Search Results for 'ice cream'

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Podcast: MSG Screams for Ice Cream

I don’t care that we got a half a foot of snow last night–that’s all the more reason to eat ice cream! So in preparation for holiday gorging (pies a la mode!!), an hour on the history and science of ice cream.

Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour will unearth the stories behind our favorite ice cream treats and share some of history’s wildest bygone flavors–that may be due for a revival. You’ll be able to answer questions like: which came first, chocolate or vanilla? The ice cream sandwich or the ice cream cone? Neapolitan or liquid nitrogen?

Then, Soma will tell you the science behind making the perfect batch at home, and Big Ice Cream’s tricks for plumping up their profit margins. We’ll also track frozen desserts across the globe, from Italian gelato to dondurma, the magically stretchy ice cream from Turkey.

Origin of a Dish: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

Liquid Air boiling on a block of ice. “If a kettle containing liquid air be placed on a block of ice, boiling will again take place and the addition of ice to the contents of the kettle will make the boiling proceed more rapidly.”—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911) (source)

In 1987, a microbiologist in Lexington, KY, got the idea to flash freeze ice cream with liquid nitrogen, a chemical he was familiar with from working in his lab.  This was the start of the “ice cream of the future,” Dippin’ Dots, which is frozen by spraying ice cream mix into cyrogenic freezer. You can see a cool video of how it works here.

One would think using liquid nitrogen to freeze ice cream was a modern discovery.   But 86 years before Dippin’ Dots, British cookbook author Agnes Marshall, known as the Queen of Ice Cream, proposed the use of “liquid air” to freeze ice cream.

“Liquid air will do wonderful things, but as a table adjunct its powers are astonishing, and persons scientifically inclined may perhaps like to amuse and instruct their friends as well as feed them when they invite them to the house. By the aid of liquid oxygen, for example, each guest at a dinner party may make his or her ice cream at the table by simply stirring with a spoon the ingredients of ice cream to which a few drops of liquid air has been added by the servant.” –The Table (August 24, 1901)

I haven’t been able to find the primarily source article, but this quote comes from Mrs Marshall, The Greatest Victorian Ice Cream Maker, With a Facsimile of the Book of Ices, 1885 by Robert Weir.

Agnes Marshall, ice cream hottie.

“Liquid air” would be liquid oxygen, and I’m not sure if that’s what she actually proposed using, or if she was confusing it with liquid nitrogen.  The technology required to manufacture liquid air had been pioneered at this time, and there were presentations being done with it around the world.  Some reports say she demonstrated her ice cream freezing technique at the Royal Institution in London in 1904.

The technique went relatively untouched for the next century.  In the mid 1990s, the use of liquid nitrogen in the kitchen was further developed by Herve This, a chemist and cook who is known as the Father of Molecular Gastronomy.  Liquid nitrogen freezes ice cream almost instantly.  The faster ice cream freezes, the smaller the ice crystals; the smaller the ice crystals, the smoother the ice cream.  Ice cream made in this style was popularized by Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal, both considered pioneers of the molecular gastronomy movement.  Today, Top Chef contestants use it every other week.

________________

References:

Mrs Marshall, The Greatest Victorian Ice cream maker, With a Facsimile of the Book of Ices, 1885. By Robert Weir

The Book Of Ices: Including Cream And Water Ices, Sorbets, Mousses, Iced Soufflés, And Various Iced Dishes, With Names In French And English, And Various Coloured Designs For Ices. By Agnes Marshall

Frozen Desserts: The Definitive Guide to Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati, and Other Frozen Delights by Robert Weir


  

Origin of a Dish: Vanilla Ice Cream

Sage and rosewater ice cream.

In the age-old question vanilla vs. chocolate, chocolate is the older ice cream, but vanilla has been the most popular ice cream of the last 200 years.

