Can I use previously frozen milk and cream for making ice cream?

13 years ago

My incredibly generous friends gave me a Cuisinart ice cream maker and the Jeni's cookbook for my birthday last month. Fun! So far I've made vanilla ice cream and watermelon-lemonade sorbet (heavenly!), and I just made a batch of Gravel Road (salty caramel with smoked almonds), my favorite. My friend had put a post-it on that page.

Anyway, I have leftover heavy cream and whole milk, neither of which I anticipate using anytime soon. Can I freeze them and thaw them (I know it takes days) and then shake them up and use them to make ice cream?

I've frozen skim milk before, but (maybe I didn't shake it well) it didn't seem quite the same. Would it matter for making ice cream?

Thanks in advance! I did google the question, but I know you all will give me the best advice.

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Comments (7)

lindac
13 years ago
Never done it....b ut it you can mix the stuff and make ice cream with it why couldn't you freeze it before mixing with the ingredients for ice cream?
annie1992
13 years ago
I've never done it either, but I agree with LindaC, I don't see any reason why you couldn't. My only question would be whether it would make a good custard base and I think that would be OK too, although I've never done it.

Annie
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You can also do it the really old fashioned way -- the same method that has long been used to make sorbet. Just pour the mixture into a baking dish, and set that into your freezer. Also, you will need a heavy glass or metal bowl, an electric hand mixer, and a bowl of ice big enough for the first bowl to sit in. Put the heavy glass or metal bowl and the beater attachments for the hand mixer into the freezer at the same time as the ice cream mix to chill them. When its almost but not quite fully frozen, use a fork to break it up into small lumps about the size of a nickle or a little less. Then put it back into the freezer about 10 minutes to set up a bit again. Now, working as quickly as possible, take the pre-chilled heavy bowl out of the freezer,and set it in a bath of ice cubes in the 2nd larger bowl. Quickly transfer the ice cream mixture into the chilled bowl, and beat it as much as possible with the electric mixer ONLY until the lumps are broken up, and it begins to whip up a bit. Then, back into the freezer for another 15 to 30 minutes, until its not at all "melty" but still a little soft. Repeat the beating/whipping process several times -- the idea is to whip as much air into it to make it creamy and fluffy as possible, without melting it too much at each whipping. The chilled bowl, the ice bath, and the chilled beaters help, but beware that the very act of beating it creates friction between the bowl and beaters, which makes heat, so this process is a balancing act between beating in air and melting the ice cream. Done right, which isn't at all hard to do with just a little practice, this method does work, albeit it will never be quite as fluffy as commercial ice creams you are used to, which not only incorporate a large volume of air into the mix using specialized equipment, but which also generally use gums and stabilizers which prevents the product from melting and turning liquid as fast as a pure, cream and milk only product will. Good luck.
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What a great idea! It's frozen yogurt but with lots of good fruit in it. The yogurt would give it the body it needs without the fat. I think you could try fat-fee sour cream, too: that might be less tangy than the yogurt. Fat free sour cream, since it's made with skim milk, is thickened with something else, probably carageenan. Any fat-free half and half would also have a substitute thickener.Some thickeners hold up to freezing and some don't. There's a lot of difference between brands in how sour they are: you might have to try a few. I use half fat-free yogurt and half fat-free sour cream for many sauces. I tried making ice milk with plain milk, and it didn't work out. Not enough body. I meant to repeat it using something thicker, but haven't yet. I've been thinking about fat-free evaporated milk; that would have more body to it. Let us know what you try and what works!
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I just make my regular vanilla icecream and add chopped and welld rained frozen peaches....I put about half of the peaches in the blender to make puree and chunk up the rest..... But unless you either add some extra heavy cream or booze, it will get icy. I make a custard with 4 eggs and 2 cups of milk....when it coats the back of a spoon remove from heat and add a cup of sugar and stir to dissolve, add 2 cups of heavy cream and 2 tsps vanilla.,...cool and freeze. For peach, puree a cup of peach slices and add to the icecream mix....add some chunks if you wish....and 2 Tablespoons of peach schnapps. The alcohol keeps it from freezing into a solid chunk. Linda C
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Since light cream can be up to 30% fat, I would use 2/3 cream and 1/3 milk. Actually, if I were making it myself, I would decrease the milk even more, since milk upsets me more than cream. I made strawberry ice cream Tuesday using a recipe that called for light cream, and I substituted all heavy cream. I took some to work because I can't eat all of it, and I thought DB didn't want it, but then after he had some yesterday, he decided it was very good. For myself, the most milk I would put it would be about 1/8 portion. I haven't noticed a problem with using all heavy cream, except that it did get very fluffy and I was afraid it would going to climb out of my ice cream machine, and so I ate little bits of it as it was going along. The worst thing that will happen is you will have excess volume, and you might want to make sure your ice cream maker will handle it. Everyone at work loved it. Lars
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bbstx
13 years ago
I can tell you that previously frozen cream will do fine as a custard base. I accidently let a quart of cream freeze. I moved it to a different part of the fridge to let it thaw. When it thawed, I made creme brulee. It worked fine.

The only thing I discovered was it needs to be shaken vigorously to re-distribute the butterfat, or whatever it is. May not hurt to hit it briefly with the immersion blender.
gellchom
Original Author
13 years ago
Okay, I know how ignorant this sounds, but when you all talk about "custard base," are you referring to the base I use for the ice cream? I think of eggs when I think of custard.
bbstx
13 years ago
Some folks, like my mom, only make ice cream with a custard base. Mom thinks anything else is not worth eating. I, being the modern, cutting-edge, foodista (that's a joke folks!), have made ice cream with such exotic ingredients as Greek yogurt, eschewing a cooked custard base.

Below is a cooked custard recipe from The Kitchn:

Basic Custard Ice Cream Base

3 cups dairy (whole milk, heavy cream, or a mix)
1 cup sugar
8 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Have a strainer in a bowl ready over an ice bath.

Bring the dairy to a simmer in a medium pot over medium-high heat--about 5 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn't boil over. Remove from heat as soon as you see bubbles forming and let sit until it's cooled to room temperature--about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar, and pinch of salt into a thick paste. When the dairy has cooled, stream it in while stirring the egg mixture.

Once combined, return everything to the pan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir gently in an "S" shape, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan.

The sauce is ready when it looks silky, has thickened so it coats the back of a wooden spoon, and has reached a temperature of about 170-degrees. Strain it into a bowl set over an ice water bath and stir in the vanilla.

When cooled, freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Custard Base for Ice Cream from The Kitchn
jadeite
13 years ago
Jeni's recipes are made with starch (cornstarch or other starch) cooked with dairy (milk, cream), somewhat like a pudding. There are no eggs.

I think you can make the cornstarch/dairy base and freeze it, then defrost and add flavorings before churning your ice cream. I imagine you could freeze the milk and cream and use that to cook with the starch as well.

Cheryl
jessyf
13 years ago
Happy belated birthday! I'm sorry the GW gremlins didn't work, your name didn't pop to the top :-(

Sounds like a GREAT gift, though, enjoy!

Can I use previously frozen milk and cream for making ice cream?

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lindac

annie1992

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Can I use previously frozen milk and cream for making ice cream?

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lindac

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