Desperately Seeking Soft Serve
August 4, 2011 5:45 AM Subscribe
A local yogurt place has a non-dairy, soft serve "pink lemonade" flavor that is amazing. How can I recreate it with my new Cuisinart ice cream maker?
The texture is similar to the Minute Maid soft lemonade, but maybe a little softer...more like soft serve ice cream or yogurt. I know I can just throw lemonade into the ice cream maker, but I don't see how that will come out the right consistency.
I'm finding plenty of sorbet and slushie recipes online, but nothing with that smooth texture. I know commercial ice creams and frozen desserts will always be different than homemade, but maybe there's some secret additive out there? I'm not opposed to throwing in some carrageen or something, if I can find it.
The texture is similar to the Minute Maid soft lemonade, but maybe a little softer...more like soft serve ice cream or yogurt. I know I can just throw lemonade into the ice cream maker, but I don't see how that will come out the right consistency.
I'm finding plenty of sorbet and slushie recipes online, but nothing with that smooth texture. I know commercial ice creams and frozen desserts will always be different than homemade, but maybe there's some secret additive out there? I'm not opposed to throwing in some carrageen or something, if I can find it.
also some sort of invert sugar is exceedingly likely in a commercial prep.
posted by JPD at 6:39 AM on August 4, 2011
posted by JPD at 6:39 AM on August 4, 2011
The best non-dairy ice cream recipes I've seen recommend using xanthan gum to get the creaminess. I've seen it at Whole Foods but haven't bit the bullet yet, as it's a large bag for $13 and you only need about 1/4 tsp per batch.
posted by something something at 6:46 AM on August 4, 2011
posted by something something at 6:46 AM on August 4, 2011
My wife and I have been experimenting with the ice cream attachment for our kitchenaid mixer (paddle, insulated bowl you freeze to provide the chill) and I'm coming to the conclusion that these freezer bowl contraptions don't provide enough/fast enough chilling to do the job right.
My suspicion is that real smoothness needs a longer churn with temps that decrease more slowly than the frozen bowl approach allows for but I've exhausted my ability to experiment without spending more money on equipment... and places I can walk to sell single servings of good stuff for a few bucks, so dropping >$100 doesn't appeal to me.
That might just be the sort of sorbet-like concoctions we tend to make, but that seem to be the sort of thing you're talking about. We've tried the alcohol inclusions and have experimented with starting from room temp or hotter materials down to stuff that's been cooled to fridge temps; neither seemed to resolve the gritty crystal issue.
posted by phearlez at 6:47 AM on August 4, 2011
My suspicion is that real smoothness needs a longer churn with temps that decrease more slowly than the frozen bowl approach allows for but I've exhausted my ability to experiment without spending more money on equipment... and places I can walk to sell single servings of good stuff for a few bucks, so dropping >$100 doesn't appeal to me.
That might just be the sort of sorbet-like concoctions we tend to make, but that seem to be the sort of thing you're talking about. We've tried the alcohol inclusions and have experimented with starting from room temp or hotter materials down to stuff that's been cooled to fridge temps; neither seemed to resolve the gritty crystal issue.
posted by phearlez at 6:47 AM on August 4, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks! I see where egg is not listed as an allergen for the non-dairy sorbets, so I don't think egg white is it, but I may give it a try anyway.
Something something, I'll look for xanthan gum at the local health food place...seems to be available online in smaller quantities. Where are you finding the recipes?
(Weird how many of the recipes I'm finding are from the UK. I guess they're really into sorbet there?)
posted by JoanArkham at 7:04 AM on August 4, 2011
Something something, I'll look for xanthan gum at the local health food place...seems to be available online in smaller quantities. Where are you finding the recipes?
(Weird how many of the recipes I'm finding are from the UK. I guess they're really into sorbet there?)
posted by JoanArkham at 7:04 AM on August 4, 2011
I've been reading up on sorbets lately (I just got a fancy dancey ice cream maker myself) and the most helpful advice I've seen is the egg test. Basically, you make your fruit puree and a batch of simple syrup (Equal parts sugar and water). You wash a whole egg and put in your fruit puree, and start to add simple syrup until the egg starts to float. When you see about a dime-sized bit of the egg appear floating on top of the puree, stop.
