It’s a tough job but someone has to do it. See which ice cream came out on top, homemade or supermarket:
You’ll also find a recipe for making ice cream in the above link. If you have one of your own, feel free to share it below!
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Comparisons are difficult in this case as there are a number of variables and not all can be controlled or matched. Temperature is one of them that alters both flavour and texture. All flavours, including apparent sweetness, are reduced when foods are very cold and some ice-creams are too hard to scoop or to enjoy eating straight out of freezer at -18C. Many people don’t like it hard and mouth-numbing. I have heard of (but never been invited round to share with) aficionados who have a special freezer that is set below zero but not down to -18 especially for their ice-cream.
The mix will determine the consequences of the serving temperature. I have no direct evidence but I suppose that commercial ice-creams are designed to be the best texture they can straight out of the deep freeze using polysyllabic emulsifiers etc. Perhaps somebody with knowledge of the industry can say.
I agree that DIY is time consuming and not necessarily cheaper but since I don’t buy eggs it is somewhat cheaper for me. Also the traditional custard method described requires some skill (or a good thermometer) as you have to get the custard to the correct temperature. If too hot or too cool it won’t have the right texture and may turn into sweet scrambled eggs. Another problem with DIY using the custard recipe is that need a machine to stir as it chills, whether powered or hand-cranked.
On the point about DIY allowing control of ingredients this is not entirely open-ended, you cannot add or subtract whatever you like and be sure of still having ice-cream at the end. To get a smooth creamy texture you need the correct proportions of fat, sugar, water and emulsifier/thickener (egg in the case of the recipe).
My preferred DIY approach is to avoid the problems with custard and make semifreddo which is quicker, pretty-well foolproof and requires neither cooking nor churning. It too is best taken out of the freezer and put in the fridge for a while before serving.
I thought the result of the taste test was predictable given that in previous comparisons Streets Blue Ribbon+++ (that does not have enough milk fat to legally be called ice-cream) has won against much fancier and more expensive products.
+++ [edit] I see that product and Bulla Real Dairy both made it into the latest review despite neither being labelled as “ice cream”
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I have since bought the Coles ice cream and will be buying it from now on. It’s great.
I always think that comparisons about taste are very difficult as taste is extremely subjective.
As for comparisons between home-made and supermarket ice-cream @syncretic has covered the essential difficulties such as temperature, skill, recipe….
But I would add that I can be reached anytime as an ice-cream taster volunteer…
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Indeed. Having a panel and doing blind tastings helps to reduce bias though. If getting very serious you can also use the approach used by gymnastics and other sports that use judging panels of discarding outliers, the top and bottom scores for example.
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On the topic of DIY ice cream Choice tells us about ice cream makers.
In that article it says:
2. You can make natural ice cream with no additives or preservatives
No matter which flavour you choose, one of the biggest advantages to making your own ice cream is that you’re in complete control of what ingredients are added.
There won’t be any artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, and you can limit the amount of sugar or sweeteners if you so choose (or opt for sugar alternatives such as maple syrup or honey).
This does mean, though, that homemade ice cream needs to be eaten fairly soon after making it.
“The lack of preservatives in homemade ice cream means it likely won’t last as long in your freezer as a store-bought option,” says CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair.
“To enjoy it at its best, you should ideally consume it within a week.”
I don’t see Fiona in the list of forum members so perhaps @BrendanMays could ask on my behalf:
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Which commercial ice cream has preservatives in it? According to the ingredient list none of the top three recommended do. I didn’t look at all the list. My understanding is that commercial ice cream mix is heat pasteurised before freezing.
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Why would DIY ice cream only be at its best for a week? Is this a reflection of loss of physical stability that maintains texture or reduced safety due to harmful microorganisms? If the latter what microbes are we talking about and why would they be there?
An observation; the temperature your custard gets to ought to kill any bacteria in the eggs and once frozen at -18C they would not multiply. For a related example, we freeze fresh meat that is covered in bacteria for much longer quite safely.
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I buy ice cream on rare occasions and make it on even rarer occasions however I can vouch for one thing, the home made ice cream I have made has always been superior to what I’ve bought…
I also have several liqueurs in different shaped bottles and I’ve found a guide that works for me so I can add those liqueurs to my ice cream. (too much alcohol can prevent the ice cream freezing but not enough means there’s no flavour). So, sometimes there’s a need for home made ice cream
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Buying plant-based icecream is expensive and the range isn’t large. I have a recipe that comes out pretty close to the one I like best (choc banana) and is quick and cheap. Non-vegans can’t get enough of it. It doesn’t usually last much past a week, makes 10, and tastes fine at day 9 which I think is the longest we’ve kept it. The texture is better if poured into popsicle molds, rather than a large container.
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We have had a range of ice cream makers (not Thermomix) over a number of years.
The gorgeous wife-woman is our principal ice cream maker. She has eschewed the makers and now combines the ice cream ingredients in a benchtop mixer and then transfers it into a plastic container, and then into the freezer. The mix is removed once or twice and stirred before returning to the freezer.
No two ice creams are the same. Excess fruit, lollies, sweets, biscuits, cakes, canned fruit, etc may be added.
One of the best tasting ice creams was when she added left over Christmas fruit cake. Another delicious one was made with Turkish delight pieces through the ice cream.
She usually makes a number of flavours at the same time, so we never know for sure what the taste sensation will be.
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I always prefer to buy the main brands of Ice-cream when they are on special
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Hi @syncretic,
Sorry it’s taken me a while to chase up the answers here for you. Here’s what we found:
Additional preservatives are rare in commercial ice cream in Australia. While we can’t categorically state that all commercial ice cream are free from added preservatives, we didn’t uncover any. Some ice creams may contain salt or alcohol, but this is generally for flavour and consistency purposes. The dairy products in use will be pasteurised and then there is a stir freezing process that preserves the ice cream for two months or more. They’ll normally use a ‘best before’ rather than ‘use-by’ date.
Assuming normal food hygiene practices are followed and you’re not using raw dairy ingredients, there shouldn’t be any issues with harmful microorganisms in homemade ice cream. The reason why homemade ice cream is likely to have a shorter shelf life is due to a lack of commercial stabilisers and emulsifiers, which prevent ice crystals from forming that then give ice cream an unpleasant rough or grainy texture. It’s possible that a batch of homemade might last a bit longer than a week, and it would still be safe to eat over a longer period, but the ‘best before’ rule applies where it would simply become unpleasant to consume.
Hope that helps!
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So in the original article the reference to lack of preservatives in home made ice cream meant lack of texture stabilisers not anti-microbial preservatives. I was hoping that was the case and that DIY cooks were not about to poison themselves by keeping ice cream for weeks in the freezer.
I am not troubled by the fact that I don’t accurately date when the ice cream I make goes in the freezer. More likely somebody will be troubled because the tub is empty or a missing spoon is found in it.
I have found the best way to maintain the texture of any ice cream (commercial or DIY) is to dig/cut out what you want and allow it to warm slightly before consuming and to put the remainder back in the freezer immediately before it warms.
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