"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
28.19...
> On Thu 25 May 2006 09:37:16a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
> Randall?
>
>>
>> "Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
>> 28.19...
>>> On Thu 25 May 2006 08:23:10a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
>>> Randall?
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "jacqui{JB}" > wrote in message
>>>> . dk...
>>>>> "Dee Randall" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm considering buying the book, The Ultimate Ice
>>>>>> Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein (ISBN 0-688-16149-9)
>>>>>> as I checked it out from the library and it looks more
>>>>>> 'standard' to me.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Have you made anything from it, and what is the one that you like or
>>>>>> recommend?
>>>>>
>>>>> I made one of the chocolate ice creams a couple of years ago, which
>>>>> was when I discovered that my ice cream maker wasn't working anymore.
>>>>> 
The mixture was great, even though it never got properly frozen.
>>>>> I haven't tried anything else, 'cause I'm still debating the relative
>>>>> merits of replacement machines. The most commonly available machines
>>>>> here have either a bowl which has to be kept in the freezer or a
>>>>> tablet which sits in the bottom of the bowl which needs to go into
>>>>> the freezer before it can be used -- neither of which have a
>>>>> particularly large capacity, perhaps a quart. Another option is to
>>>>> spring the big bucks for a self-contained unit, but the capacity in
>>>>> those is ridiculously small -- about a pint -- which makes the output
>>>>> disproportionately expensive.
>>>>>
>>>>> I was looking at White Mountain ice cream freezers this morning --
>>>>> http://www.brm-icecream.com/index.htm -- and wondering if I could get
>>>>> my mom in California to accept delivery and then forward it on to me
>>>>> here in DK. A
>>>>> four-quart, electric machine would be just about right. I have a
>>>>> step-down converter to handle the voltage issues, so I'd just have to
>>>>> come up with a source for ice (which might also be a problem, since
>>>>> I've never seen ice in bags here ...).
>>>>>
>>>>> Trials and tribulations of living in a "furrin" place, I tell you.
>>>>> I'm only slightly bitter. 
>>>>>
>>>>> But I ramble. Yes, I recommend the Ultimate Ice Cream Book. Many of
>>>>> the recipes sound really good. And I'm a big fan of the Ben &
>>>>> Jerry's book, too.
>>>>>
>>>>> -j
>>>>>
>>>> I have a new Cuisinart ice cream maker, but will bring it out this
>>>> summer to begin to make a few ice creams, as I will have available
>>>> proper cream/milk for it (unpasteurized). I will probably buy the
>>>> Ultimate book, maybe this week.
>>>> I had the White Mountain years ago. For some reason I hated spending
>>>> time getting the salt ready, buying it, all that money for salt,
>>>> etc., then I bought the Donvier, which I hated. Actually I'm not
>>>> expecting anything out of the Cuisinart that I didn't get from the
>>>> Donvier except with the Donvier I had to hand-crank it.
>>>> All the caveats of making ice cream, to me, are a bore. Eventually
>>>> I'll probably break down and spend the big bucks for a good ice cream
>>>> maker if the new cream/milk works out for us. I don't expect to do
>>>> anything too soon tho.
>>>> Thanks for the chat.
>>>> PS, I think the White Mountain price is a little high priced. I think
>>>> the wooden (or is it plastic now) bucket is for nostalgic reasons;
>>>> makes you think you're in Vermont? I think this thing could be priced
>>>> more realistically at $89-99, but that's just me; and you'd probably
>>>> never find it. By the time you pay shipping a couple of times, you're
>>>> talking money. Dee Dee
>>>
>>> I have a White Mountain w/motor that I rarely use because it's too
>>> large for my needs (6 qts). I also have a Simac Il Gelataio with
>>> compressor that makes 1-1/2 qts. It makes perfect ice cream quickly
>>> and in the right quantity for us. I tried one of the units where you
>>> freeze the cyliner, but absolutely hated it. Even though I kept the
>>> cylinder in my deep freeze at -10 degrees, the damned thing never
>>> froze the ice cream as firmly as I wanted.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
>>
>>
>> Yeah, I think I'm going to hate my Cuisinart (cylinder type, too). It's
>> wishful thinking that this is going to work.
>
> Mebbe not. I'm sure some are better than others.
>
>> But I've read that even with the units similar to your Simac, (is there
>> a generic name for them?) that once the ice cream is finished and the
>> unit turns off, that you do have to pack it in a container and let it
>> sit inside the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up. Unless you
>> want soft-serve. True/false?
>
> True and false. One can remove the paddle and pack down the ice cream,
> leaving it in the machine for a period of time to further firm up -or-
> scoop it into a container and put in the freezer for like time. However,
> the machine does make a much firmer product than the cylinder type.
> Regardless of method, ice cream improves in both flavor and texture if
> allowed to "mellow" a while after churning.
>
> Even in the old fashioned style of bucket freezers, traditionally the
> dasher was removed, the ice cream packed down and covered, the the freezer
> was repacked with ice and salt to allow the ice cream to mellow. As a kid
> I remember this as an interminable wait for that delicious first bowl. :-)
>
> Commercially, all ice creams (even the best of them) are put into their
> containers in a semi-solid state, then into a super cold freezer.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
> _____________________
Thanks for taking the time, Wayne, to give me this information. I remember
that interminable wait as a kid, but I can't remember my White Mountain
waiting (selective long-term memory loss). At any rate, the White Mountain
ice cream was not too pleasant a memory for me as an adult.
Re your
>One can remove the paddle and pack down the ice cream,
> leaving it in the machine for a period of time to further firm up -or-
> scoop it into a container and put in the freezer for like time.
I suppose the time element (company, left-over's, etc.) dictates
whether/which you do/did in your Simac - pack it down or scoop it into a
container.
Does your machine remain cold on its own from the ice cream, or does it have
a feature that continues to freeze for a certain period of time while it is
firming up? I realize that different machines must have different
features, but I'm wondering about yours and how it works/worked and if you
preferred that feature.
Thanks again,
Dee Dee