National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday in July. I don’t think I will ever forget this day several years ago because my daughter used to manage a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream store. She came home that night with ice cream from head to toes! She was exhausted and a bit sticky. She told us there were 8 people working that day and they gave away over 1000 ice cream cones. She also vowed that she would not work that day ever again.
Which reminds me of another time I was living in Danville, CA and we went out for ice cream… imagine a hot evening (it was over 100°F that day) and we had the brilliant idea of getting ice cream at the local shop. We step in the door angling for a good view of the tubs in the freezers and carefully chose the very best flavor, mine is usually butter pecan or chocolate. After being mesmerized and oblivious to anything but the creamy goodness before us we looked up to determine just how long it would take the two kids behind the counter to serve us. It was just a moment later, watching one young man scoop ice cream for the next customer, that we noticed he had ice cream up to his shoulders and all over his apron front from leaning into the cases. Initially it wasn’t an unpleasant thought but as we continued to wait and see more and more ice cream being scooped and more and more ice cream ending up all over this kid… it began to change our experience from one of excitement to one of thoughtfulness.
Instead of feeling excited about my flavor choice I started to wonder if getting ice cream was really necessary. Do I really want it that bad to wait this long for it and seeing it all over this poor oblivious kid helped me to step away and rethink my desire or need for a scoop. I also had a few pounds to lose and I knew ice cream probably wasn’t going to help me fit into that pair of jean shorts I’ve been hoping to wear that summer.
Boy do I wish every temptation had a kid like that to help me rethink my food choices! He was the perfect antidote for wanting a scoop. That was the first time I walked away from an ice cream store empty handed. Ever since then I had a new perspective on ice cream and it began my search for an alternative.
It’s not every day that I recommend eating ice cream but there are scenarios where it can be a wonderful dessert and it doesn’t have to make you feel guilty, unhealthy or derail your diet. There is no need to feel left out on National Ice Cream Day! However, finding sugar-free ice cream that tastes delicious in an ice cream store or even in the super market is not a reality. When you can find it, sadly, sucralose or Splenda is often used along with a lot of chemicals to make commercial ice cream shelf stable and palatable. Not a choice I recommend.
The good news…
Ice cream can be made dairy free, egg free, flavorful, probiotic (good for your belly) and as always sugar free. AND it is truly simple to make! Using simple ingredients and techniques you can have ice cream in a matter of minutes. Here are some simple tips to help you: Ice Cream Your Way
It is best to follow a tested recipe in order to make ingredient swaps. Please see my Special Desserts recipes for several recipes you can try.
1.Collect ingredients:
- Choice of milk. For traditional ice cream milk and heavy cream are used. Since we would like to make the ice cream low in sugar I recommend substituting out the milk for unsweetened coconut, almond or other nut milk. Do keep the heavy cream though as it provides the creamiest texture (full fat coconut milk can be substituted if you are dairy free).
- Choice of sweetener. My typical sweeteners of choice are xylitol, erythritol and stevia. Erythritol cannot be used in ice cream. It will recrystallize and become grainy once frozen (not most people’s preferred texture in ice cream). Xylitol alone or in combination with stevia is the best choice. Stevia alone will not provide the necessary “solids” to make the ice cream taste good.
- Choice of thickener. Eggs are typically used to thicken ice cream and to provide emulsification for the other ingredients which helps to give it a creamy texture. Gelatin can be used to replace eggs as well as xanthan or guar gum.
- Optional flavors or mix-ins. These could be sugar-free caramel, sugar-free candies, frozen fruit or even essential oils.
2. Prepare Ice Cream Base:
- Steep milk with dried flavorings. For example, if you want to make an earl grey tea ice cream it is best to steep your hot milk of choice for at least 20 minutes to infuse the flavor of the tea.
- Make base according to directions in the recipe. This may require tempering eggs or adding rehydrated gelatin. Some recipes are so simple you just need to put them into your ice cream maker!
- Cure your base by pre-chilling overnight. This important step allows the sweetener to absorb as much water as possible which creates the best texture. But if you are in a hurry it can be skipped.
3.Choose freezing method:
- Old Fashioned Method. A big plastic or wooden outer bucket with a metal inner bucket. Rock salt and ice are added to the outer bucket and the mixture to the inner bucket. The dasher (whips air into the mix as it freezes) is inserted and it is either cranked by hand or electronically creating the ice cream. Works very well but takes time and effort.
- Ice-Cube Tray Method (ready in minutes!) Ice cream base is poured into ice cube trays and place in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen blend the cubes at 30-second intervals with additional milk of choice (just a small amount if needed) until smooth then store in a container in the freezer until ready to eat.
- Milk Shake Method. No need to wait. Simply add your chilled ice cream base (I like to stick it in the freezer about 45 minutes) and ice to a blender and enjoy!
- Nesting Bowl Method. Nest a small bowl with your ice cream base inside of a larger bowl filled about halfway with ice and lots of rock salt. Using a hand mixer blend the ice cream base until it becomes cold (about 10 minutes) then cover with a towel and place both bowls in the freezer for 45 minutes. Remove from the freezer and blend again for 2-4 minutes, pour into a small container and freeze for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. This is also accomplished with equipment such as for the KitchenAid mixer where a specialty freezer bowl is pre-frozen and can be used directly with your machine.
- Self-Contained Freezer or Ice Cream Maker Method. Essentially, the mix is added and a button is pushed and off it goes for about 20 minutes or so. This is the easiest and makes the best texture of ice cream but can be an expensive purchase and the unit is very heavy and bulky (takes up a lot of counter space) and is often difficult to clean.
However you decide to make your ice cream, eat it within a few months if it lasts that long! Freezers are notoriously changing temperature and your ice cream may be perfect the first time you eat it but the longer it sits the more likely it will absorb odors from other foods and change texture as the temperature fluctuates and it thaws slightly then refreezes every time you open the door.
In the meantime… enjoy your ice cream! Let it drip down your face too.
