Ice Cream Question

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jeffrefrig

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In my years of studying ice cream, in a bowl, I've noticed some unwanted changes. We ice boxers were always told that ice cream cases/freezers need to be -12 degrees to keep it from separating. Now, I've never noticed until recently how damned hard the ice cream has been. I've raised my freezer setting up to like 6 degrees on the positive, and the gift from the heavens is still rock hard. I don't know the ingredients, etc., but I'm thinking the Dairy assn. is cheating in the ingredients. Water freezes at 32, milk is close. Are they watering down, slightly, the ingredients? Really, this is my first world modern problem that I need to solve. I'll pay triple for good ice cream if that's what it takes! Honest to Pete, I had my Mapp Gas trigger torch in the kitchen to heat up the scoop so I could get my danged ice cream! The last bowl I had Friday I just set the ice cream out for a half hour just to get it usable.
Heated scoops may be in my future.
 
Although it's not my favorite brand, I've found that Blue Bunny seems to stay softer than others I've tried.
 
The percentage of milk fat in your ice cream really makes a difference. Some makers use such a low amount that what they are putting out in grocery stores literally can't be labeled as "ice cream" anymore according to federal standards. The only positive benefit I've noticed over the years is that my lactose intolerance is not as severe as it used to be with many brands possibly because of this (not that it would ever keep me from continuing my life-long research into the best flavors)!!! :love:
 
I put the (formerly) 1/2 gallon carton in my microwave @ 25 seconds, then it's still firm but scoops OK. To get the second scoop of ice cream to release from the now cold scooper, I run the scooper under hot water for about ten seconds. I get two scoops of unmelted, spoon ready ice cream every time.
 
Nevada Ed said:
If you ever noticed,

some are Ice cream and others are ice milk.....................

Butter fat and type of mixing also add to the "Body" of the materials, in the container.
Click to expand...
This ^^^ The ice cream I currently have (a diminshing supply of) in the fridge, Chapman's Heavenly Hash (a Canadian brand) lists "cream" as the first item in the ingredients. It scoops out of the container easily and softens up a little in the cup.

Chapman's Heavenly Hash labek.webp
 
Most grocery store ice creams don't pass the test for being real. No cream, full of chemical additives, or inflated with air.

The more you research the topic, the less your likely to buy most brands.
 
Not sure if I can answer your question but I am an ice cream connoisseur. I make my own ice cream and it is (I am bias) the best I have ever tasted. My neighbors all love me because I am a sharer. This is a two fold kinda thing, if I did not share I'd be bigger than a house. I will list what I use in a typical batch of ice cream. Then run to your freezer and look at the ingredients in your store bought. Unfortunately most ice creams have stuff not fit for consumption, including ingredients to keep it from freezing too hard and an odd side effect is not to melt too fast, like carrageenan, guar gum, or locust bean gum. Anyway, I am an ice cream snob for sure. I just made a batch of Orange ice cream that I am having a hard time sharing, yeah it's that good. I use, 14 egg yolks, heavy cream, unbleached sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice, the zest of four oranges, Himalayan salt, and homemade vanilla extract that is steeped in Vodka. Just a enough to flavor it and the two tablespoons of alcohol in the vanilla keeps the water content in the orange juice from freezing too hard and keeps the ice cream amazingly creamy. Trust me, the alcohol is not detectable. Anyway there is a science to making ice cream. I am not smart I have just been making it almost as long as I have been able to reach the stove top to cook the amazing custard that I churn into the best ice cream ever. Here is a short list and know I use all fresh fruit. Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter (My favorite) Peanut butter/Banana, Banana, watermelon, peach, peanut butter with bacon, coffee, toffee, I am sure there are more I have tried just about anything. Side note, I use a self refrigerated ice cream maker that is made in Italy. Sorry for rambling but if anyone is ever near Ada I have to-go ice cream containers and will give you what I have in the freezer to back up my claims. Stop buying that store bought stuff its easy enough to make and you know what is in it.

***Edited*** I forgot lemon...It is my second favorite
 

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URIT said:
Most grocery store ice creams don't pass the test for being real. No cream, full of chemical additives, or inflated with air.

The more you research the topic, the less your likely to buy most brands.
Click to expand...
BEST ICE CREAMS – 8 US Ice Cream Brands You Must Buy – The Hidden Menu

#8 -- Straus Family - Whole Foods – certified organic

#7 – McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream – Santa Barbara, CA – Whole Foods

#6 – Alden’s Organic – Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target – non-GMO

#5 – Perry’s Ice Cream

#4 – Van Leeuwen’s – offers Vegan – non-dairy

#3 – Haagen-Dazs

#2 – Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream

#1 – Tillamook – top spot – Certified B Corp.
 
We either buy Tillamook or Haagen-Dazs. Friendly's for the Peppermint stick at Christmas.

Nothing else around here measures up. Turkey Hill isn't as good as it used to be, or Hershey's.

Breyer's is garbage anymore IMHO.
 
Valmet said:
In our household it’s Breyers or nothing…
Click to expand...
Breyer's is nowhere as good as it used to be even a year or two ago. I threw out the last box that I bought,

As mentioned above, the new stuff is impossible to scoop out, even though I have not changed my freezer's temperature setting. That tells me the "ice cream" has changed.
 
