What is an Ice Cream and How Do You Make One?

Ice Cream: As the name suggest, ice cream is quite literally a frozen product made from cream. It's often flavoured with fruit and/or nuts and can often be sweetened and have milk added. The texture of ice cream is introduced by the whipping process and this is what gives ice cream its light and fluffy texture. Indeed, ice cream can be up to 60% by volume of air, which is why ice creams are typically sold by volume rather than weight.

The quality of ice cream is further dependent on the quantity of butterfat in the mix. Typically premium ice creams contain between 11 and 15% butterfat. Standard ice creams typically contain 10 to 11% butterfat and economy ice cream contains 10% butterfat exactly.

Gelato. This is an Italian ice cream. It differs in a major way from standard British or American ice creams in the amount of air that's whipped into the mixture. A typical gelato will have 20% of air, whereas an ice cream will have 60%. This results in gelati (the plural of gelato) being far more intensely flavoured desserts.

Glace is a French-style ice cream. It differs from ice creams and gelati in that it is made from a custard base using egg yolks. As a result it is a very rich and silky in texture.

To help show these differences more clearly, below I include recipes for a traditional ice cream and a traditional French glaze. An ice cream maker is recommended, but you can make these at home in the freezer.

Blueberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:
750g blueberries
300g sugar
3 tbsp orange juice
1l single cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Combine the blueberries, sugar and orange juice in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Every now and then mash the berries against the side of the pan as they heat up and cook. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly then purée in a blender and pass through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any pips. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile turn on our ice cream machine and allow the bowl to chill. Combine the blueberry mixture, the cream and the vanilla in the chilled bowl of the ice cream machine then churn according to the manufacturer's instructions until the ice cream is set.

Glace á la Menthe (Mint Glace)

Ingredients:
250ml milk
1/2 bunch fresh mint, leaves finely chopped
35g sugar
2 egg yolks

Method:
Add the milk to a pan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until it just comes to a boil. Take off the heat, add the mint leaves then stir to combine, cover and set aside to infuse for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk together until pale and creamy then slowly add the milk, whisking all the while. When thoroughly combined pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring continually, until it thickens to the point where it will easily coat the back of a spoon.

Take off the heat and strain into a bowl then set aside to cool before covering and placing in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Pour the resultant mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I hope that you now appreciate some of the differences between individual styles of ice cream and that you are now ready to try and make some of these for yourselves.