The ice cream from the store isn't as tasty as it used to be. After all, it is made from powders and flavors, and not from natural milk. But, fortunately for us, there are devices on sale that allow you to cook it yourself! In this article we will tell you how to choose an ice cream maker for your home, since the options are different and the prices for them are also different.
Of course, if you really want to, ice cream can be made without special ice cream makers, but the finished product will be less airy and melt in the mouth. And the process itself will take longer. At the end of the article, we will give you the best ice cream recipes according to GOST, the same one originally from the USSR.
Why is an ice cream maker worth buying?
If you have children, then you should definitely buy this unit. The products from which modern ice cream are made are simply disgusting! Milk is used not natural, but dry, and of very low quality plus a large amount of starch. Instead of eggs and butter, palm oil is put in and this whole hellish mixture is seasoned with a lot of emulsifiers and all kinds of flavorings. And it turns out that we are buying real poison for children! And they want ice cream often.
Therefore, it is better to buy after all. Having an ice cream maker makes this dessert much easier than making it by hand. The main thing is to choose it correctly.
See also - 10 best ice cream makers for home
How does an ice cream maker work
The principle of the ice cream maker is very simple. The necessary ingredients are placed in a special bowl and she begins to stir it slowly and beat it for 30-40 minutes. It freezes due to the fact that the walls of the bowl are very cold, freezing temperatures.
As you can see, it is quite difficult to reproduce this process manually. And the big trouble with home cooking is that crystals of people remain in the mass, which greatly spoils the final taste of the product.
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What types of ice cream makers exist
There are three types of ice cream makers:
- Mechanical
- Semi-automatic
- Electrical
Let's take a closer look at each of the options and you will choose what is more acceptable for you in terms of price and principle of operation.
Mechanical - the most budgetary option. Made in the form of a bowl with a double wall. Between them you need to pour a mixture of salt and ice crumbs, and put the stirred mixture for future ice cream in the container itself. Then a lid is put on the bowl, to which the blades are attached, and there is a handle on top. It needs to be scrolled every 2-3 minutes, for half an hour, or maybe a little more.
The process is quite time consuming, given that you need to pre-prepare the ice crumbs and stand over it for as long as 40 minutes, stirring continuously. But, this homemade ice cream maker can work without electricity!
Although, of course, this is a dubious argument, with all the above inconveniences.
Semi-automatic - they also have a double bowl, but unlike a completely mechanical one, no ice is needed.The removable bowl has a refrigerating agent in the space between the walls, which must first be frozen in the freezer. The effect of such freezing is enough for one batch (which is about 400 grams of the finished product). Then the bowl should be placed in the freezer again, for about 5-6 hours.
You don't need to interfere manually either, the blades rotate independently after connecting the device to the network. Such ice cream makers are not very expensive and therefore, we can assume that this is an ideal and budget option.
Automatic - these ice cream makers are made like a mini-refrigerator, and work on freon. I connected it to the network, put in the necessary ingredients and that's it, the process is fully automated. After preparing one portion, you can immediately load another.
An automatic ice cream maker is, of course, very expensive. But, if you are not strapped for funds, then this will be the best choice. There are no preliminary preparations, and most importantly, it is possible to make a large amount of ice cream at once. And this is quite convenient at moments when a children's birthday is planned or guests come to you.
In the case of a semi-automatic machine, the process of making 3 kilograms of ice cream will take a week (you won't get up at night and cook it). So, of course, it would be right to choose the electric one, because this is not a one-day purchase.
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What to look for when buying
Bowl volume and dimensions - a very important point, since the final output of the finished product depends on it. If you save money and take a very small bowl, you will soon regret it, since only 200 grams of ice cream will come out at a time, and it will consume almost as much electricity as a more spacious model.
Also, be careful about the size of the bowl when using a semiautomatic device. Remember to place the bowl in the freezer. Don't go wrong with the size! It will be very disappointing if it just does not fit there.
