We have considered purchasing an ice cream maker for nearly 15 years now it seems, and each time we contemplated it, we decide that we would not get enough use out of one to make it worth the bother. Well, yesterday that changed.
We finally gave in and purchased one - a simple $50 Cuisinart model where you freeze the bowl part of the machine for a few hours (6 or so is recommended), and then put the frozen bowl into the electric-powered machine once you have your ingredients ready to pour into the bowl and turn the thing on for 20-25 minutes. Our first experiment was Italian Lemon Ice (pictured above), and oh my god is it so good. Much better than any I have purchased pre-made.
Note: I placed some gluten-free frozen dessert recipes on my website now, including:
- Lemon-Ice Recipe - as featured here
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe
Recipe and method to make your own delicious Lemon Ice
The formula is so simple:You dissolve 2 cups of sugar into 2 cups of water on the stovetop (only heat as much as needed to dissolve sugar easily). While that is cooling, zest and juice a pile of fresh Lemons until you have 1.5 Cups of fresh-squeezed juice, and a couple tablespoons of lemon zest. Mix that into the sugar/water.
Now place that (room temperature) mixture into the machine, and run it for 20-25 minutes. Then, place the (rather soft) lemon ice in the freezer to firm up the rest of the way.
Ahhh... how refreshingly tangy and sweet and satisfying the end result is! Glutenfree, wheat-free, dairy-free... but, not sugar free of course :)
The inspiration for this purchase is twofold. First, we have seen a lot of The Food Channel personalities making ice-cream and/or frozen desserts lately (nearly as many as are pushing alcoholic beverages of recent), and second, I ran across this vegan ice cream blog yesterday that had so many wonderful ice cream (well, vegan - so iced soymilk or such) & flavored ice recipes... that pushed me over the top. Check that site out... nearly everything is GF from what I could tell.
Since the original lemon ice creation, my wife has created a chocolate-blackberry ice-cream in the mixer. Still gluten-free, but not dairy-free needless to say (the recipe called for heavy cream). And, it too is just oh so good! Perhaps not good for you, but who is making icecream for the health benefits anyhow? (though, that vegan ice cream surely should not be TOO bad for you aside from the sugar)
Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.
Man, now I am REALLY jealous! I have wanted an ice cream maker since I was 8 years old. Sadly, living alone, I can not justify buying one and making that much ice cream.
ReplyDeleteYou've done it again. You guys have impressed the heck out of me. BRAVO! The lemon ice makes me feel refreshed just looking at the pic.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first looked for ice cream makers, we saw some that do not require placing the bowl in the freezer (i.e., they had their own compressor build in), but those were ridiculously expensive - $250-300 as I recall. Heck, even $50 we really can not justify for how often we eat ice cream or sorbets, but maybe now we will eat more (is that good or bad? he he he).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, that Lemon Ice is darn refreshing! I like just a little bit after a meal. Or, to follow the example of upscale restaurants serving many-course dinners, I can have a little between courses to "cleanse the palate" and properly prepare for the next dish.