Ice Creams Frozen Without Stirring

1929

National Agricultural Library

U.S. Department of Agriculture Leaflet Number 49

SATISFACTORY desserts may be frozen without stirring by packing in ice and salt or by placing in the trays of the mechanical refrigerator. A fairly rich mixture must, be used in these desserts and the ingredients carefully combined in order to obtain a satisfactory texture. Such ice creams are neverso smooth as those prepared in a freezer with a dasher but are less trouble and, properly prepared, have a flaky, crystalline texture quite characteristic and desirable.

In freezing with a dasher, the knife edge cuts off the crystals as they are formed, and the whipping portion of the dasher beats in the air. In freezing without stirring, the size of the crystals must be controlled by air beaten in in advance, by the fillers in solution, or suspended in colloidal form as the chemist says, and by the rapidity of freezing. Air and fillers get in between the particles of water and prevent mechanically the formation of large crystals. Slow freezing makes larger crystals. Heavy cream is the most satisfactory base for desserts frozen without stirring. Such cream is used in the preparation of mousses and in combination with egg whites in parfaits. These are frozen by packing in ice and salt without stirring or in a mechanical refrigerator, provided the temperature of the unit is sufficiently low, from 21° to 27° F. Heavy cream holds in air when whipped, and the fat is evenly distributed. Both these conditions retard the formation of large crystals. Furthermore the fat becomes more solid at the low temperature, thus adding to the smoothness desirable in these desserts. Heavy cream is expensive, however, and if used alone is too rich to be palatable; so recipes have been developed in which the rich cream is diluted by the addition of evaporated milk and thin cream, or by rich milk thickened with gelatin, eggs, or flour.