{ La Bonne Honte }

The Building Blocks

In my opinion, the only way to enjoy to-die-for desserts on the regular is to use as many organic ingredients as possible in their prime season. Not only will it be easier on your figure, it will taste better!

There are a few basic building blocks of a traditional homemade ice cream, but not every ice cream needs the same thing! And people's preferences vary... widely. The good news is: Ice cream recipes are pretty flexible, so you can fiddle with them as you see fit!

 Take my advice on ingredients with a grain of salt, and use this information to reason out how you can adjust recipes to best suit your tastes and whichever lucky dogs get to benefit from your bang-up cooking skills.

- Eggs -

Large, yellow yolks are ideal. Egg yolks are what give a traditional ice cream its creamy texture and help the ice cream to hold together better once it's out of the freezer. Most people seem to prefer ice creams with around 5 yolks per pint... though tastes vary. Using a lot of eggs in your ice cream will add a lovely texture, but it can also  take a toll on your cholesterol levels.

Keep in mind, while some recipes benefit from a higher yolk ratio, having too many yolks in a lighter flavor like, rose & cardamom, will overpower the more delicate ingredients in your dessert. So think about which flavors you want to shine and plan your number of yolks accordingly.

Little tip: When adding the hot dairy mixture to your yolks, only add about 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dairy blend before adding the yolks into the main bowl on the double boiler. Too much hot dairy will raise the temperature of the eggs too quickly and you'll cook them a bit... not very yum. No one wants scrambled eggs in their ice cream. This is why it's always a good idea to strain your custard into the cooling bowl as soon as it's done cooking. The strainer helps to keep out unwanted bits of cooked egg!

- Heavy Cream -

Fresh! Fresh! Fresh! Trust me, using heavy cream that is even mildly close to its expiration date has a negative effect on your end results. A fresh organic heavy cream is the ideal vehicle for your flavor and the mesh that holds the entire dessert together. In my opinion, if you're using oldish heavy cream you're wasting all of your ingredients! 

32% - 36% fat works well for heavy cream, but be careful to avoid putting too much fat into the custard. An overabundance of fat will leave an oily film in your mouth after every bite. 

Search for heavy cream that has not gone through the ultra-pasteurization process. You can tell if a milk product has been ultra-pasteurized if it has the UTH (ultra-high temperature) written on the package. Ultra-pasteurized dairy products go through an intense heating process that extends the shelf life and at the same time vaporizes that delicious natural taste. Short shelf life might be less convenient, but natural, healthy, and damn tasty. 

- Milk -

Whole milk is ideal, although I've had plenty of luck with 1.5% as well. The point of adding milk to an ice cream is to lighten it up while still keeping it creamy. In other words, an ice cream that only uses heavy cream would feel fat and heavy. Not at all pleasant. Use a milk with a fat percentage that suits your tastes. The other reason milk is a boon for ice cream is that it contains more desirable milk solids (lactose & calcium salts) than heavy cream, making it better at reducing ice crystal size. And don't forget, fresh milk is key.

- Sugar -

Striking a balance with your sugar is paramount in ice cream making. Sugar lowers the freezing point of liquids, meaning how much sugar you add will effect how hard or soft your ice cream will be. Add too little and it will be rock hard for a long time out of the freezer. Add too much and you'll be dealing with a rapidly melting pile of gloop. 

Taste is another reason to pay attention to your sugar levels. You should consider what flavor you want to shine and what that particular flavor pairs well with. For example, a tart fruit like red currant will benefit from a decent amount of sugar. The sweetness will balance out the sharp tang of the berry. But adding a ton of sugar to a warm, nutty flavor like black sesame (which is already slightly heavy) will overpower the sophisticated taste of the seed quite quickly.

- Salt -

It's odd that when we need to melt snow off the sidewalks we use salt, yet it's an important ingredient in ice cream, which most of us don't want to melt. Salt lowers the freezing temperature of liquids but we do not add it for this purpose. (Ice cream already has sugar working overtime to make sure our desserts are pliable and soft beneath our eager spoons.) We add salt for one thing only: Taste.

