The BEST Corn Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making ice cream very creamy? ›

In addition to being an emulsifier, egg yolks serve a second purpose: they thicken pre-churned ice cream base, which creates a creamier mouthfeel in the final product.

Whole milk – I don't recommend replacing it with reduced fat or skim. Whole milk's higher fat content ensures that the homemade ice cream comes out creamy, not icy. Cane sugar – For sweetness.

Egg Yolks: The most traditional thickening agent, egg yolks contain natural proteins and fats that contribute to a rich and luxurious texture in custard-based ice creams. Cornstarch: Often used in non-custard ice creams, cornstarch mixed with milk helps thicken the base and create a smooth mouthfeel.

Chill Your Base Well

The initial mixture should be very cold before it hits the ice-cream machine; ideally, you'll want to refrigerate it overnight. It'll need less churning time this way, and that will keep ice crystals from snowballing.

Eggs leverage the fat already present in the ice cream base (the butterfat in cream and milk) and make it work even further for a creamier texture. But wait, there's more! Egg yolks also improve the stability of an ice cream, reducing its tendency to melt before you can get it from freezer to cone to mouth.

The main distinction between hard and soft ice cream is its texture. Soft serve gets its characteristic lightness from its air content. Generally, soft serve has less fat and more air than hard serve ice cream. It is also served at warmer temperatures, giving the dessert its softness.

Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.

While corn syrup helps bind more water and keep it from freezing in ice cream, its most common purpose in sweets is to inhibit the formation of sugar crystals—pure sucrose will crystallize, but adding another form of sugar, in this case glucose, will slow down the formation of crystals.

Great examples include arrowroot powder, cornflour, and tapioca flour. Unlike eggs, they do not alter the flavor too much. Plan on using between 2 and 3 teaspoons per quart (688 grams) of ice cream.

The most common ones used in ice creams are guar gum, cellulose gum and carob bean gum. They are used to reduce ice crystal growth, deliver flavour cleanly, increase smoothness, body and creaminess and slow down melting. They also help hold the air bubble structure together and give the ice cream a better texture.

What to use instead of egg in ice cream? ›

To thicken homemade ice cream without using eggs, use cornstarch. Yes! The starch you use to make pudding, gravy, and thicken fruit sauces. Cornstarch becomes an ice cream-thickener by mixing together cornstarch and sugar before adding the cold liquid, whisking it together, and slowly heating to a boil.

To get rich ice cream, you need enough fat, enough milk protein, and enough sugar to keep the water in the ice cream from freezing solid.

The greater the salt content, the lower the freezing point of the water. At the same time, dissolving salt in the liquid water causes the water temperature to drop, generating ice cream quicker.

Temperature Too Warm

If the freezer is freezing but your ice cream seems to soft, check the temperature setting is correct. The recommended setting for a freezer is 0°F (-18°C). The freezer should be operated in an environment between 55°F (13°C) and 110°F (43°C).

So you can up the fat in your ice cream by substituting cream for milk or half-and-half in recipes. Even more effective, is that you can also add more egg yolks if making a custard-based ice cream, which will increase the creaminess due to their emulsifying properties.

Keep It Creamy

Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency.

Liquid sugars like invert sugar, corn syrup, honey, and glucose syrup all add body, creaminess, and stability to ice cream, and a little goes a long way.

At its core ice cream is a successful emulsion of fat into water, sugar, and ice with air mixed into the batch. An emulsion is a mixture of two substances that typically separate (like oil and water). But, instead mix together to form the consistent creamy base used for ice cream. It's Science!