Ice Cream – A Special Treat
Introduction
The name „Ice Cream“ has derived from the phrase "Iced Cream" that was similar to "Iced Tea". The name was later abbreviated to "ice cream" the name we know today.
The meaning of the term ice cream varies from one country to another. Terms like frozen custard, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles.
Ice cream is a frozen dessert made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours.
Ice cream can be mass-produced and thus is widely available in developed parts of the world. It can be purchased in large cartons from supermarkets and grocery stores, in smaller quantities from ice cream shops, convenience stores and in individual servings from small carts or vans.
In Turkey and Australia, ice cream is sometimes sold to beach-goers from small powerboats equipped with chest freezers.
Some ice cream distributors sell ice cream products from traveling refrigerated vans or carts – in the US called "ice cream trucks", sometimes equipped with speakers playing children's music. Ice cream vans in the United Kingdom make a music box noise rather than actual music.
Ice cream can be called Ice Cream if containing the following composition:
- greater than 10% milkfat
- 9% to 12% milk solids-not-fat
- 12% to 16% sweeteners:
- 0.2& to 0.5% stabilisers and emulsifiers
- 55% to 64% water which comes from the milk or other ingredients
Historical Facts about Ice Cream
Ancient civilizations have served ice for cold foods for thousands of years. Frozen mixture of milk and rice was used in China around 200 BC.
The origins of ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C. Early references include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined it with fruit toppings. King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe.
As early as the 10th century, ice cream was widespread amongst many of the Arab world's major cities, such as Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo. Their version of ice cream was produced from milk or cream and often some yoghurt similar to Ancient Greek recipes, flavoured with rosewater as well as dried fruits and nuts.
At about the end of the 13th century, Marco Polo returned from a voyage to China. With him he brought recipes for types of ice milk. It still wasn't ice cream, but very popular for a long time.
Soon, Italian chefs were creating frozen feasts and dishes made with water, milk, and cream. When Catherine de Medici married Harry II, she brought her chefs to Paris to make gelatin - Italian for ice cream. Over time, recipes for ices, sherbets, and milk ices evolved and served in the fashionable Italian and French royal courts.
In the sixteenth century, the Mughal emperors used relays of horsemen to bring ice from the Hindu Kush to Delhi, where it was used in fruit sorbets.
A legend says that Charles I of England was supposedly so impressed by the "frozen snow", he offered his personal ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so ice cream could be a royal prerogative.
But fact is that for many years throughout Europe, frozen desserts remained the dishes of royalty and people of great wealth.
In the 1670's commoners finally got a chance to try the elite treat! A Sicilian named Collitle introduced ice cream to the patrons of his cafe. Ice cream parlors soon began to spring up around Europe. New combinations of fruit, nuts, and flavors to add to the ice cream were soon to be tried.
The first step towards giving us the kind of ice cream we enjoy today was made by Nancy Johnson (USA) who invented the hand-crank freezer in 1846.
Hence, from about 1850 onwards ice cream became a real treat for 'ordinary people'; in the UK it was the love of ice cream amongst Italian immigrants that sparked a new level of interest in the food.
In the 1920s Clarence Vogt produced the first continuous process freezer which opened up the possibility for commercial ice cream manufacture. The 1930s saw a big rise in popularity for ice cream as it became more widely available and in different flavours.
Fascinating Facts about Ice Cream
- In the UK, 14 million adults buy ice cream as a treat, in a market worth £1.3 billion
- Water ice, the precursor to ice cream, is thought to have been invented by the Roman emperor Nero. Slaves were sent from Rome into the nearby mountains to get snow to mix with fruit, honey, and wine.
- One of the major ingredients in ice cream is air. In fact, 10 to 25 percent air is desirable. The ice cream mix must be beaten as it freezes to incorporate air. Without it, ice cream would be rock solid and unscoopable!
- The most popular flavor of ice cream is Vanilla.
- Licking the bowl clean after eating ice cream is admitted to by approx 13% of men and 8% of women.
- In the UK, there are more than 1,000 ice cream companies with annual consumption estimated at 8 litres per person.
- Binging on ice cream in the middle of the night is apparently done by 1 out of every 5 ice cream eaters!
- The world's largest ice cream bar was made in Kalisz, Poland. The giant bar weighed 19,357 pounds and took 11 days to make in September 1994.
- It takes about 50 licks to lick away one scoop of ice cream!
- Kids aged 2-12 and adults over 45 eat the most ice cream!