Ice cream as we know it descended from the European tradition of  dessert custards made with eggs.   The base for a “custard style” ice cream, or one with egg yolks in it, is the same as that for a baked custard.  So after the freezing process was discovered, it was a natural progression to frozen creams.  Some of the more interesting flavors from Medieval Europe include: saffron, honey & citron, sage & rose-water, laurel leaves, tarragon, celery, and crumbled cookies.

Vanilla was very hard to acquire before the mid-19th century.  It was only produced in Mexico, because of the vanilla orchid’s symbiotic relationship with the local bee–the bee pollinated the flowers.  Instead of vanilla, early ice creams were flavored with orange flower water or rosewater, ingredients commonly used in all sorts of desserts.

The first known written recipe for ice cream is from 1665,  handwritten in the recipe book of Lady Anne Fanshawe.  Notice she flavors her “icy cream” with mace, orange flower water, or ambergris (a ball of smelly brown stuff that whales puke up (ew)).  There’s a great article by culinary historian Ivan Day, who made ice cream from this recipe, here.

The first known ice cream recipe.

Vanilla doesn’t appear in ice cream recipes until the 1760s, and then it would have been used very rarely.  But Vanilla had been a favorite ice cream flavor even before the spice was readily available: there are about a dozen recipes in Thomas Jefferson’s papers, and one of them is for vanilla ice cream (see it here).  The earliest ice cream recipes published in American, in The Virginia Housewife in 1824, includes vanilla as well as almond, coconut, citron, and fresh fruit flavors (see it here, buy it here).   By the early 19th century, it was described as one of the most common ice cream flavors–despite the fact that the spice itself was still fairly uncommon.

I made an ice cream inspired by medieval custards from the pre-vanilla days: sage and rosewater.   I used a basic ice cream recipe and added one teaspoon of rosewater, and steeped a small handful of fresh sage leaves in heated milk.  I added one teaspoon of crumbled, dried sage leaves as the ice cream was freezing in the ice cream maker.

I wasn’t crazy about this ice cream, but I wouldn’t call it bad.  Many of the people who tasted it enjoyed it.   The flavors are extremely subtle: if you didn’t know what you were eating, it would be nearly impossible to identify the taste.  It’s vaguely like soap, but pleasant, if that’s possible.

Next: Ice cream of the future!

**

Research for this post came from:


Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making by Jeri Quinzio
Lady Ann Fanshawe’s Icy Cream by Ivan Day

 

 

Origin of a Dish: Chocolate Ice Cream

Ice cream made with 18th century chocolate!

There are only a few more official days of summer left, so I’m going to use them to their best advantage by devouring as much ice cream as possible.   But chocolate or vanilla?  A very important question.  According to the International Ice Cream Association, 30% of ice cream eaters prefer vanilla, while a mere 10% prefer chocolate.

But more important important to me is the question: which flavor came first, chocolate or vanilla?

Some of the earliest frozen desserts were scoops of snow or shaved ice topped with flavored sugar syrups;  sometimes, these were made into icy drinks.  In the Middle East they were known as sharbates or serbets–the origin of the words sorbet and sherbet.

Drinking Chocolate making tools: a pot and mixing device. From Lady Anne Fanshawe’s journal, c. 1665.

Because of the precedent of frozen drinks, some of the earliest ice cream flavors were drinks, like coffee and tea. Which is why chocolate ice cream was invented long before vanilla.   The first frozen chocolate recipe was published in Naples, Italy in 1692 in the book The Modern Steward.   “Chocolate” was popular hot drink in 17th century Europe, and was  commonly mixed with spices like cinnamon, chili peppers, anise, almonds or musk (glandular extracts from the musk deer (eww)).  Today’s “Mexican Chocolate”  is actually a descendant of how chocolate was served in the Spanish court, not how it was served by the ancient peoples of Mexico.

The Historic Division of Mars make a historic chocolate based of an authentic 18th century recipe.   It looks like a chocolate crayon, and is blended with anise, red pepper, nutmeg, orange zest, and cinnamon.

