Classic cream ice cream

Rich ice cream made from milk and cream, with or without eggs. More fat and air than gelato.

Classic cream ice cream is what most people picture when they hear “ice cream”: a mix of milk, cream and sugar that is churned while it freezes, so air gets worked into it. It differs from Italian gelato mainly in its higher share of fat and air and in being served colder. It differs from frozen custard in using fewer egg yolks, or none at all.

There are two basic styles:

• without eggs (in the US informally called “Philadelphia style”): just milk, cream, sugar and flavouring. The taste is clean and milky, and it is quick to make.
• with egg yolks (“French style”, made on a custard base (crème anglaise)): the base is thickened with yolks. It is denser, more yellow, melts more slowly and tastes slightly of egg.

According to Douglas Goff (University of Guelph), egg yolk was the very first emulsifier used in ice cream. It helps the fat form a fine structure, and the ice cream holds its shape better.

Origin and history

Cream ices appeared in Europe at the end of the 17th century, as the knowledge spread that a mixture of ice and salt chills far more than ice alone. The oldest printed French recipe for flavoured ices dates from 1674, the oldest Italian one from 1694. According to the historians Goff cites, the stories of Marco Polo bringing ice cream from China or Catherine de’ Medici bringing it to France are unfounded 19th-century legends.

Typical composition

Composition is given as a percentage of the weight of the mix. “Sugars” are added sweeteners, not counting lactose from milk; MSNF means milk solids non-fat (MSNF) — proteins, lactose and minerals.

Goff classifies industrial ice creams by fat and air: economy ice cream has around 10 % fat and 120 % overrun, standard 10–12 % fat and 100–120 % overrun, premium 12–15 % fat and 60–90 % overrun. Super-premium has 15–18 % fat and only 25–50 % overrun. Home machines whip less air into the mix, so home-made ice cream ends up closer to super-premium. More about air in the article Overrun: how much air is in ice cream.

Home recipes deliberately contain a little more sugar than industrial ones. A home freezer runs at around −18 °C, and ice cream without industrial stabilisers would be too hard. The article PAC and POD explains how this works.

What the law says

The words “cream ice cream” have a precise meaning in shops.

In the US (21 CFR § 135.110), “ice cream” must have at least 10 % milk fat and 20 % total milk solids, and a gallon must weigh at least 4.5 pounds (about 0.54 kg per litre). It may contain less than 1.4 % egg yolk solids; above that it is frozen custard.

How to make it at home

1. Base. Weigh the milk, cream and sugar. For the egg-free version, just warm the mix so the sugar dissolves; for the version with yolks, cook a custard base.
2. Heating. A yolk base must reach at least 71 °C (the FDA recommendation for dishes with egg) — check it with a thermometer. The custard starts to thicken at around 70 °C and can curdle above roughly 80 °C. More in the article Pasteurisation and ageing.
3. Cooling. Quickly, in an ice bath, to 4–7 °C.
4. Ageing. In the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
5. Churning. In the machine until the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency. Add pieces and sauces at the end.
6. Hardening. In a shallow metal container in the freezer for 2–3 hours.

Suitable equipment:

• compressor ice cream maker — the most convenient; you can make several batches in a row,
• freezer-bowl ice cream maker — the bowl has to be frozen in advance, ideally overnight,
• Ninja CREAMi — the base is frozen into a block and the machine shaves it,
• by hand with salt and ice — ice to salt at about 10 : 1; saturated brine chills down to −21 °C,
• no-machine method — stirring in the freezer, or a no-churn whipped cream base.

Recipes to start with: vanilla without eggs, vanilla with egg yolks, chocolate and no-machine ice cream.

The most common mistakes

Goff lists typical texture defects and their causes:

• icy — too few solids or too little protein, short ageing, slow freezing, temperature swings in the freezer,
• sandy — grains that do not dissolve stay on the tongue; these are lactose crystals from too much milk powder,
• buttery — when churned too long, the fat clumps into butter granules,
• foamy and crumbly — lots of air and few solids,
• gummy — too much stabiliser or starch,
• weak body, melts quickly into water — too few solids or too much air.

The causes of an icy texture and how to fix them are described in the article Ice crystals and texture.

How to recognise good cream ice cream

• It is smooth, with no ice crystals or lumps.
• The colour matches the ingredients: vanilla is creamy, not bright yellow.
• It melts in the mouth into a creamy liquid, not into foam or water.
• The flavour is full but not greasy; it leaves no film on the palate.
• The ingredient list says milk and cream, not vegetable fat (which, under both Slovak and Czech rules, would put the product in a different category).

How long it takes at home

Total: about 45–60 minutes of active work, at least around 8 hours in all; in practice you make the base in the evening and have ice cream the next day.