MacGourmet News

Let me just get this out of the way up front: I love ice cream. I love things that are really fresh. These are a couple of the reasons I often roast my own coffee. And this is why, after an article on making ice cream at home in Gourmet magazine (Aug. 2006), I decided to try making fresh ice cream myself. I was also driven by a need for something I miss from living near Boston: fresh premium Callebaut and bittersweet chocolate ice creams from Rancatore's in Belmont. These two flavors of theirs transcend supermarket offerings, and they aren't something I could exactly buy anymore.

I decided to buy an ice cream maker, the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2 quart ice cream maker and give ice cream at home a go.

So, how did it go? Great. I started with something simple, the "Simple Chocolate" recipe that came with the maker. I used some Hershey's European Style Dutch Process Cocoa powder rather than going out and buying more "exotic" (read expensive) powders right away. The ice cream that resulted was delicious, smooth and creamy, and after hours in the freezer, firmed up nicely. (Ice cream makers will often produce a softer product right out of the mixer, which is fine, but if you want something more firm, you need to freeze it for a while.) One recommendation I'd make, if you want to share one of the two quarts that this maker produces, is: pick up some of the Ziploc Twist 'n Loc medium round containers. These 1 quart screw cap containers make great ice cream containers and they are cheap and reusable.

Making the ice cream takes about 25 - 35 minutes, depending on the desired thickness. You can figure out the exact time by watching the maker. When the ice cream starts to thicken up, it will start "climbing" up in the maker. The simple chocolate started to do this after about 29 minutes. Overall, though, it's really just putting the ingredients together in the frozen bowl, and starting the maker. Oh, there will be some flavors that will take more work or time, like a recipe for vanilla bean ice cream that I will be trying, but overall, things are usually pretty simple and quick.

I'm providing a bunch of the Cuisinart ice cream recipes in MacGourmet format, with a couple extra ones for blueberry frozen yogurt and ice cream (blueberry season is big in Maine after all), but I'll also be posting some more interesting ones later, like Cinnamon Toast, and Cocoa Nib, the latter which is from a cookbook I'll be reviewing here soon, entitled Chocolate Obsession. I'll be experimenting, so I also plan to post interesting combinations I come up with as well.

If you really get into making your own ice cream, you can get the "big dog", the Cuisinart Supreme Ice Cream Maker , which has a built-in commercial-style compressor freezer, so it doesn't require you to freeze a bowl, but you can get started with something much simpler, such as the Cuisinart ICE-20 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, and Sorbet Maker too. I've been really happy with the Pure Indulgence 2 quart model though.

Also, for a limited time, Save $25.00 when you spend $125.00 or more on qualifying Items (like these ice cream makers) offered by Amazon.com. Enter code OCTSAVER at checkout. You can also get a free ice cream scoop using a mail in rebate if you purchase one of the Cuisinart makers before the end of December.

Ice Cream Recipes. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.