Ice Cream Ingredients and Ice Cream Making Methods
Ingredients
The key ingredients to delicious homemade ice cream are cream, milk, sugar, eggs and whatever you choose for flavoring (eg. fruit, brown bread, wine, etc). Even then you can choose from custard or cream base recipes (using cream, milk, eggs and sugar) to quicker recipes (omitting the eggs and sugar) to gelato (italian ice cream) to sorbets (water ices).
Making Ice Cream by Hand
- Prepare your ice cream mixture, then chill it over an ice bath.
- Put a deep baking dish, or bowl made of plastic, stainless steel or something durable in the freezer, and pour your custard mixture into it.
- After forty-five minutes, open the door and check it. As it starts to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and stir it vigorously with a spatula or whisk. Really beat it up and break up any frozen sections. Return to freezer.
- Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it's freezing. If you have one, you can use a hand-held mixer for best results, or use a stick-blender or hand-held mixer.
- Keep checking periodically and stirring while it freezes (by hand or with the electric mixer) until the ice cream is frozen. It will likely take 2-3 hours to be ready. Transfer the ice cream to a covered storage container until ready to serve.
Making Ice Cream with an Ice Cream Maker
What a thought.... delicious ice cream in just 20-40 minutes! You can create exciting, colorful variations, textures and flavors when you have your own ice cream maker. Impress the kids as well as your friends at parties and summer barbecues. A machine to take pride of place in your kitchen.
With an automatic ice cream maker, you can enjoy homemade ice cream quickly and easily.
Some more expensive models have an inbuilt freezing element. Some ice cream recipes call for making a custard, folding in whipped cream, and immediately freezing the mixture.
An ice cream maker must freeze the mixture, and must simultaneously stir or churn it to prevent the formation of ice crystals and aerate it to produce smooth and creamy ice cream. Most ice creams are ready to eat immediately, but some, especially those containing alcohol, must be chilled further in a freezer to attain a sufficiently firm consistency.
Some machines, such as certain low-priced counter-top models, require that the resulting mixture be frozen an extra four hours or more (or overnight), depending on the recipe, in order for the ice cream to harden to a desired consistency.
Place the freezer bowl in the freezer a full 24 hours before you plan to make the ice cream. Also, allow enough time for the custard to chill before you plan to make the ice cream, which could take several hours.
- Assemble the ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Custard Base: break the eggs into a bowl and whisk in the sugar. Continue whisking until it is frothy and lemony yellow.
- Cooking the Custard: In a medium-sized saucepot, heat the milk over medium heat until it just starts to simmer. Gradually add the milk, a little at a time, to the eggs, whisking constantly. When all the milk has been added, pour the milk-egg mixture back into the pan and cook it over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Strain and Cool the Custard: Remove from heat and strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any scrambled egg bits. Cool the mixture slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold.
- Freeze the Ice Cream: When you're ready to make your ice cream, remove the freezer bowl from the freezer and assemble your machine. Turn the machine on first, then pour in the ice cream base.
- Checking Ice Cream for Firmness: The ice cream will take 15 to 20 minutes to thicken up. When it's finished, the ice cream should hold its shape when scooped with a spoon. At this point further ingredients, such as nuts, fruit, or candy bits can be add. Take care to add them after about 12 to 15 minutes, when the ice cream is starting to solidify. Additional ingredients should not be larger than the size of a chocolate chip.
- Final Freezing: When the ice cream is done, transfer it immediately to a freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer.
Toppings and Sauces
This is where ice cream gets really interesting! Ice cream toppings can make any flavour of ice cream even more delicious. When these toppings are poured on ice cream they freeze right on the ice cream and create a hard chocolate candy coating. The coating breaks easily with a spoon and adds a crispy chocolate flavor to ice cream. There so many ideas to choose from!
- Sauces and syrups
- Hot fudge is one of the most popular ice cream toppings. When hot, rich fudge sauce meets cold, delectable ice cream you get the best of both worlds.
- Caramel and butterscotch sauces are also among the most popular ice cream toppings and can be used on their own or blended with hot fudge or chocolate ice cream toppings for extra decadence.
- Maple syrups make delicious ice cream toppings such as when they are poured over maple walnut or vanilla ice cream topped with chopped walnuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
- Nuts (whole, chopped or flaked) - hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, almonds, etc
- Fruit - such as pineapple chunks, chopped mangoes, blueberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries all make excellent ice cream toppings. Cherries and bananas are associated with the classic ice cream dessert - the banana split.
- Chocolate - strands, flakes, chocolate buttons and chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
- Marshmallows
- Multi-coloured sprinkles
- Whipped cream
Whipped cream, nuts, small candies and sprinkles make easy ice cream toppings for any flavors of ice cream.