OT - KA Ice Cream Attachment - Advice Needed

RedSkip · April 2015

A few weeks ago I bought the KA ice cream attachment and have been having nothing but trouble. My mixtures keep coming out with ice crystals and turn out more like sherbet. I've mixed them up and let them chill for hours prior to adding to the frozen KA attachment. When I start churning the mixture starts to freeze up nicely, however, it never gets smooth.

Recipe
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups 2% milk
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C sugar
1 C PEanut Butter

Method
Chill attachment for 15 hours or more. Chill mixture for 8 hours or more. Mix on "stir" for 15-30 minutes until ice cream pulls away from bowl.

I have three suspicious 1) recipe is wrong and I need to use eggs, 2) I'm stirring too slowly and the bowl is thawing, 3) even though I'm freezing the attachment for 15 hours, my freezer is not cold enough. (Setting is 0F)

i thought id reach out to some fellow cooks, and perhaps get lucky with some advice,

Skip

paqman · April 2015

My recipes always had eggs in them

RedSkip · April 2015

@paqman After a little digging - less than 3 minutes, it appears eggs are the key. Never thought of it, but they act as an emulsifier keeping the fat and water bound together when freezing.

Looks like I need to use a different recipe.

Froman · April 2015

I've followed the recipe in the instruction book it comes with. I can't remember if it has eggs though.

RedSkip · April 2015

I didn't, found one off the internet and tried it. Sounded good, but looks like I need to go back to the basics and read the instructions.

apinion · April 2015

What if you switched to whole milk, as well?

st¡ke · April 2015

Heavy cream has more fat. Smoother.
Less fat you have, the more water. Water no good

jtcBoynton · April 2015

How did you dissolve the sugar?

SkinnyV · April 2015

I do heavy cream and half and half. Sugar, salt and vanilla. Results really are mixed, sometimes home run, sometimes hard, sometimes a bit of icing but not much. I have done the French ( egg) recipe and its great but above is my go to for the kids, easier less fatty.

nolaegghead · April 2015

custard based ice cream - the eggs do help emulsify.

http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/homemadeicecream.html

RedSkip · April 2015

@jtcBoynton sugar was dissolved in with the cream and milk mixture prior to letting it chill in the fridge for 8 hrs.

@skinnyV I find it interesting the same recipe gives you mixed results from batch to batch too.

jtcBoynton · April 2015

I like egg custard ice creams, but you can make smooth ice cream without eggs. Your freezer is set for 0º, but check that against your freezer thermometer to make sure. 15 hours of cooling may not be enough, try leaving the cooler in longer. Sugar that has not dissolved completely can contribute to the formation of large crystals, heating of the base to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved is often suggested. The fat content of the dairy contributes the the smoothness. Especially without eggs, you should use higher fat content dairy. The use of 2% makes it more likely to get grainy ice cream. Try switching the 2% to whole milk or even half and half. Using a little corn syrup will make the ice cream smoother.

Try another recipe. Maybe the one you tried is not very good. Here is one from Cuisinart that might work better for you.

http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/desserts/98.html

SkinnyV · April 2015

RedSkip said:

@jtcBoynton sugar was dissolved in with the cream and milk mixture prior to letting it chill in the fridge for 8 hrs.

@skinnyV I find it interesting the same recipe gives you mixed results from batch to batch too.

Might be the sugar absorption, when I dump contents I can still see sugar sticking at the base. I just whisk hard a bit then dump into ka.

NPHuskerFL · April 2015

The mixes I see Sonic for instance has "approx" 11% butterfat...DQ 5%, Rita's Italian Ice Custard 7% + eggs and then throw in overrun into the equation. Homemade usually follows an equation of 19% butterfat or higher and eggs do help and little to no overrun due to the process of making homemade ice cream. Ideal temp is also a factor (18℉-20℉).

jtcBoynton · April 2015

Most commercial ice cream contains stabilizers. They help make the ice cream smoother. Most homemade ice cream is made without them, either by choice or lack of access to the chemistry set that the commercial ventures have.

blasting · April 2015

@RedSkip - I can't offer any thoughts on the KA attachment, except to say I almost went that way myself. In the end, I opted for the stand alone Cuisinart for $54, mostly because of the reviews. I highly recommend it. I have found it to be idiot proof, easy to clean and use, and the end product is consistently great.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-21-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice-Sorbet/product-reviews/B003KYSLMW/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

RedSkip · April 2015

I appreciate everyone's input, and decided to switch up the recipe.

My original recipe didn't contain eggs, and also used 2% Milk with Heavy Cream. From the picture, you can see the separation in the mixture, which made the texture "gritty".

The new recipe contained eggs, and I switched from 2% to Whole Milk. I believe the eggs made a world of difference in the texture, however, the addition of Whole Milk didn't hurt. The mixture came out creamy and no "gritty" texture.

Appreciate all the feedback. I apologize for the picture quality, took them with my phone.

MelSharples · April 2015

Looks delicious

FWIW, I use a very simple recipe:

2 parts half and half
1 part whipping cream
sugar (usually a cup but has to be overly sweet in the liquid stage as the tongue doesn't register sweetness as well when something is frozen)
flavoring

The fat % has to be above a certain % for it to turn to ice cream, otherwise you will have sorbet as you already know from experience.

Custards are delicious but can be more involved.

Homemade ice cream is the best when it's done right!

gamason · April 2015

Its your milk. 2% is mostly water. That's the main culprit for the ice crystals.

OT - KA Ice Cream Attachment - Advice Needed

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