No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe - An Italian in my Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient makes ice cream thick? ›

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.

Using dairy with a low fat content.

It's what gives ice cream its rich flavor and smooth, creamy texture. Substitutes like low-fat or skim milk don't freeze as well, seriously lack in flavor, and leave ice cream with an icy texture. → Follow this tip: When you're making ice cream, it's time to embrace fat content.

Besides not needing an ice cream machine to make this, there are other differences between no-churn ice cream and ice cream made in a machine. One difference is that no-churn ice creams are made without eggs. Another difference is the use of sweetened condensed milk in place of granulated sugar.

Ice forms on homemade ice cream due to crystallization, and this process is usually triggered when you don't freeze your ice cream fast enough. Your recipe and storage method may contribute to crystallization as well.

Most home ice cream recipes call for simple table sugar, which is chemically known as sucrose. But in pro kitchens you have more options. 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.

Nearly any milk will work, and you can substitute half-and-half for the cream. Ideally you want ingredients with a high fat content because these will create a creamy texture when cooled.

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.

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.

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.

Sweetened condensed milk

The other job it does is absorb some of the liquids in the mix and boosts the ratio of non-fat solids in the ice cream due to it's high proportion of milk solids. This prevents the risk of large ice crystals forming and making sure the end result is silky smooth and buttery.

Why is my no-churn ice cream so hard? ›

the amount and/or type of sugar used in the recipe. From what I've experienced and also understand from others involved in ice cream making, concentrated sugar depresses the freezing point of ice cream, so too little an amount of sugar in the recipe makes it too hard and too much makes it too soft.

The churning is necessary because the key to great ice cream is to freeze the custard without allowing ice crystals to develop. Those crystals won't affect the flavor, but they do have an impact on the texture.

Here's why: Churning ice cream base is a bit like making whipped cream. You need to churn just enough to make the fat globules stick to the air bubbles and form a protective coating that stabilizes the foam. But too much churning can cause the fat globules to stick to each other, turning the mixture into butter.

That is, the more sugar you add, the softer and less icy your batch will be. The kind of sugar you add also matters. High-viscosity liquid sweeteners like honey, glucose syrup, and yes, good 'ol corn syrup make for a more viscous base, which translates into chewy richness in churned ice cream.

Air keeps ice cream soft. So the less there is, the harder your ice cream. It can also be caused by low fat or sugar content. Fat doesn't freeze.

Ice cream's creaminess depends on the size of the ice crystals that form during freezing-the smaller the crystals, the creamier the texture. Rapid chilling and constant churning encourage the water in the ice cream mixture to form lots of minuscule “seed” crystals; this process is known as propagation.

Thickening agents are usually of vegetable origin (e.g. locust bean gum (E410), guar gum (E412), carrageenan (E407) and pectin (E440)). It's interesting to point out that the main stabilisers used by the ar tisan ice cream maker are locust bean gum and guar gum.

Put simply: stabilizers are ingredients that add viscosity. The more viscous a liquid is, the “thicker” it is. In other words, they thicken water. The most common ones used in ice creams are guar gum, cellulose gum and carob bean gum.

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.