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Ice cream has for too long been the convenience food that is bought from the
supermarket and fed to the children or in the luxury version, bought from the
delicatessen and fed to the grown ups. Home made ice cream has sadly been
forgotten, for it has a wonderful fresh flavour, is cheap and does not have the
addition of any chemicals or additives. However, just putting the mixture in the
freezer results in an ice cream which is both crystallized and granular, and even
stirring and beating it at regular and fequent intervals does not always work.
The Le Glacier Ice Cream Maker, in the simplest way, mixes and churns whilst
the mixture is freezing, which gives perfect ice cream and a uniform smooth and
light mixture.
This book gives the basic recipes for a custard based ice cream, a parfait and
for a sorbet, with various suggestions for flavouring them. It also gives recipes
for extra quick “ no cook ” ice creams, low fat ice creams, ice cream sauces
and has a section for children which includes the ever favourite “ Chocolate Ice
Cream ” with a condensed milk base. All these ice creams are easy to make and
some of them will take no more than five minutes in the kitchen whilst giving an
end result that is fresh, creamy and delicious. And remember, that for the
smaller machines in particular, extra bowls are available to allow you to make
larger quantities.
Ice cream or sorbet can be made from almost any edible, flavoured cream or
liquid, so do not be afraid of experimenting or of changing to a different flavour
in any of the recipes given. You may find that some of the recipes are too rich
for every day use. If this is so, substitute single cream, yoghurt, fromage blanc
or even milk for some or all of the double cream. For those who are unable to
tolerate dairy produce, Soya milk or Tofu can be used as a substitute. Soya milk
ice cream can be made almost as creamy as conventional ices by the inclusion
of 2 tablespoons of oil (such as sunflower oil) to 1/2 pint (300 ml) soya milk.
Artificial sweeteners can be used in place of sugar but can only be used in
recipes that do not require sugar syrup. When making a custard base ice cream,
add the sweetener to the custard after it has cooled. This is because artificial
sweeteners loose their sweetness when heated above a certain temperature.
As long as you have the flavouring and sweetness that you like, you can more
or less do as you wish.
Ice cream can be stored in a covered container in the freezer, but if you do this
remember to put it in the main part of the fridge for about half an hour to soften
up before you eat it. Ice cream should be eaten when it is soft, for not only does
the texture taste better, but the flavours come through properly. It is recommended
that sorbets are eaten very quickly and yoghurt ice cream within a day or so.
Rich cream based ice creams will keep, but after a week or two will start to lose
the taste of the more delicate flavours.
Ice cream is always popular, seems to be liked by everybody, and now, with the
Le Glacier Ice Cream Maker is both easy and quick to make at home with
wonderful tasting and impressive results. Enjoy it and have fun.
