SCENE 1
|
| Okay, so maybe some explanation. What I mean, of course, is that the secret to a fine premium vanilla-based ice cream is: 9 ounces of sugar, vanilla sugar if you can make it. And all you have to do is shove a pod or two in the sugar and let it sit for about a week. It would be a nice flavor. | 9 Ounces Vanilla Sugar |
| Eight egg yolks, 3 cups of half-and-half, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Now we're only making vanilla ice cream here. If I was making a different ice cream, we would use a different amount of a different flavoring depending on if it was an extract or an oil. More on that later. |
8 Large Egg Yolks 3 Cups Half & Half 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract |
| Last but not least, 1 cup of heavy cream. That's right, heavy cream. Look, I said I would help you make premium ice cream; I didn't say anything about low-carb ice cream or low-fat ice cream or low-anything else ice cream. As far as I'm concerned, ice cream shouldn't be low anything. It should just taste good. | 1 Cup Heavy Cream |
Now ingredients are
very important and I think we've got a good balance here. But how they are
assembled, now that's what really matters.
Kick up your favorite neighborhood burner to medium, apply your favorite medium
saucepan, and add both the cream and the half-and-half and let this come just
to a simmer. Now this step is called "scalding the dairy", and although
scientists are still arguing over what is actually achieved here, ...
SCIENTIST # 1: It's the proteins.
SCIENTIST # 2: It's the enzymes.
SCIENTIST # 1: The proteins!
SCIENTIST # 2: Enzymes!
SCIENTIST # 1: [hits #2's hand, takes his slide rule and throws it on the
floor]
SCIENTIST # 2: Oww! [pushes #1]
SCIENTIST # 1: [pushes #2]
SCIENTIST # 2: [lunges toward #1, the camera pans back to AB]
... personally, I think heat changes everything. But when you consider the fact that those dairy products over there have already been heated during pasteurization, ...
| Named after the father of food science, Louis Pasteur. Yeahhh! [applause] |
King Louis |
... I suspect that the real reason has to do with generating enough heat to gently
cook the eggs that we will soon be adding to that mixture. And of course, it has
to do with extracting flavors, because now is the time that we would be
extracting flavor from, say, vanilla beans, if we were using vanilla beans, but
we're not using vanilla beans.
While the dairy heats up, whisk the yolks until they are light and creamy. Think
of this as shaking up a bottle of salad dressing.
THING: [shakes a bottle of salad dressing]
After all, an egg yolk contains water and fat as well as emulsifiers. If we skip this step and just dump the sugar in there, the sugar, being hygroscopic, will grab hold of the available water leaving the fat and emulsifiers out of the union.
AB: Thank you, Thing.
And that would lead to a
less-than-ideal custard. That's right, kids. Premium ice creams are made from
stirred custards.
Now as for the sugar, the key, goooooooo slooowww. Just barely sprinkle the
sugar into the eggs while whisking with great vigor. Now, this is going to take a
little bit of time. But eventually, the mixture will lighten in color, thicken
until it'll actually fall off of the whisk in kind of a long ribbon. It's called
the ribbon stage, and it is important that you do this right. Why? Well, the
proteins in the eggs are very vulnerable to heat. Let's just pretend for a
second that those proteins are portrayed by this little hula dancer. Here's how
it works.
So the proteins are just floating around in the eggs and then here comes the
oven's intense heat [turns on a welding flame, points it at the hula dancer].
[As hula dancer] "Oh no, I'm going to roast and coagulate. Save me, Captain
Sucrose!"
[As Captain Sucrose] "I'll save you. I'm Captain Sucrose."
And Captain Sucrose, with his gigantic molecular structures, gets in between all
that heat.
[As Captain Sucrose] "Unhh, unhh, unhh, unhh, unhh"
And the proteins [as hula dancer] "Oh, thank you, Captain Sucrose"
AB: Well, Captain Sucrose, I think that's going to leave a mark.
The good news for us
is that we have attained a good ribbon stage here. Actually, I've almost taken
that to the silly string phase, but it'll be fine. Now let's check on the dairy.
As soon as your dairy attains bare bubblage, kill the heat, grab your favorite
ladle and a pot holder, and follow me.
We will temper the hot liquid into the egg mixture; that is, gradually add it,
so that the egg temperature slowly increases, thus avoiding over coagulation. Now
once you've slowly whisked in about a third of the mixture, go ahead and pour in
everything else. Then return the mixture to the cook top, crank the heat just to low, and
stirring often, bring the mixture up to 170 degrees. How will you know that
you've got 170 degrees? Well, because you'll be using your faithful thermometer.
