Gourmet Ice Cream
Discussion
Miocene said:
I'd thoroughly recommend Purbeck ice cream too, but I admit at what looks twice the price delivered (if you're local anyway) of the New Forest option, it's a tough ask.
https://www.purbeckicecream.co.uk
They used to do a stilton / blue cheese (can't exactly remember) ice cream which was pretty interesting!
Yes, family live in Dorset so we are there all the time. I have def had some but not recently and would be interested to compare. Prices look a little worrying though, £16 for a 2 litre tub...https://www.purbeckicecream.co.uk
They used to do a stilton / blue cheese (can't exactly remember) ice cream which was pretty interesting!
I’m a big fan of Mackies traditional ice cream. It’s not vanilla so stop being surprised when it doesn’t taste of vanilla.
We can get 2 or 3 flavours of New Forest in the shops and supermarkets here in Hampshire, and it is very good.
However, if you ever make your way to some of the towns down by the sea, like Lee-On-Solent, they have New Forest whippy ice cream which is a taste sensation compared to normal whippy ice cream
We can get 2 or 3 flavours of New Forest in the shops and supermarkets here in Hampshire, and it is very good.
However, if you ever make your way to some of the towns down by the sea, like Lee-On-Solent, they have New Forest whippy ice cream which is a taste sensation compared to normal whippy ice cream
Dangler said:
https://www.gallones.co.uk/ best ice cream round our way
Looks epic but as with all of them only delivery locally. Ice cream is a real niche market obviously.ThunderSpook said:
I’m a big fan of Mackies traditional ice cream. It’s not vanilla so stop being surprised when it doesn’t taste of vanilla.
Regardless of what flavour it is or isn't, I find it bland and completely tasteless. I actually wondered if it was a sorbet instead of ice cream.Armchair_Expert said:
nikaiyo2 said:
Half hr away - always wanted to try coconut ice cream. Black coconut - is it mixed with tonka bean or something?Miocene said:
I'd thoroughly recommend Purbeck ice cream too, but I admit at what looks twice the price delivered (if you're local anyway) of the New Forest option, it's a tough ask.
https://www.purbeckicecream.co.uk
They used to do a stilton / blue cheese (can't exactly remember) ice cream which was pretty interesting!
+1 And Fortes gelateria under the Mowlem in Swanage is fantastic. The same couple run Swoon: http://www.swoononaspoon.co.uk/https://www.purbeckicecream.co.uk
They used to do a stilton / blue cheese (can't exactly remember) ice cream which was pretty interesting!
I am a massive fan of ice cream too
If you are ever in London then you need to try Gelupo - their dark chocolate sorbet is amazing as is the sour cherry and ricotta - https://gelupo.com/
And if in Paris you need Berthillon - https://berthillon.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/n... you might need to google some of the flavours!
ETA looks like Gelupo will deliver a tub if you are in London?
If you are ever in London then you need to try Gelupo - their dark chocolate sorbet is amazing as is the sour cherry and ricotta - https://gelupo.com/
And if in Paris you need Berthillon - https://berthillon.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/n... you might need to google some of the flavours!
ETA looks like Gelupo will deliver a tub if you are in London?
So I am happy to step down from my armchair and be educated on this post. Laid bare for all to see.
I have pictured the ingredients, the tubs and the sort of simple bowl I enjoy. Open to comments around the make up of the product or any inside knowledge. All I know is it is awesome, and I will be buying more.
I have been thinking about why I like New Forest so much compared to others, and one word that I keep coming back to is "cleanliness". By that I mean, a texture that is smooth, tasteful and without any after taste at all. There is no creamy / synthetic after taste - it's not trying too hard, it is just honest and clean and amazing in flavor. I am pretty sure I have tried Purbeck and no doubt its epic, but I can't recall when I last tried and can't do a back to back comparison. I do wonder about density though - New Forest is not dense, and some of the top ice creams are almost too "creamy" and very dense. Personally I like the iced ruffle / lightness if that makes sense. Very hard to verbalize.
These ice creams need no gimmicks - ordinarily I love a flake or 2 maybe 3 or 4 flakes crumbled in a seperae bowl and added to taste. Or sprinkles, and they would probably work well with these. But to me, I bought these to savor the flavor alone, the texture and overall experience of quality. I don't wish to interfere with it - a sign of quality?
I have pictured the ingredients, the tubs and the sort of simple bowl I enjoy. Open to comments around the make up of the product or any inside knowledge. All I know is it is awesome, and I will be buying more.
I have been thinking about why I like New Forest so much compared to others, and one word that I keep coming back to is "cleanliness". By that I mean, a texture that is smooth, tasteful and without any after taste at all. There is no creamy / synthetic after taste - it's not trying too hard, it is just honest and clean and amazing in flavor. I am pretty sure I have tried Purbeck and no doubt its epic, but I can't recall when I last tried and can't do a back to back comparison. I do wonder about density though - New Forest is not dense, and some of the top ice creams are almost too "creamy" and very dense. Personally I like the iced ruffle / lightness if that makes sense. Very hard to verbalize.
These ice creams need no gimmicks - ordinarily I love a flake or 2 maybe 3 or 4 flakes crumbled in a seperae bowl and added to taste. Or sprinkles, and they would probably work well with these. But to me, I bought these to savor the flavor alone, the texture and overall experience of quality. I don't wish to interfere with it - a sign of quality?
LeadFarmer said:
ThunderSpook said:
I’m a big fan of Mackies traditional ice cream. It’s not vanilla so stop being surprised when it doesn’t taste of vanilla.