Salt is there to add some balance to the sugar and cut through the fat of the cream and milk. As with sugar, consider your main flavor before deciding how much salt to add. (You'll rarely need more than a 1/4 teaspoon per quart.) Lighter flavors like strawberry will feel too saline or briny with a large quantity of salt, while darker and fattier flavors such as chocolate or pistachio (a nut we often enjoy in a salted context) would benefit beautifully from a little extra salt.

I find the salt that gets the best results in most recipes is coarse grain salt, namely Kosher salt and sea salt. Kosher salt has a purer flavor than fine table salt due to the lack of metallic-tasting additives such as iodine, dextrose, and fluoride. And Sea Salts run a wide array of flavors due to the different clays and algae in the waters they come from. 

You can incorporate other unique salt types such as Himalayan Pink Salt to jazz things up according to your tastes. One of my favorite ice cream shops in the world (Jessa's Eis in Munich) makes a heavenly Caramel with Rosa Salt. The only limit is your imagination... (also your health... Keep in mind that too much sodium can elevate your blood pressure and cause you to retain more water than necessary. Practice salt savvy, people.)

*Some flavors, like caramel, can even benefit from a light salt garnish. In those cases it's best to use a salt with more visual appeal, like flaky sea salt or fleur-de-sel, which are quite nice to look at and have a standout oceanic qualities.

Character Builders

When it comes to ice cream, the variety of possible flavors is only as limited as your imagination... Have fun trying new flavors and combinations. 

Here are a few traditional players:

- Chocolate -

Chocolate comes in many forms, shades, and constitutions. You'll need to consider what you want for your ice cream to deduce which chocolate type will be best for you. For the most part I stick to medium to dark unsweetened chocolate bars and partially de-oiled cocoa powder with around 20 - 22% cocoa butter for my traditional chocolate ice cream. I highly recommend that you find a good quality brand of chocolate that employs fairtrade practices. 

Bars vs Chips - It seems that chocolate bars often contain more cocoa butter than chocolate chips, making chocolate bars better suited to melting.

Powders - When it comes to cocoa powder, stick to unsweetened cocoa powder (avoid powdered chocolate... it is not the same thing as cocoa powder). Chocolate drink mixes like Nesquick and ovaltine contain sugar. 

White Chocolate - Not all items labeled “White Chocolate” are actual chocolate. The real stuff has the delicate creamy color of ivory (it's not white!) and will only have pure cocoa butter listed on it's ingredients label in the "fats" section.

- Coconut -

Shredded Coconut & Coconut Chips - try to avoid the wet and sticky sweetened coconut that most grocery stores offer. The desiccated (dry) kind is better for ice cream recipes because the lack of added sugar makes it much easier to control the melting stability and sweetness of your ice cream.

Coconut Milk - Go for the quality stuff here, it will make your ice cream sing. Whole coconut milk (with full fat) works much better in ice cream than light or reduced fat coconut milk. Do not mistake "Cream of Coconut," like Coco Lopez, for coconut milk. Coconut cream was invented for liquids and beverages like Piña Coladas, not for ice creams. Support your local Asian businesses by looking for coconut milk on their shelves. They tend to have better stuff and more options as well.

- Coffee & Espresso -

Some recipes call for fresh brewed coffee or espresso, while others suggest using freeze-dried (a variety of instant coffee). I suggest listening first to the recipe (for scientific reason) and then choosing a coffee you find works well with that recipe. 

- Fruits- 

Fresh! Fresh! Fresh! Once again, fruit is an ingredient that shines when it's fresh. Fruit tastes its best in season and syncing your ice-cream plans up with the season is better for the environment. (Buying fruit out of season will mean less taste in your ice cream and places unsustainable strain on farmland.) It also gives you something to look forward to throughout the year.