Bowl material - they are plastic and metal, stainless steel. Of course, it is better to give preference to the second option. It is more durable and keeps cold better. But, of course, plastic is cheaper.
Rotating blade material - also, there are plastic and metal. Plastic ones often "skid", unable to crank the mass, which came out a little thicker than necessary. And they break, which is the worst. Therefore, it is better to take metal ones, although they are more expensive.
Ice cream maker power - as in any device, the larger it is, the more intensively it consumes electricity. And do not forget that it works from half an hour! If you do not need a large amount of product at once, then you should not take a two-liter bowl, it is better to prefer the middle version, a liter. Although, in fairness, even the highest power of these devices is about 200W, that is, roughly speaking, it is the same as two 100W incandescent lamps burn out within half an hour.
Availability of additional functions - there are not so many of them in ice cream makers, so we will give you the most useful ones:
- A window in which the mixing process is visible
- Possibility to make yogurt
- Sound timer
These add-ons are very good, but the cost will be higher. Here you decide for yourself whether they are so necessary.
See also - Review of the freezer NORD DM 158 010
Recipes from childhood - ice cream according to GOST
Now, on to the fun part: recipes. Of course, there are a great many of them, but, as a rule, those people who buy ice cream makers want one thing: Soviet, which is so reminiscent of childhood.
We give you recipes for cooking by hand. But, if you buy an ice cream maker, the result will be much better: the finished product will come out airy, whipped and very tender. But in order to achieve such a result manually, you need to take the container out of the freezer all the time and stir it. But, even this will not save from small ice crystals.
Ice cream recipe number 1
- Milk (preferably not store-bought, fatty) - one liter
- Sugar - two glasses
- Good butter - one hundred grams
- Potato starch - one teaspoon
- Yolks - five pieces
- Vanilla sugar - one packet
Cooking step by step:
- We take a saucepan and pour 850 grams of milk there (150 should remain) and heat until warm.
- Put butter in warm milk, melt and bring to a boil.
- In a bowl, mix sugar, vanilla sugar, yolks and starch. We grind everything until smooth and add the rest of the milk to it. The consistency will come out like liquid - liquid sour cream. There should be no undissolved sugar. Beat everything with a mixer.
- At this time, the boiled milk will cool slightly (at least to 50 degrees) and you need to pour the resulting mixture into it in a thin stream (very slowly), while constantly stirring. Beat again with a mixer.
- Bring the resulting mass to a boil, but do not simmer too much in any case. It should just start bubbling a little.
- Place the pot in a bowl of cold water and, while stirring, cool to room temperature. Periodically, you need to change the water in the basin to a colder one.
- Beat the mixture well with a mixer until it slightly increases in volume.
- Put the finished ice cream in a plastic mold and place in the freezer.
- Take out and stir the mass with a broom every hour to prevent ice formation.
See also - DIY freezer installation tips
Ice cream recipe number 2
Here the recipe is without butter, it should be replaced by heavy cream. Both recipes are delicious and taste similar. But in this recipe, the yield of the finished product is slightly less and the concentration of the ingredients is stronger.
- Cream with a fat content of 33-35% - 300 grams
- Milk - 100 grams
- Sugar - 150 grams
- Vanilla sugar - incomplete package
Cooking step by step:
- Heat the milk to 35 degrees, remove from heat, add the yolks and beat with a mixer.
- Add granulated sugar and vanilla sugar, beat again.
- We put the mixture in a water bath and heat and cook until thickened.
- Then we cool the mass and filter through cheesecloth.
- Then pour the cream into some container and whisk until the mass significantly increases in volume.
- Combine the whipped cream and egg mixture, beat again.
- Put the ice cream in a mold and put it in the freezer, pulling it out every hour in order to mix.
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As you can see, the cooking process is completely different in these two recipes. But, you can choose any of them which is more convenient for you and cook according to it, using certain ingredients.
Now you know how to choose an ice cream maker for your home and we really hope that our tips will be useful to you!
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