Comments on: Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

By: Denise Lincoln

Denise Lincoln — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:40:31 +0000

Hi Barbara — I’ve never used alcohol in ice cream, but am intrigued by the idea. I’m not sure, however, how well a liqueur would freeze in the cream as alcohol often doesn’t freeze well (or at all). Let me know how it works if you try it.

And thanks for your nice comments. I appreciate them :-) Also, I hope you like the recipe once you try it.

By: Barbara Heans

Barbara Heans — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:07:07 +0000

I really appreciated finding your recipe, along with all the comments about it. I liked the article you wrote about it, explaining the process you took to find this recipe and your reasons for each ingredient. I have tried strawberry ice cream before and been disappointed that it turned out not very creamy. You have thought about all the things that I was looking for in a recipe. I am anxious to try it out. I was also impressed by how you read the other comments and accepted the suggestions.
Have you ever tried a liqueur, for example Triple Sec, instead of the lemon?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:13:49 +0000

instead of lemon you could try dash o’ vinegars, wine, champagne!

By: beverly

beverly — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:37:53 +0000

Thanks for your reply! And actually everyone who ate the ice cream also liked the lemon flavor – but I thought it a bit too much… To each his own. I will add the last cup of strawberries later!

By: Denise Lincoln

Denise Lincoln — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:30:14 +0000

Hi Beverly — Good catch! I added the last cup of strawberries during step 13 (when I placed the ice cream in the ice cream maker) as I wanted some fresher berries added at the end for extra juiciness. I hadn’t realized I left that addition out. As for the butter, I added it in step 8, after the custard was mostly finished, because I had added it to my pudding recipe previously (and I used that recipe for the foundation of this one). I am of the opinion, however, that the butter doesn’t actually add much to the final product and so think I’ll remove it from now on.

I’m glad you liked the ice cream. I love the extra lemony flavor, but that’s simply my own taste preference (I have a tendency to put lemon in many recipes simply because I love the flavor). Definitely leave it out next time if it doesn’t work for you.

Thanks for writing!

By: beverly

beverly — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:35:56 +0000

Two comments – Maybe I’m just blind!

1. Your recipe calls for 3 c. strawberries but the instructions only indicate where to use 2 c.

2. What are you suppose to do with the 2 tbs butter????

I made the recipe using 3c berries (were you said to use 2). I left out the butter. Came out good; a bit too lemony; I won’t use the zest of a whole lemon again.

By: Denise Lincoln

Denise Lincoln — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:30:49 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts. The cornstarch was used because I added fewer eggs than normally used in an ice cream recipe. Per my article, I wanted a pronounced strawberry flavor and so didn’t want to add more than a few eggs. The cornstarch allowed me to do this (please note that there are only three eggs in this recipe, not the normal 6 or more that most ice cream recipes recommend). I felt I needed an extra binder to make it thick and creamy without detracting from the fruit flavors and it worked well.

I have always covered my custards with plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming and always refrigerate until completely cooled (often overnight). My instruction to use an ice bath was in addition to refrigerating. You’re right in that the custard should be cooled before topping with the plastic wrap. I’ll add that to the instructions.

As for the butter, it was part of my pudding recipe so I kept it in, although in retrospect it didn’t necessarily add much to the end result and so it could be easily skipped. Although it did not separate in the custard — it melted through the custard when it was hot — it also didn’t add much to the end result.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

By: shuna fish lydon

shuna fish lydon — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:13:24 +0000

Hello Denise,

I have a lot of questions here about your ingredients and method. While I agree that everyone should be allowed their own variations on a theme, I must speak up about your final instructions:

“10. Cover with plastic wrap, being sure to let it sit directly on top of the pudding to avoid a skin forming.
11. Refrigerate until cooled and then add the remaining strawberries. If you’re in a hurry, you can place your bowl in an ice water bath.”

Cooking egg yolks until nappe = coats back of spoon = @160-180F means that one must absolutely chill dairy custard through and through before being stored covered. Meaning that one must stir bowl of custard while sitting/floating in an ice water bath, until cold through and through, before covering to skin with plastic wrap.

While you may never fatally hurt anyone, there’s a good chance of getting someone sick if such a custard is not chilled properly before being sealed shut and placed in the refrigerator, especially a home unit because these machines run warmer than commercial fridges.

Ice creams made with creme anglaise (as your method mostly reflects) are bound with the proteins in egg yolks and should not need the back up stabilizer of cornstarch. Cornstarch, also, only fully binds a custard once it has come to boil, which is generally too hot for creme anglaise. Butter is also a quizzical addition as, unless it is added in time enough to add to the overall emulsification of the custard, it wants to separate and freeze in little pieces in ice cream machines.

For some more explanation about egg yolk based custard ice cream making, I wrote a post on a class I taught on the subject here.