I decided to make a version of the original chocolate using a basic ice cream recipe and half a cup of grated historic chocolate.  Before the 19th century, ice cream was made using only cream, but I think that gives it a borderline buttery texture.  I like a 2:1 ratio of cream and whole milk.

As the cream and chocolate froze in my modern ice cream maker, the rotated action of the dasher release the oils of the ground spices, and made my kitchen extremely fragrant.  Homemade ice cream is supposed to freeze once in the ice cream maker, and then it should go into the freezer, to become hard-packed ice cream.

I stole my first taste of historic chocolate ice cream off the dasher as it came out of the ice cream maker:  it tasted just like a Mc Donald’s chocolate milkshake, which was super weird.  Or at least how I remember them tasting–I haven’t had one since middle school, when my mom would always buy me one as a treat after visits to the orthodontist.  I tasted the ice cream after it was fully frozen a few hours later: the chocolate wasn’t the prominent taste.  Instead, all the warm spices the chocolate was blended with where in the forefront.  Anise was the most pronounced, but without leaving a  liquorice aftertaste.

If you’re interesting in trying this recipe out, you can buy historic chocolate here.  It’s also great hot with lots of cream and sugar.

Next up: Vanilla!  How America’s favorite ice cream came to be.

***
 
Much of the research for this article came from Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making.  Learn more about this book here!  For a history of drinking chocolate, check out A History of the World in Six Glasses here.

 

Learn all about ICE CREAM then learn all about PEPPER! (then make pepper ice cream?)


Masters of Social Gastronomy: ICE CREAM!

Tuesday, July 24th, Doors at 7
Public Assembly, Brooklyn
FREE with FREE Samples

MSG is our free monthly lecture series all about the history and science of food. Up this month: ice cream. 

Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour will unearth the stories behind our favorite ice cream treats and share some of history’s wildest bygone flavors–that may be due for a revival. By the end of the night, you’ll be able to answer questions like: which came first, chocolate or vanilla? The ice cream sandwich or the ice cream cone? Neapolitan or liquid nitrogen?

Meanwhile, Soma will show you the science behind making the perfect batch at home, and Big Ice Cream’s tricks for plumping up their profit margins. We’ll also track frozen desserts across the globe, from Italian gelato to dondurma, the magically stretchy ice cream from Turkey.

At the storytime halftime show, they’ll make ice cream right before your eyes, using an easy method you can replicate anytime, anywhere.

As always, MSG is free and takes place at Public Assembly (70 North 6th Street) in Williamsburg. Doors open at 7pm, with samples and drink specials all night long.

RSVP here! (so we know how much free ice cream to bring!)
***

American Taste: Black Pepper
Wednesday, July 25th, 6:30-8
@ The Brooklyn Brainery
$12 Buy tickets here.

This is an all you ever need to know class about black pepper!

We’ll look at the history of this spice, and discover how it went from being as precious as gold to the ubiquitous plastic shaker on a diner table.

Then, we’ll track its production, from life on a vine in Sumatra to tri-color pepper in the spice aisle of Whole Foods.

And lastly, we’ll taste five varieties of pepper from different regions, discuss pepper recipes past and present, and analyze the flavor qualities of America’s favorite savory spice.  Buy tickets here!

Origin of a Dish: The Ice Cream Cone

Waffle Cone?

I had some custard left over from demoing ice cream making at the Brooklyn Brainery over Labor Day weekend, so I decided to toss it in my ice cream maker and enjoy a little made-from-scratch ice cream at home.  Plus, I wanted to try out these neat tip I learned during class:  I team-taught my session with Soma, one of the founders of the Brainery.  At the end of the class, students could pitch their dream ice cream flavors, and Soma would explain how to make them by using different techniques to incorporate flavors.  To add a “swirl,” like chocolate,  you take the ice cream out of the ice cream maker and you layer it in a Tupperware  much like a parfait:

How to make a chocolate swirl.