That said, if you find a brand of frozen fruit that you find has a great taste and is well preserved, go for it.

Citrus - Before you lug your basket of Meyer lemons and grapefruits to the checkout line, hold each fruit individually to test the weight. Heavier citrus fruits denote that they are hiding a lot of juice beneath their bright little peels. These bad boys are the ones you want. And if you want to maximize the juice you squeeze out, make sure to leave the fruit out of the fridge until they are about the same temperature as the room. I like to leave them on a sunny window sill for a while. For some reason the warm sun seems to wake up something magical inside the fruit. And if your recipe calls for zest, make sure to buy unwaxed citrus (I'm not even kidding... grocery stores sometimes wax the fruit to make it more attractive to customers). And of course, give them a good wash before you zest away.

Berries & Stone Fruits - Look for plump and colorful produce. Extensive bruising should be avoided, although bananas (technically a berry) can be an exception to this rule depending on your recipe.

*Strawberry Side Note: When shopping for fresh strawberries for your ice cream, aim for cartons of evenly red strawberries with a lovely strawberry fragrance. Avoid buying any that have green skin near their stem leaves as this denotes a lack of ripe strawberry flavor.

- Honey - 

Honey is divine. Let's leave it at that. To maximize the taste and healthfulness of your honey, go for unpasteurized or raw honey. Better taste, Better nutrients.

Important : If you're pregnant, nursing, or planning on serving ice cream with honey to another person who is, you should use pasteurized instead. And definitely do not give any honey ice cream whatsoever to a child under the age of one. Apparently, Pregnant Women & Nursing Women should avoid unpasteurized honey, and Babies under a Year Old should avoid all honey. I'm not a doctor, but apparently this is a botulism thing.

When choosing a honey, consider the recipe you're making and pick something that suits your flavors. Look at the label on a good quality honey. Not only will the label tell you the strength of the honey (light, mild, strong), it will often tell you what flowers the bees visited to make that honey. A honey made from pine forest flowers can be overwhelmingly strong compared to wild flower honey. For recipes that use floral ingredients, it might be worth it to try and find a compatable honey. For example, a Honey & Lavender ice cream might benefit greatly from using a honey created in Provence near the lavender fields.

- Mint - 

As always, fresh is best. Thoroughly wash your fresh mint, checking for bugs and dirt under the leaves as well. When choosing a mint ice cream recipe, choose wisely. A bad mint ice cream is more akin to frozen toothpaste than a refreshing dessert. (I know from personal experience. Don’t ask.) So definitely try your recipe out before you serve it at your big dinner party. Wouldn't want to ruin the big finale!

- Nuts - 

First thing's first: make sure to ask about any nut allergies your guests might have, especially if they are sensitive! Even if you make a separate "nut-free" dessert for your allergic friend, they might have a reaction to other foods that have come into contact with the same cooking utensils or even simply have a reaction to being in the same room. 

That said, Nuts are amazing little things that can add a lot of flavor and an element of "crunch" to your dessert. Since one bad nut can sour the mouth, be sure to taste the nuts before you include them in your recipe. Many nuts can benefit greatly from some oven time, though not all. Pistachio is pretty perfect from the get-go. Toasting your nuts will engage the natural oils inside and give them an amazing fragrance. Just take care not to burn them!

- Spices - 

Please, please, please seek out high quality, organic spices. My sister, who went to culinary school, once told me some of the nasty practices that cheap spice companies employ to speed up the production process... including drying the spices in unprotected environments vulnerable to the "leavings" of birds flying overhead... part of which is then incorporated into the spices during grinding. 

Restocking your spices as they lose their potency is also a great way to ensure a fresh and complex flavor in your recipes.

- Teas - 

Ice cream at its essence is really all about infusing the cream with a flavor, which is why teas and tisanes are such a natural partner in the ice cream process. Local farmers' market and specialty shops often have a wider range of teas. This is where you will find more unique flavors, whole flowers, and well-preserved aromas. When storing your teas, keep them away from strong odors as much as possible. You want the purest fragrance possible!

