Fallon Peggy - The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever

When I told an acquaintance the subject of this cookbook, his immediate response was, So its a book on making desserts? I must admit I was a bit perplexed for a moment, as I have always thought of ice cream in a class by itself. Ice cream is more than a dessert, itswella treat, a sensory experience.

Ice cream is cool comfort for adults and the stuff childrens dreams are made of. Its that icy gratification stolen on a Saturday afternoon, that welcome pick-me-up on a stifling hot dayand sometimes on a cold rainy onethe traditional finale to the annual spaghetti-feed at the church hall. It even makes a tonsillectomy worthwhile. Ice cream is what you eat when you fall in love or when you have a broken heart. Ice cream is something that is given as a reward and withheld as punishment.

Ice cream can be devoured directly from its carton while youre standing in front of the freezer or when youre hiding under the bedcovers. It can be licked from a cone as you drive along a country road or spooned graciously from frosty silver coupes at an elegant restaurant.

Im here to report to all former kids that at least one thing in life has gotten easier. After trying them all, I can say with some authority that machines designed for home ice cream making can now be ranked from easy to easiest. The labor required is minimal and the results are utterly fantastic. Along with this mechanical renaissance comes a myriad of applications for your ice cream machine.

Ice cream now seems to be a generic term for just about any frozen sweet. Though we like to claim it as American, it is really an international favorite. Italians introduced us to the pure and vibrant flavors of their gelato , a dense yet soft ice cream rich with egg yolks but generally lower in butterfat than traditional American flavors. In addition to the classic French custard-based glace , which is similar to commercially made premium ice creams, and Philadelphia-style ice cream, made with no eggs, there are ice creams that contain no cream at all. Premium frozen yogurts, low-fat ice creams, sorbets, and icy granitas have all gained tremendous popularity in our health-conscious era. And the best news is that whether rich and creamy or lean and icy, all are now a breeze to make at home.

To ensure you enjoy making ice cream whenever you feel like it, its important to choose the style of maker thats right for you. In the beginning, there was the large wooden hand-cranked ice cream freezer, and theyre still thriving today. In deference to modern times theyve now added an electric version, but the principles remain the same. A chilled ice cream base is poured into the heavy stainless steel ice cream canister, fitted with a sturdy stationary paddle called a dasher. The canister is covered and placed inside the wooden bucket, connected to a support arm, and continuously rotated by either hand-cranking or electric power.

Freezing is accomplished by surrounding the canister with layers of crushed or shaved ice and coarse rock salt, a mix that melts to create an icy brine that lowers the temperature of the churning ice cream until it reaches its freezing point. The gradually melting ice usually freezes the mixture in 25 to 35 minutes. Rapid freezing in this manner causes many small ice crystals to form, which ultimately produces a smooth-textured ice cream. Aerating these crystals by rotating the dasher, or paddle, prevents ice chunks or flakes from forming. These nearly indestructible 4-quart and 6-quart machines are valued for more than nostalgia; they make excellent ice creams, sorbets, and frozen yogurts. These models are a bit pricey, but theyre a lifetime investment for those who want to make large batches of ice cream.

Other American manufacturers have taken the electric salt-and-ice bucket freezer idea a little further, creating a sturdy plastic machine with a metal canister and a maximum capacity of 2 quarts. The appeal of this model is that it doesnt require any special supplies; it freezes the mixture in 20 to 30 minutes by layering 4 standard trays of ice cubes from your freezer with ordinary table salt and cold water. The texture of the finished product depends largely on how fast it is processed.

Because ice cubes melt slowly and table salt dissolves quickly, the icy brine needed for smooth ice cream is created less quickly than in the previously mentioned, more traditional models. Slowly adding to of a standard (26-ounce) box of table salt to the ice according to the manufacturers directions will ultimately produce a silky ice cream. Ive used one of these reasonably priced models for at least 10 years, and Im always pleased with the finished product.

About 10 years ago, a handy, affordable freezer took ice cream lovers by storm and is probably responsible for todays widespread enthusiasm for making ice cream at home. In this simple machine, sometimes called a Donvier-type freezer after the Japanese company that invented it, a prechilled canister eliminates the need for ice and salt. This type of ice cream maker comes in half-pint, pint, and quart sizes and features a sealed, hollow metal canister that is filled with a special space-age coolant. This canister must be frozen for at least 24 hours before it is used. To make sure it is at proper temperature, shake the canister when you remove it from the freezer. If you hear any liquid sloshing around inside, turn down the setting on your freezer to make it colder, return the canister to the freezer, and try again later.

The frozen canister is filled with the ice cream base and fitted inside a simply designed plastic bucketno ice, no salt, no electricity. Just cover the cylinder, attach the handle, and turn it twice every 3 minutes. The ice cream forms on the cold walls of the frozen container. When you turn the handle, it scrapes the ice cream off the walls and into the warmer center of the mixture. Like magic, after about 20 minutes you have ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt. There are only minor problems with this design. The canister takes up a considerable amount of freezer space, and because little air is incorporated during the churning process, the finished ice creams become quite hard when stored in the freezer. Also, the canister must be again frozen for 24 hours before making another batch. Nonetheless, for small batches of ice cream that are to be eaten the same day, this model is a great value.

Several appliance makers have created an electric machine built to house a 1-to 1-quart prechilled canister. You still face the problem of storing the double-insulated canister in the freezer a minimum of 6 to 22 hours for each batch, but once thats done, its a breeze. The frozen canister is immediately placed on the motor base, fitted with the plastic dasher, covered with a clear plastic top, and turned on. There is a generous opening in the plastic cover, through which you pour in the ice cream base. (You can also use it later for add-ins.) The see-through lid lets you watch your ice cream being made; it usually takes 20 to 30 minutes.

This method seems to incorporate more air into the mixture, for I didnt experience the same storage problems as I did with the manual Donvier. Although I felt a certain amount of loyalty to my somewhat messy old ice-and-salt machine, this one is so simply designed and easy to use I have created permanent space in my freezer to store the canister.

I also bought a less expensive version of this type of machine, where a small motor is fitted on top of the frozen canister. The opening on the see-through plastic lid is annoyingly small and there are a lot of little plastic parts surely destined to be lost or thrown away. I also found it difficult to secure the lid before processing. The motor is adequate for most simple ice creams, sorbets, and yogurts, but it really strained to process a rich, custard-based ice cream. Save your money on this one.