DIY ice-cream
The folkish tune of Mr Whippy vans is synonymous with long summer days, as are dinky corner stores selling ice-cream favourites like Golden Gaytimes and rainbow Paddle Pops.
But what if you needn't venture far from the home pool to get your sugary fix?
Head into the kitchen and whip up your very own home-made ice-cream with these handy tips.
Your best ingredients
To make a good quality ice-cream start with a basic custard-based recipe, says Emma Braz, Westfield food and home expert.
Her must-have ingredients for beginners are egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar and flavouring.
If you make vanilla ice-cream, use vanilla bean or paste rather than essence, says Emma.
"I wouldn't suggest making ice-cream just on a cream base. I'd use the milk and cream because the fat (in cream alone) doesn't freeze very well, so if you mix it with the milk you get a better texture."
For the health-conscious, low-fat milk and light cream can be used but the texture will be more grainy than if you used full-cream.
For flavouring, Emma suggests adding pureed fruits that are in season, such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. This works well if you're making a low-fat sorbet, which is a blend of fruit and sugar.
If you don't want to puree the fruit, you can fold through chunky pieces instead. If an artificial flavour is what you're after to keep the kids happy, store-bought toppings work as well.
"If you keep your base pretty much standard you can add anything to it. For Christmas you can make rocky road ice-cream," says Emma.
If you don't have time to make ice-cream, she suggests jazzing up a vanilla ice-cream from the supermarket and adding your favourite sweets and/or flavours.
"An old favourite of mine had Maltesers and raspberries through it and it was so delicious."
Be wary of these ingredients
Even if you have a sweet tooth, don't add too much sugar to your ice-cream recipe. If you do, Emma says, the ice-cream won't freeze.
Food with really high water content can also make the ice-cream crystallise.
Alcohol can be added for an ice-cream such as rum and raisin, but pay attention to quantity. About three tablespoons to a litre mix is about right, she says. The ice-cream will still freeze but it will be softer than usual.
You can add champagne and white wine to sorbet as well, while savoury food such as avocado is also popular.
In fat terms, gelato is the healthier ice-cream option because it is made on egg yolks but it has more sugar content than normal ice-cream, says Emma.
Ice-cream will last in the freezer for between two to four months, she adds.
Equipment considerations
Network Ten's MasterChef has introduced many of us to ice-cream machines, but you don't need one to make the creamy dessert.
The cost of the machines start at around $100, but Emma says if you don't have one you can use a saucepan, whisk and electric mixer.
Use a loaf pan or baking dish to store the ice-cream in the freezer.
"Make sure you cover your ice-cream with plastic and foil because the ice-cream will take in the flavours of anything in the freezer," she says.
If you plan on turning out the ice-cream from the mould to make, for example, an ice-cream log you need to line the base and sides of the pan with Glad Wrap or baking paper.
If you don't plan on doing this, you can simply leave the ice-cream in the mould it has been frozen in and scoop it from there when you need a fix.
"It's not very hard to make ice-cream without a machine but it is time consuming because you have to let the custard cool."
You then need to beat the ingredients with an electric mixer, she adds, and freeze it for four to six hours, before repeating twice.
If you don't have an ice-cream machine, give yourself a full day or two to make a batch.
Machines are much quicker because they do all of the beating for you, says Emma, and will chill and freeze the ice-cream as you make it.
Fun for the family
Making ice-cream is a great activity for children that helps mum and dad in the kitchen too.
"As long as you watch them, especially if you're making a custard-based ice-cream, because it's over the heat," says Emma.
"And if you've got the ice-cream in the freezer they will remind you to get it back out and to whip it again, and you know kids love licking the bowl."
An ice-cream machine will freeze the mixture in less than an hour, says Emma, which is much more acceptable to impatient tiny tots.
"It's great to get the kids in the kitchen," she adds. "It's one of those things that they can make and every kid's going to love the fact that they've made it."
Click here for an easy vanilla ice-cream recipe with variations in time for Christmas.
© 2011 AAP
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