I like an instant read for this.
Now what is so special about 170 degrees? Well, that's the temperature where ...
SALMONELLA: [pops his head out of the dairy mixture] Unhh, unhh, it's too hot in this jacuzzi. I'm out of here. [flies out of the pot]
... Well, let's just say that at this temperature, salmonella doesn't live here anymore. Now 170 degrees is also the correct temperature for the amount of protein coagulation that we're looking for in order to have a good, stable custard. And without that, we won't have good bubble formation. That would be a bad thing. Now the reason that I'm doing this over low heat is that the slower we heat the eggs, the better the custard will be. So take your time and your patience will be rewarded.
In 1982, the world's largest sundae was created with 15,000 lbs. of
ice cream,
120 lbs. of chocolate syrup and 50 lbs. of whipped topping.
We have reached 170 degrees, so I'm going to kill the heat
and we will confirm that the custard is done by doing a test that the French
call nappe [pron: nah-PAY]. Observe: a
metal spoon [dips the spoon into the custard], flipped over, will remain coated.
[wipes his finger across a portion of the spoon, the rest of the custard stays
in place]
See that? That's nappe, which is, of course, French for "coat le back of le
spoon." Very nice.
Now we need to get this off the heat, quickly, so I'm going
to move it to a metal bowl. You can chill this in the freezer, if you want,
which will speed things up. I'm going to let this cool down for just a few
minutes, which will give us time to consider flavorants.
Although we could certainly have steeped any flavor-producing elements in our
hot dairy phase, that would have committed us to one particular flavor for the
whole batch. By using extracts or essential oils at the end of the process, we
gain the freedom to make a really big batch of base and then split it up and
flavor each one of those batches differently.
Now the original formula that I quoted you—the 9 , 8 , 3 , 2 , 1—specifically called
for two teaspoons of vanilla. And I often add vanilla to different bases, even
the ones that aren't going to be vanilla-flavored. But in this case, I'm going
to make my favorite ice cream of all time, mint chip. So I'm going to eliminate
the two teaspoons of vanilla, and replace it with one teaspoon of peppermint
oil. Now I can do that because oils are typically much, much stronger, more
potent in flavor than extracts. They also have the added benefit of containing
no alcohol, although they can go rancid on you if you store them improperly.
Life's full of trade-offs.
Extracts and essential oils contain volatile substances that will simply
disappear into thin air if they get too hot, so it's always a good idea to add
them after the mixture has had time to cool down a bit. Just mix that in, and
then move your mixture to a sealable container, and stash it in your refrigerator
for as long as it takes for the temperature to drop below 40 degrees. I'd say
at least four hours, but, could be six to eight, depending. Now food scientists
are still wrestling over what happens during this aging process.
SCIENTIST #1: Listen, I'm still right.
SCIENTIST #2: No. I'm right.
SCIENTIST #1: No. I'm right.
SCIENTIST #2: Shoot. [puts out "paper" of rock-scissors-papper]
SCIENTIST #1: Rock. Nice.
Wow, who knew the scientific community was so passionate. There is one thing
that we can all agree on and that is that chilled mixtures freeze faster when
they're churned than non-chilled mixtures; and that means that they have a finer ice
crystal structure\; and that means they have a better texture.
Let's talk for a moment about chocolate, shall we?
Now, one might think that making chocolate ice cream would simply involve
melting chocolate into the original 9 , 8 , 3 , 2 , 1 mixture. And indeed, that can be
done. But let's consider for a moment the anatomy of solid chocolate. Now most
chocolate contains a fair amount of sugar, which we've already got enough of that.
And we also don't need any extract. We don't need any milk or any salt. So what
it really comes down to are the two primary chocolate components. We've got
cocoa solids, and cocoa butter.
Now cocoa butter is composed of a very complex bunch of fats that melt at
different temperatures. Although luscious when going from room temperature to
inside your mouth, the cold of ice cream renders this stuff waxy and hard. So we
don't want to have anything to do with it. All we really want here, in fact, is
cocoa solids, and this we can get easily from good old fashioned cocoa powder.
Dutch-processed or alkalized is best because it disperses in liquid easily. And of course,
its color is, well, I don't know, more chocolately.
|
To make a darn fine chocolate ice cream, just dump one and a half ounces—by weight, please—of cocoa powder into the bottom of your saucepan, then whisk in about one cup of the half-and-half from our recipe. You remember the formula, the 9 : 8 : 3 : 2 : 1 formula. Now the whole point of this is, it'll be easier to work it into a slurry. It'll be a nice thick liquid which will help break up all those chunks of cocoa powder. Now once you've got that, you can add the rest of the liquid and build our formula just as before. Only this time after you cook and cool, you will be adding the two teaspoons of vanilla extract. |
1.5 Ounces Dutch Process Cocoa Powder 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract |
George Washington, Dolly Madison, and
Thomas Jefferson were all huge ice cream
fans.
