beer. Not really sure the best way to do that, and perhaps ice cream just isn't the best medium for doing that. I guess a french vanilla ice cream and ginger beer float would do the trick... :lips:
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post #15 of 19
6/12/06 at 8:25am
I have one of those ICE-20 machines and have really enjoyed it. Great value for the money. A friend of mine bought one too because she liked my results so much (and the recipe she tasted had no eggs). I've been thinking about ginger ice-cream as I have a recipe for ginger/chocolate. It's been great to read about your experience. Thanks.
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post #16 of 19
6/20/06 at 3:14am
Thread Starter 
Dinner went off with out a hitch, parents loved it! And for the record, souffle can indeed be made a day in advance with no ill effects. I accidentally made twice as much as I needed, and monday I ended up taking the mixing bowl with the extra batter and just threw it in the oven. MAN that was tastey with a few dollups of ice cream on top :lips:

Thanks for everyone's help with recipes and whatnot!
I'm a MAN, man!
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post #17 of 19
6/20/06 at 6:05am
:bounce: :bounce:

Congratulations!!!!!!!

As for your sourcing issues: See if there is a Wegman's supermarket nearby. We don't have any down here in NYC, but I understand that they are all over upstate, and they are GREAT. One of the few supermarket chains that is worth shopping at.
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
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post #18 of 19
6/20/06 at 2:39pm

Ginger Ice Cream Problems

I posted a similar question some months back when I tried to create a raspberry ginger ice cream and also ended up with curdled dairy. At that time, one of the replies noted that there is an enzyme in raw ginger that indeed coagulates milk. You might want to do a site search on ginger. You also might try bruefly blanching the ginger in water before steeping it with the milk and cream mixture (or, as noted, using the ginger to make your simple syrup). This appears to deactivate the enzyme. By the way, the flavor combination of raspberry with ginger turned out just great!
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post #19 of 19
6/22/06 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Alas, Wegman's is all over NJ, eastern PA, and dotted over upstate. The nearest one is in Syracuse :cry:
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