At this stage of the game (75 years) I only eat quality ice cream and when I do I usually eat the whole damn pint, by the spoonful. Haagen Daz has always been my go-to, I have found Ben & Jerrys to be good as well, just prefer HD. Most of the other "cheaper" ice cream is full of air and milk, very little cream. When I was into making a shake I would use Blue Bunny, I can't afford the calories today and limit myself to a pint ever now and then. If I buy two pints, I will eat half one day the other half the next. I am weak.....Ice cream addiction is a major flaw in my personality. I can go without just about anything but break down and eat ice cream every other week or so, maybe as much as once a week. Ice milk is just that, they try to "sugar-coat" it with other ingredients but its just milk. When I was a kid we used to make snow ice-cream out of snow, cream, sugar and a dash of vanilla. Its good for about five minutes before it goes mushy.
 
GnarlsR2 said:
BEST ICE CREAMS – 8 US Ice Cream Brands You Must Buy – The Hidden Menu

#8 -- Straus Family - Whole Foods – certified organic

#7 – McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream – Santa Barbara, CA – Whole Foods

#6 – Alden’s Organic – Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target – non-GMO

#5 – Perry’s Ice Cream

#4 – Van Leeuwen’s – offers Vegan – non-dairy

#3 – Haagen-Dazs

#2 – Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream

#1 – Tillamook – top spot – Certified B Corp.
Click to expand...

Depends on who you believe I suppose. Tillamook is ok, but Blue Bell, where you can get it, across the various criteria, is hard to beat.



BrandTier / CategoryTexture & IngredientsHow it Compares to Blue Bell
Blue BellTraditional PremiumLight, fluffy, whipped, and explicitly creamy; uses stabilizers and corn syrup.The gold standard for packaging volume, remaining one of the few brands that consistently sells a full 64 oz half-gallon. Famous for rotating hundreds of inventive, highly nostalgic mix-in flavors.
TillamookNorthwest PremiumDense, extra-smooth, and exceptionally high cream content; uses all-natural stabilizers.Blue Bell's closest rival in mass-market appeal. It offers a slightly richer dairy flavor profile, but comes in a smaller 48 oz container for a similar price point.
Häagen-DazsRetail Super-PremiumDense, heavy, and very low "overrun" (meaning minimal air is whipped into the base).Made with a clean label philosophy (only milk, cream, sugar, and eggs) completely free of gums or corn syrup. It is significantly denser and more luxurious than Blue Bell, but sold primarily in premium, higher-priced pints.
Ben & Jerry'sGourmet Mix-InChunky, heavy, and ultra-indulgent with high fat content and low whipped air.While Blue Bell features traditional bakery mix-ins (like cookies or cobblers), Ben & Jerry's pushes the envelope with thick fudge swirls, massive brownie chunks, and complex flavor profiles packed tightly into single pints.
HEB Creamy CreationsRegional Private LabelVery smooth, sweet, and structurally identical to classic Southern ice cream style.Primarily relevant in Texas, this grocery brand is widely cited by locals as the only direct substitute capable of matching Blue Bell's flavor profile and value at a slightly lower price point.
 
GnarlsR2 said:
BEST ICE CREAMS – 8 US Ice Cream Brands You Must Buy – The Hidden Menu

#8 -- Straus Family - Whole Foods – certified organic

#7 – McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream – Santa Barbara, CA – Whole Foods

#6 – Alden’s Organic – Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target – non-GMO

#5 – Perry’s Ice Cream

#4 – Van Leeuwen’s – offers Vegan – non-dairy

#3 – Haagen-Dazs

#2 – Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream

#1 – Tillamook – top spot – Certified B Corp.
Click to expand...
I think I've only seen one of those in Vegas.
 
We get Haagen Dazs and Tillamook, but Blue Bell is the Texas standard.

I remember years ago getting ice cream at a little sidewalk place in a tourist trap town (Fredericksburg, TX) that wouldn't melt. It was a hot day, too. It was pretty good in flavor, but absolutely refused to melt. Maybe that's a good thing when you're walking around outdoors in Texas. We called it the plastic ice cream.
 
Lately we’ve been eating some Nutella ice cream, wow!

The ne I miss is the old chocolate marshmallow that only came in the gallon bucket.
 
quikdraw67 said:
We either buy Tillamook or Haagen-Dazs. Friendly's for the Peppermint stick at Christmas.

Nothing else around here measures up. Turkey Hill isn't as good as it used to be, or Hershey's.

Breyer's is garbage anymore IMHO.
Click to expand...
Breyer's is garbage anymore IMHO. (y)(y)(y)(y)(y)(y) that's a fact.....no more need be said....
 
I keep the freezer set so yhe ice cream is firm ...
Not Rock Hard ...
5 mins on the counter and it should be scoopable .
Warm your scoop with running water from sink ...
No need for High Tech Heated Ice Cream Scoops...
Warm Water will do the trick .

Don't leave ice cream in the freezer too long ...
the Frost Free defrosting cycles will cause the crystals to form ...
So don't let ice cream linger in the freezer ... Eat It !

My brand of choice is Blue Bell ...

Gary
 
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