Then you put it in the freezer.  When you scoop it, it comes out like a chocolate swirl. I layered my vanilla bean ice cream with U-Bet Chocolate Syrup.

For my class, I did a lot of research on the history of ice cream in America.  I got really curious about the origin of the ice cream cone when I stumbled across this article from Saudi Aramco World: Zalabia and the First Ice Cream Cone.  SAW is a cool publication from which I’ve previously cooked some medieval Middle Eastern recipes.

The idea of an ice cream cone has been around for a few hundred years–they were known as “cornets” in Europe.  But as far as modern American cones, SAW recounts and ice cream cone legend I have heard before:

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also called the 1904 World’s Fair, was the largest the US had seen since the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It covered some 500 hectares (1235 ac) and showed off such inventions as the year-old airplane, the radio, the telephone switchboard and the silent movie… (There were also less memorable attractions, among them a butter sculpture of President Theodore Roosevelt and a bear made out of prunes.) With more than 18 million visitors passing through the Exposition over its seven-month run, there were also scores of vendors offering much to eat.

(Ernest) Hamwi and his wife, the story goes, took their meager life’s savings and invested them in a zalabia booth, joining other like-minded immigrants from the Levant in attempting to transplant to the US the crisp, round, cookie-like snack so popular back home. Each zalabia was baked between two iron platens about the size of a dinner plate, hinged together and held by a handle over a charcoal fire. They were served sprinkled with sugar. The Hamwis wound up doing their cooking next to one of the approximately 50 ice-cream stands dotted around the fair, though exactly who owned the stand is in some doubt: It was either Arnold Fornachou or Charles Menches. Whoever it was, his ice cream sold faster than Hamwi’s zalabia—so fast, in fact, that one day he ran out of clean glass cups. At this moment, some say, the ice-cream man saw the possibilities of the zalabia; others claim the zalabia man saw the possibilities of the ice cream.

It’s Hamwi himself who originated this story, in an ice cream trade journal, and is generally credited with inventing the ice cream cone.   However, his story has never been proven, nor has there been any evidence found that he had a booth at the fair at all.

But people do seem to think that the 1903 Exposition is the time and place that ice cream and cone met, and that the pizzelle-like zalabia had something to do with it.  I got curious to make a zalabia, which hail from Lebanon, Syria, Greece and Turkey.  However, when a scoured the internet for a recipe, all I could come up with were recipes for north-African zalabia, a yeast-risen, deep-fried dough with honey syrup.  Not the same.

I ended up trying out this Martha Stewart recipe for waffle cones, but being that I don’t have a pizzelle maker, I ended up making waffle cones.  The result was freaking delicious, but not what I had set out to do.

If anyone out there has a zalabia recipe, hit me up! In the meantime, read the rest of the fascinating Saudi Aramco World article here.

Events: Intro to Ice Cream Making

I’m teaching a class this Sunday on Ice Cream Making at the Brooklyn Brainery. Sign up here!

Sunday, September 4, 12-2:30pm or  3:30-6pm $30

I won’t lie: buying an ice cream maker has been one of the best investments of my life. I am amazed at the endless joy it has brought me; and now, I want to share that joy with you.

Join me to learn the simple steps of making homemade ice cream, from heating the custard to freezing the final product. We’ll chat about the history of ice cream in America as well as discuss the science of ice cream making. Finally, we’ll sample the delicious results of all our hard work. Sign up here!

 

The Gallery: Thomas Jefferson’s Ice Cream

After the revolution, Jefferson spent a number of years in France before becoming President.  In this time, he amassed an amazing culinary collection that would influence his dinner table for the rest of his life.  One of the dishes he enthused about was ice cream; not only did he buy an ice cream maker while abroad, but the Library of Congress also holds the vanilla ice cream recipes that Jefferson jotted down in his own hand.

