Thursday, April 19, 2012

New Dessert

Maple custard, toasted hazelnuts, hazelnut powder,
burnt meringue, oatmeal ice cream

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

New Dessert

Cheesecake, poached rhubarb, lemon curd, rhubarb gel, graham cracker,
bay leaf ice cream, micro tarragon

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Ice Cream Stabilizers

There are a host of different ice cream and sorbet stabilizers on the market today. A lot of companies sell "pre-mixed" stabilizers. When I say pre mixed I mean...there is usually more than one type of stabilizer and/or emulsifier included in the mix. A few common ice cream and sorbet stabilizer mixes that I have used are: Cuisine Tech's Cremodan 30 (Ice cream) and Cremodan 64 (Sorbet). These stabilizer mixes are very useful when creating frozen dessert recipes. They both help to minimize the formation of ice crystals, provide a creamy mouthfeel, provide excellent flavor release, as well as help heat shock stability (going in and out of your freezer during service). These are all very important factors to consider when choosing the right stabilizer mix. I have also used a lot of gelato stabilizer mixes from MEC 3. I really like the mouthfeel that these specific mixes provide. Some of my favorites are Tuttopan F50, Supergel, and Base Divina. Tuttopan F50 is characterized by the ability to disperse in a cold milk based solution. Meaning you don't have to heat your ice cream/gelato base to add your stabilizer. It also has a very pleasant flavor. To me it adds a hint of maltiness and vanilla to your mix. I was first introduced to supergel when I was working at per se. I fell in love with this particular sorbet stabilizer. I usually use this stabilizer in conjunction with water and fruit based sorbets. Supergel can be hydrated in either hot or cold water based mixes. It provides a very airy structure to your sorbet while still providing great flavor release and stability. When you think of making ice creams and sorbets you probably don't think of using alcoholic bases because of there lack of freezing properties. Base Divina helps your alcoholic base to freeze properly without the formation of ice crystals. I have made beautiful champagne sorbets, lemoncello granites, prosecco sorbets/granites using this stabilizer mix. When formulating your ice cream and sorbet recipes it is always important to add a percentage of stabilizer to the mix to insure a great mouthfeel, and prevent the formation of ice crystals. You can always buy pre mixed stabilizers or you may choose to formulate your own stabilizer mix, either way you are going to provide your guest with a higher quality product that is going to stand up over time in your freezer.