Sometimes things dont go to plan. And unfortunately, this can happen quite a lot when we start making our own ice cream. Especially if were experimenting. Which of course, is one of the best things about having our own ice cream maker!
But if youre having problems, then youve come to the right place. Because on this page Ill help you work out exactly whats going wrong and show you how to fix it.
Why does homemade ice cream cause us so many problems? Well, making ice cream is as much a science as an art. Its a very delicate substance with three states (solid, gas and liquid) in perfect balance. And if we upset that balance, things can go very wrong, very quickly!
But when things do go wrong, theres really just three places that we should be looking:
And in this order, too. Why? Well, when our ice cream turns out bad, theres a natural inclination to blame the ice cream maker, especially if were just starting out, and were perhaps using a new machine.
But while its always a struggle to make really good ice cream with a domestic machine, and its not unknown for ice cream makers to be faulty out of the box, this is the last place we should be looking.
Every domestic ice cream maker is capable of making very good ice cream if we use a good recipe, and we prepare it and the machine properly. So if were having problems, lets look at these things first, in order to rule them out, before we start blaming the machine.
With that in mind, heres some of the most common problems we can have with homemade ice cream…
Ice forms on homemade ice cream due to crystallization, and this process is usually triggered when you don’t freeze your ice cream fast enough. Your recipe and storage method may contribute to crystallization as well.
Are you chilling the mixture properly?
If youre still having problems, then maybe its an issue with the way youre preparing the mixture. Are you completely chilling the mixture before you add it to the ice cream maker?
If you add warm mixture to an ice cream machine, then it wont freeze very well, if at all. The mixture needs to be at fridge temperature (39 °F / 4 °C) or colder. Maybe use a thermometer to make sure it is!
My ice cream is too soft
I cover this issue in the “My ice cream is not freezing at all!” section below. Its usually down to unreasonable expectations…
Most domestic ice cream makers are not capable of producing ice cream thats any harder than soft scoop. Once the mixture has reached this consistency in your ice cream maker, it should be transferred to your freezer to harden further.
No Churn Ice Cream Three Ways | The Rachael Ray Show
FAQ
Why did my homemade ice cream come out icy?
Why does my ice cream have an icy texture?
How do you keep homemade ice cream from turning icy?
How do you keep ice crystals out of no churn ice cream?