Keep in mind that some teas are caffeinated and that some of the caffeine will end up in your ice cream. For people sensitive to caffeine, I would suggest swapping the caffeinated teas with tisanes (herbal tea) and decaffeinated teas where possible. For example, when making a non-caffeinated Masala Chai Ice Cream, simply switch from using Assam Black Tea to an herbal tea like Tulsi.

Or just remember to eat your Earl Grey Ice Cream in the early afternoon!

- Vanilla - 

Vanilla as an ingredient comes in many different forms. Whether you're using vanilla seeds scraped lovingly out of a fragrant black pod or vanilla extract out of a bottle, it is important to know the difference in vanilla types. You can even mix two types of vanilla to give your recipe a more complex flavor. 

Here's a short breakdown:

Bourbon (Madagascar) Vanilla - rich and creamy notes. Great for baking and dishes where vanilla is meant to compliment the main flavor.
Tahitian Vanilla - floral, sweet, softer flavor. Very different, very gentle.
 Mexican Vanilla - bold, robust, and creamy quality. Perfect for dishes where vanilla is the main flavor.
Other Vanilla types - Tonga, Indian, and Indonesian - each with their own distinct flavors.

Extract  - For those of you with no time to scrape vanilla beans out of pods, vanilla extract is the next best thing. Avoid the imitation vanilla you see in stores. It is a lamentable replacement for real vanilla. Real vanilla abstract can be found in most U.S. grocery stores. It's more pricey, but if you can afford it, it's worth the extra money. For the dedicated "do-it-yourselfers" out there, the other options is quite fun. Make your own vanilla abstract at home! Soak vanilla bean pods in vodka, rum, or bourbon for two to three months hidden from direct sunlight and shaken twice a week (to your favorite uptempo song preferably). It takes some preplanning, but after a few weeks you've got yourself homemade vanilla extract!

- Alcohol: Spirits, Hooch, & the Hard Stuff -

Beers & Stouts - Beers and stouts are fatless liquids. When adding them to an ice cream, you lose a lot of stability of form. This means you'll need to compensate by tweaking the fat ratio in other areas. For example, using all heavy cream and no milk. Extra egg yolks can help maintain the creamy structure as well. 

Liqueur  - Adding a bit of liqueur to your ice cream can add a dash of complexity and "adultness" to your dessert. But be careful when adding liqueur! No, not just because the party might get out of hand, but because liqueur lowers the freezing temperature of liquids. If you want to add a splash or two  of liqueur, consider reducing the amount of sugar in your recipe to combat the extra melty-ness.  (Don't forget, not everyone drinks. Make sure you don't serve it to anyone who is abstaining from alcohol.) When choosing a brand, opt for a bottle of liqueur that can stand on its own two feet. You don't want to ruin your ice cream’s dazzling effect by adding a sub-par liqueur to your beautiful dessert.

Wine - I've considered adding red wine to certain fruit flavors (Sangria Ice Cream?), but after some research found that it would be pointless for an ice cream. Wine often loses its flavor at cold temperatures, meaning that that bottle of red will do more good in a glass than a cone. 

If you're dead set on using wine, you're best off using a white wine, which handles colder temperatures better. Or you might be considered it as an ingredient in a sauce or topping. Riesling poached pears over chocolate ice cream? Sprinkle some almond slivers on that and you've got yourself a chilly version of Poire belle Hélène. Classy and yum. (Once again, be careful not to serve it to anyone who is steering clear of alcohol.)

The other option: Granita! Basically, you can make an upscale 5 o'clock slushie by adding a bit of wine to your granita of choice.

For more advice on ice cream ingredients, see the Notes section at the bottom of each of the recipes.

You can also find a lot of good information in many ice cream books & online.

Enjoy!!