***
1780s – Thomas Jefferson’s Handwritten Recipe
ICE CREAM.
2. bottles of good cream.
6. yolks of eggs.
1/2 lb. sugar
mix the yolks & sugar. put the cream on a fire in a casserole, first putting in a stick of Vanilla. when near boiling take it off & pour it gently into the mixture of eggs & sugar. stir it well. put it on the fire again stirring it thoroughly with a spoon to prevent it’s sticking to the casserole. when near boiling take it off and strain it thro’ a towel. put it in the Sabottiere then set it in ice an hour before it is to be served. put into the ice a handful of salt. put salt on the coverlid of the Sabotiere & cover the whole with ice. leave it still half a quarter of an hour. then turn the Sabottiere in the ice 10 minutes open it to loosen with a spatula the ice from the inner sides of the Sabotiere. shut it & replace it in the ice open it from time to time to detach the ice from the sides when well taken (prise) stir it well with the Spatula. put it in moulds, justling it well down on the knee. then put the mould into the same bucket of ice. leave it there to the moment of serving it. to withdraw it, immerse the mould in warm water, turning it well till it will come out & turn it into a plate.
***

 

Below, an adaption of this recipe for the modern kitchen.  And if you’ve always wanted to know how to make ice cream from scratch, sign up for my class at the Brooklyn Brainery a week from today, on Sunday, September 4th.  I’ll go through the process step by step and talk about the origins and science of ice cream making.  See you there!

***
Basic Ice Cream Recipe
Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s recipe, with some modern instructions pulled from “Martha Stewart’s Easy Ice Cream”

6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 quart heavy cream (for a lighter ice cream, use 2 cups cream and 2 cups milk)
1 vanilla bean (or, other flavoring of your choice)
Additional mix-ins

1. In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended.
2. Add split and scraped vanilla bean to 1 quart of cream; bring to a boil, then pour slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
3. Cook egg and cream mixture over a double boiler, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard thickens slightly and evenly coats back of spoon (it should hold a line drawn by your finger).  Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice, or place in refrigerator, until chilled.
4. Churn in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding mix-ins like nuts or fruits in the last few minutes. Transfer ice cream to a resealable plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

 

The History Dish: Chestnut Ice Cream

Right: Rachel Wharton and I chowed down on some melty, chestnut ice cream.

Coupla weeks ago, I was featured on New York 1 making some chestnut ice cream for Edible Manhattan editor Rachel Wharton.

The idea for the recipe came from Society as I have Found It, a book written by Ward McAllister in the 1890s.  He was a New Yorker, and a well-known socialite.  The book is about his fabulous life, and he dishes out all kinds of advice, like how to throw the best dinner party:

“In planning a dinner, the question is not to whom you owe dinners, but who is most desirable. The success of the dinner depends as much upon the company as the cook. Discordant elements — people invited alphabetically or to pay off debts — are fatal.

The next step is an interview with your chef, if you have one… whom you must arouse to fever heat by working on his ambition and vanity. You must impress upon him that this particular dinner will give him fame and lead to fortune. “

Sound advice, no?  The full chapter is here.

I’d like to throw a dinner party based on his suggested menu; it’s perfect for the winter and classically late 19th-century: it consists of Turtle Soup, Terrapin, Ham Mousse, Roast Turkey, Sweetbreads, Pate in Aspic and Canvasback Ducks.   The dessert, Nesselrode Pudding, is an ice cream made with chestnut puree.

The recipe requires a lot of steps, but every one is worth it.  The result is an incredibly creamy, flavorful ice cream.

***
Nesselrode Pudding (Chestnut Ice Cream)
Adapted from The American Heritage Cookbook and
Miss Corson’s Pratical American Cookery by Juliet Corson,  1886.

1 pint (2 cups) half and half
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
20 chestnuts, cooked and unshelled*
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Maraschino Liquor, rum, or pineapple juice
1/2 cup currents
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

*You can find chestnuts canned, perhaps in the import aisle of your grocery store.  I found a bag of “snacking” chestnuts that were roasted, unshelled and vacuum sealed.  Perfect.

