Eggs
Adding egg yolks to the ice-cream mixture improves the structure and makes ittaste richer and smoother. When very cold, egg-white does not become really stiff when beaten. For that reason, take the eggs out of the refrigerator several hoursbefore use. Various ice cream maker recipes only use the egg yolks. The remaining egg white can be used for Omelette Sibérienne and Meringues. Recipes can befound in most cookery books.
Milk
You can use both pasteurised and sterilised milk. The choice of full cream milk or low fat milk is a question of personal taste. The ice-cream will taste creamier if you use milk with ahigher fat content. Some recipes require you to add the ingredients to milk which is just below boiling point. Ice-cream keeps longer if made from cooked ingredients. However, the mixture may start to curdle while being prepared. You can make the mixture smooth and suitable for processing again by mixing in a blender or food processor for one minute. Alternatively, you can add very cold cream and let the mixture cool down quickly, while beating constantly.
Cream
Always use chilled cream when using an ice cream machine. If the recipe calls for “whipped cream”, stop beating the cream before it becomes completely stiff. This makes it easier to mix the cream with the other ingredients. In summer it is advisable to put the beaters and the bowl in which the cream will be whipped in the refrigerator. The fat content of the cream affects the ice-cream: a higher fat content will make the cream richer and creamier.
Sugar
Use castor sugar because this dissolves more readily. You can also use icing sugar, brown sugar or honey. It is best to grind coarse granulated sugar in a blender or food processor. If the sugar content is too low, it will have an adverse effect on the structure and stiffness of the ice-cream.
Fruit
Fresh fruit makes the tastiest ice-cream which is also very nutritious. However, fruit from a jar or tin is also suitable. Make sure the fruit is well drained before puréeing. Summer fruits (e.g. strawberries, raspberries,peaches) are simple to freeze so that you can use fresh fruit all year round. Frozen fruit can be stored for 8 or 9 months in a deep freeze or in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator. Uncooked fruits easily discolour when they are puréed. To prevent discolouring, sprinkle some lemon juice on the pieces of fruit (apple,banana, pear, plum) before puréeing. If you wish to add pieces of fruit to the ice-cream, sprinkle them with some sugar to prevent hard ice crystals from forming inside the pieces of fruit during the freezing process.
Alcohol
Ice-cream mixtures containing alcohol must be processed somewhat longer. The ice-cream will not become as stiff as ice-cream without alcohol.
Syrup
If you make sorbet ice-cream frequently, you can prepare the syrup in advance and keep it in a tightly sealed bottle in the refrigerator. To make syrup you need:
- a (stainless steel) pan
- a stirring spoon
- for 300 cc (103⁄4 fl. oz) syrup: 200 cc (7 fl. oz.) water and 200 g (7 oz.) fine sugar
- for 450 cc (16 fl. oz.) syrup: 275 cc (10 fl. oz) water and 275 g (10 oz.) fine sugar
- Put the sugar and the water into the pan and stir well.
- Put the pan on low heat while stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Skim off any froth that forms on the surface.
- Boil the sugar mixture for approx. 1 minute.
- Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.