Now that our mixtures have a little age on them and are thoroughly chilled, we
are ready to churn. Although hand churns are certainly romantic and nostalgic
and capable of cranking out large quantities of goods, I save them for when I've
got some extra labor hanging around ... you know, like my nephew.
Self-contained refrigerated rigs like this can make ice cream all day long. But
they've got prices that, well, are higher than my first car ... or my second, or third
car, now that I think about it. So, I think they're better suited to small
restaurants or ice cream shops. Nope, my choice for everyday churning is still
an electric machine that utilizes a liquid-filled core that you park in your
freezer overnight.
The modern hand-cranked ice cream freezer was invented
in 1846 by a Philadelphia
dairymaid named Nancy Johnson.
|
Now that our mixtures are thoroughly chilled and have a little age on them, we are ready to begin the churning process. |
Make sure the mixture is chilled to a temperature of 40 degrees or below. |
|
Ahh, mint chip. That's got chunks in it. And of course, there's a science to chunks just like anything else. Now if we were adding porous chunks, say, I don't know, little pretzels for instance, we would want to add those very close to the end of the churning process, because we wouldn't want them to get soggy. Not true with these chopped up chocolate mint candies. You know the kind that they leave on your hotel pillow, right? We can add these now because they're solid. They're not going to fall apart during the churning. And believe it or not, they're actually going to contribute some additional mint flavor. So in they go. |
3 Ounces Chocolate Mint CAndies |
If you are a premium ice cream fan, you are going to want to move your new ice
creams to sealable containers and stash them in your freezer for at least six
to eight hours so that the ice cream can thoroughly harden. If you're a
soft-serve fan, you just eat it all right now. The choice is yours.
For centuries now, man has been building devices to deliver ice cream into his
bowl. The problem is, most of them don't work that well. Gadgets such as this
guy, this scoop that's got the little button thing in the back so that it'll
push the ice cream out of the scoop; it's cute, but it's also almost useless
because you can hardly ever get the ice cream up into the scoop. The same can be
said for dishers. Now dishers have a lot of different applications. It's got
kind of a little sweeper that kind of wipes things out of the bowl with the pull
of a handle. And its really good for things like mashed potatoes, but because of
the shape of the scoop and the handle, not so good for ice cream.
Spades. That's a completely different school of ice cream delivery device. And
these work great if you're working a really big container or if you're trying
to fold solid ingredients, chunks, into softened ice cream. Not so good for
trying to get scoops out of smaller containers.
For that, you want something
with a much smaller scoop head like this guy right here. Now this has got a
really interesting leading edge, which acts almost like a knife, to cut into the
ice cream. Looks kind of like Pac-Man. This one's even got a special liquid in
the handle, which helps transmit heat from the hand to the head, thus cutting
into the ice cream faster. The problem, scoop size, a little small. Don't
really care for the handle.
My favorite has a far more ergonomic handle, has a nice heft, and a big, wide,
open scoop. And these corners, you see, can really cut into the ice cream from
the sides, so you can scoop like this.
Ahh, vanilla, a little taste of the tropics. Mint chip, with those luscious
little mint candies, so nice. And of course, chocolate: dark, creamy, and
decadent. Oooh, come to papa.
There. Now that, my friends, is what I call good ...
[the door opens and the Feds enter]
FED #1: So, Mr. Brown, we've had reports of suspicious and
potentially dangerous substances here in your kitchen. So, we're going to have to
confiscate these containers pending further investigation by the, uh ...
FED #2: The National Dessert Board
FED #1: ... the National Dessert Board. We'll send the containers back
via mail.
[they leave taking the ice cream with them]
FED #3: [returns and takes the scoop] Have a nice day.
Well, I hope that we've inspired you to take your passion for premium ice cream
into your own hands. Using a simple, easy-to-memorize formula, you will save
dollars a pint and keep yourself in a constant supply of some of the best eats
on the planet. But unless you want to see it all disappear [referencing the
Feds], you might want to, I don't know, put it in a lock, get some drapes, or
something.
See you next time.
FED #3: [pointing to AB off camera] We're watching you, little man.
Transcribed by Michael Roberts
Proofread by Michael Menninger
Last Edited on 08/27/2010