1. Soak raisins and currents in a bowl with the Maraschino.  Set aside.

2. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.  Scald the half and half, then add it SLOWLY to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour into a pan and cook on over a very low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.

3. Meanwhile, make the chestnut puree: add chestnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, water, and vanilla to a food processor.  Puree until smooth, then add to the custard.

4. Add custard mixture to the bowl of an ice cream mixture.  Allow to freeze to a soft-serve consistency.

5. Meanwhile, beat heavy cream and remaining 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer until stiff.  When custard has frozen soft, fold in whipped cream and fruit.

6. Pack into an ice cream mold  and place in the freezer overnight, or until frozen hard.

***

I let the ice cream set in the freezer overnight; while shooting for NY1, I busted it out all professional like “Oh, and we have one that’s already done!”  It was now time to unmold it: I dipped the outside of the mould into hot water until the outer layer of ice cream melted, then gently turned it upside down on a decorative platter. Simple, right?

Not for me. While decanting my ice cream, I managed to fling it across the table, where it collapsed into a sad heap.  See it all happen here.

Rachel and I managed to scoop the ice cream off of the table and make it presentable, although it totally looked like a brain.  Then we gave it the old taste test: although I was repulsed by the texture of the raisins, Rachel and I both agreed this ice cream was delicious.  On camera, we took dainty spoonfuls.  Off camera, we were shoveling it into our mouth.  The ice cream was so creamy and perfectly sweet; the chestnut flavor was interesting, delicious, and subtle.

Rachel suggested leaving out the fruit in the next batch and molding the ice cream in individual dishes with a single, candied chestnut to garnish the top.  I agree.  Hanging out with Rachel is always a treat.

The Joys of Jello: Philadelphia Ice Cream

We’re making Number 5.

There is a fourteen-page booklet, released in 1904, which is the very first Jell-O recipe book.  You can read the full pamphlet here; I could see myself spending a week just making molds just from this little book:   Moulded Tomatoes, Shredded Wheat Jell-O Apple Sandwich, Chrysanthemum Salad…But today, just one: Philadelphia Ice Cream.

I decided to start off the week with something appealing, and refreshing– I want to strike a balance between the horrors of Jell-O, and some ideas that might be innovative and delicious.

I didn’t have any one-pound baking powder cans handy (who does?) so I emptied out a cannister of Itallian-style bread crumbs.  I trotted out to the grocery store and picked up a gallon of vanilla ice cream; and since it’s one million degrees outside, by the time I got home the ice cream was soft and pliable.  I spooned it out and lined the bread crumb can, leaving a channel in the center.  I set it upright in the freezer to harden.

For the filling, I decided to use peach Jell-O; although it’s not one of the original Jell-O flavors available in 1904 (strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon) I thought I would add a modern twist.   I prepared it according to the package directions, let it thicken in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, and then folded in one sliced banana.  I left out the extra 1/4 cup of sugar the recipe suggests; I didn’t think it necessary.

I took my ice cream mold out of the freezer, and poured the nanner/peach mixture down the center.  I topped it off with a few more scoops of ice cream, and put it all back in the freezer overnight.

The next morning, I dunked the mold in a pitcher of warm water to loosen its contents.  I used kitchen scissors to cut off the bread crumb can.  Here’s what came out:

And a cross section.  Pretty!:

And a slice to eat:

The taste was good, but there were logistical problems:  The ice cream melted faster than the Jell-O core, so you didn’t get to enjoy them together.  The outside came off in warm ice cream creamy goodness, but then the center would still be too hard to eat with a spoon.

Would I make this recipe again? Probably not.  Would I make ice cream tubes and fill it with other things? Probablly.  Frozen raspberries. Cake batter.  Other ice cream–what about a Neopolitan dessert, made from concentric circles of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry?

What would you put in the center of an ice cream tube?