Regardless of what flavour it is or isn't, I find it bland and completely tasteless. I actually wondered if it was a sorbet instead of ice cream.Industrial ice cream is interesting
Dairy ice cream is a protected name- it can only have dairy-derived fats in it!
The key metric for most commercial ice creams is "over run"- this is the percentage of air incorporated into the ice cream as it is frozen- cheaper ice creams can have as much as 220% increase of volume by weight. Cheap ice cream is either packed with water or stabilised with the likes of guar gum (hence whey cheap ice cream holds it shape when warm- its more of a mousse).
a few keys to really good ice cream-
the balance of fat to sugar to protein is utterly vital for mouthfeel- there is a LOT of science- up to 20% fat is possible, but 16-18% is common in ultra premium ice cream. Dried skimmed milk powder is often vital to get the exact ratios here- i use it at home when making really high fat ice creams. Butter is also often used as a fat molecule- too much though and the icea cream starts to have a mouth feel like butter.
You then need to homogenise the mixture which makes the fat molecules smaller and increases the amount of sugar they can handle- this also helps flavours come out (fats are very good at dissolving flavours, which is why really high fat ice creams don't have the immedicay of low fat ice cream). Most commercial mistures are pasteurised at this point.
After homogonising most commercial ice cream mixes are left to develop for at least 24 hours, if not longer. Throughout this process the mixes are tested for biological problems- ie testing for listeria, salmonelle, ecoli etc
Once the mixes have developed they are passed through the freeezer for packaging- at this point you can add inclusions (ripples, nuts, choc pieces etc etc). THe choice of freezing methadology is key here- its a big win for the big commercial factories- they can afford to use dynamic freezing where you pass the mix through a frozen nozzle and incorporate air at the same time- the mix freezes very quickly and this reduces ice crystals significantly (its why they can make cheap low fat ice creams- its a lot of water, but because it freezes so quickly, you don't notice)
The really big guys will use ammonia refrigerants for ice cream- they are good because they tend to take more load at a lower temperature- you can freeze things quicker without to much trouble.
If you really want to see how good your ice cream is then weigh it- you have a 4l tub- a really really high quality ice cream might weigh as much as 750g/litre of liquid. A really cheap ice cream might weigh as low as 300g/litre.
Getting the mix right is much more of an art form then just choosing luxury ingredients- and production methods also play a big part. Personally i don't like Gelato as it uses a relatively low fat % - well belo 7% most of the time which reduces the mouth feel for me- it melts funny and tastes a bit watery.
The best ice cream i know is made by a client of mine that usually makes high volume low price ice cream, but occasionally turns all the machines to short run ultra premium ice cream, but made using commercial kit- it blows everything else out of the water......the closes i've come to is the likes of new forest, alder tree, Di Meo's
I also beleive that ice cream is best shortly after its been made- too long and i'm convinced it loses flavour and texture- but the industry promises that's not true.....
Dairy ice cream is a protected name- it can only have dairy-derived fats in it!
The key metric for most commercial ice creams is "over run"- this is the percentage of air incorporated into the ice cream as it is frozen- cheaper ice creams can have as much as 220% increase of volume by weight. Cheap ice cream is either packed with water or stabilised with the likes of guar gum (hence whey cheap ice cream holds it shape when warm- its more of a mousse).
a few keys to really good ice cream-
the balance of fat to sugar to protein is utterly vital for mouthfeel- there is a LOT of science- up to 20% fat is possible, but 16-18% is common in ultra premium ice cream. Dried skimmed milk powder is often vital to get the exact ratios here- i use it at home when making really high fat ice creams. Butter is also often used as a fat molecule- too much though and the icea cream starts to have a mouth feel like butter.
You then need to homogenise the mixture which makes the fat molecules smaller and increases the amount of sugar they can handle- this also helps flavours come out (fats are very good at dissolving flavours, which is why really high fat ice creams don't have the immedicay of low fat ice cream). Most commercial mistures are pasteurised at this point.
After homogonising most commercial ice cream mixes are left to develop for at least 24 hours, if not longer. Throughout this process the mixes are tested for biological problems- ie testing for listeria, salmonelle, ecoli etc
Once the mixes have developed they are passed through the freeezer for packaging- at this point you can add inclusions (ripples, nuts, choc pieces etc etc). THe choice of freezing methadology is key here- its a big win for the big commercial factories- they can afford to use dynamic freezing where you pass the mix through a frozen nozzle and incorporate air at the same time- the mix freezes very quickly and this reduces ice crystals significantly (its why they can make cheap low fat ice creams- its a lot of water, but because it freezes so quickly, you don't notice)
The really big guys will use ammonia refrigerants for ice cream- they are good because they tend to take more load at a lower temperature- you can freeze things quicker without to much trouble.
If you really want to see how good your ice cream is then weigh it- you have a 4l tub- a really really high quality ice cream might weigh as much as 750g/litre of liquid. A really cheap ice cream might weigh as low as 300g/litre.
Getting the mix right is much more of an art form then just choosing luxury ingredients- and production methods also play a big part. Personally i don't like Gelato as it uses a relatively low fat % - well belo 7% most of the time which reduces the mouth feel for me- it melts funny and tastes a bit watery.
The best ice cream i know is made by a client of mine that usually makes high volume low price ice cream, but occasionally turns all the machines to short run ultra premium ice cream, but made using commercial kit- it blows everything else out of the water......the closes i've come to is the likes of new forest, alder tree, Di Meo's
I also beleive that ice cream is best shortly after its been made- too long and i'm convinced it loses flavour and texture- but the industry promises that's not true.....
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