I've done this a few times and never needed anything but fruit and sugar to make a perfectly creamy sorbet.
posted by bookwo3107 at 7:43 AM on August 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
I've done this a few times and never needed anything but fruit and sugar to make a perfectly creamy sorbet.
posted by bookwo3107 at 7:43 AM on August 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
Nickle sized, not dime. D'oh.
posted by bookwo3107 at 7:44 AM on August 4, 2011
posted by bookwo3107 at 7:44 AM on August 4, 2011
Two things you can do to aim for this texture in a sorbet, by manipulating the freezing point: up the sugar content, and add a small amount of alchohol (I use vodka). The basic problem that this addresses is that most freezers are very, very cold, especially relative to an ice cream shop's display case, so something that had a decent texture right after churning may lose it over night. If you're using fresh fruit put it through a fine sieve before churning, and maybe try some recipes with cooked fruit (it will tend to blend smoother and finer) -- the best texture I've had was with a pear sorbet where the pears were cooked first (making a syrup that was also used IIRC). It's really trial and error though and I can't reliably reproduce this texture for any arbitrary fruit without a lot of work, for one thing it is so heavily dependent on the fruit's sugar content.
A really labor intensive way to mess with the texture of something that has been in the freezer for a while: melt the sorbet and re-churn it, so that you can take it out of the freezer after only being in there for an hour (or whatever you decide is the right length). Also, a little off your question, but maybe helpful: without exception, every single one of the best sorbet recipes I've made has come from this book, a perfect scoop. May be worth checking out.
posted by advil at 7:52 AM on August 4, 2011
A really labor intensive way to mess with the texture of something that has been in the freezer for a while: melt the sorbet and re-churn it, so that you can take it out of the freezer after only being in there for an hour (or whatever you decide is the right length). Also, a little off your question, but maybe helpful: without exception, every single one of the best sorbet recipes I've made has come from this book, a perfect scoop. May be worth checking out.
posted by advil at 7:52 AM on August 4, 2011
Adding avocado is one way to make a sorbet creamier (the fat does it). You don't want to add enough to affect the taste, and it gives it a green tinge. Of course, I your local yogurt place isn't using avocado.
posted by ShooBoo at 11:38 AM on August 4, 2011
posted by ShooBoo at 11:38 AM on August 4, 2011
I've seen lactose-free sorbet recipes with soy yogurt, soy powder, and soy milk. Not a fan of soy dairy, so if I were trying for a creamy sorbet without dairy I might experiment with rice, oat, or nut milks, rice yogurt, or coconut milk kefir.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:33 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by oneirodynia at 12:33 PM on August 4, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks again, these are all good suggestions! Just to clarify, I am trying to recreate a specific item that happens to be dairy-free but I don't have any particular need for dairy-free recipes. (Although I'm more interested in low/nonfat stuff right now.)
posted by JoanArkham at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by JoanArkham at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2011
Response by poster: So...I've been going crazy with different sorbets and frozen yogurts. Most have been successful, some have not. I have found that you just can't skimp on the sugar, even if it seems like a lot. Also, a tablespoon of vodka keeps the texture "scoopable" but much more than that and you never really get past the "slushie" stage.
I still haven't found the magic lemonade soft serve formula, but we've been having fun.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:43 AM on September 9, 2011
I still haven't found the magic lemonade soft serve formula, but we've been having fun.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:43 AM on September 9, 2011
did you try the invert sugar? What you are trying to do is inhibit crystalization - that's why the sugar is so key - the invert sugar is even better than regular sucrose.
posted by JPD at 8:06 AM on September 9, 2011
posted by JPD at 8:06 AM on September 9, 2011
oh also what sort of freezer are you using? Soft-serve has a lot more air whipped into than regular icecream. You could try turning up the speed if you are using something like the kitchenaid attachment. (I have the attachment, and make Ice Cream regularly, but have not done this, so it might be a total debacle - but worth a shot?)
posted by JPD at 8:24 AM on September 9, 2011
posted by JPD at 8:24 AM on September 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by supercres at 6:26 AM on August 4, 2011