How do I make ice cream and mail it as a surprise gift across the country?
January 5, 2010 10:00 AM Subscribe
How do I make ice cream and mail it as a surprise gift across the country? Need ice cream and postal advice!
I have an ice cream maker and I'd like to make ice cream with it and then ship the ice cream as a surprise gift to San Francisco. I live in NY and have never made ice cream before.
1. Any advice on actually making the ice cream? I have a Cusinart ice cream-maker with a freezer bowl (so you don't need to buy loads of ice). It's part of the ICE-20 Series. What have you found helpful? How long doe sit take? Any tips for beginners?
2. Once I've made it, how do I shop it across the country?
--My main concern is not making it melt--do I just pack it with lots of ice packs? What kind of container would I use?
--Also, is there any way that this might violate a postal regulation or some sort of security code?
Thanks!
I have an ice cream maker and I'd like to make ice cream with it and then ship the ice cream as a surprise gift to San Francisco. I live in NY and have never made ice cream before.
1. Any advice on actually making the ice cream? I have a Cusinart ice cream-maker with a freezer bowl (so you don't need to buy loads of ice). It's part of the ICE-20 Series. What have you found helpful? How long doe sit take? Any tips for beginners?
2. Once I've made it, how do I shop it across the country?
--My main concern is not making it melt--do I just pack it with lots of ice packs? What kind of container would I use?
--Also, is there any way that this might violate a postal regulation or some sort of security code?
Thanks!
The ice cream I like is an egg custard which you cook and then put into the ice cream maker. But the ice cream maker can't do all the cooling, at least mine can't. I usually pour the custard into a glass bowl set in an ice water bath to bring it down to ~refrigerator temperatures before putting it in the ice cream maker. Your recipe may spell this out, but it is really important!
If there is any way you can get really fresh cream - the farmer's market that too far out of your way for everyday - this is the time to do it.
posted by shothotbot at 10:30 AM on January 5, 2010
If there is any way you can get really fresh cream - the farmer's market that too far out of your way for everyday - this is the time to do it.
posted by shothotbot at 10:30 AM on January 5, 2010
I have a Cuisinart machine as well, and I've had success with Alton Brown's recipe. He gives very detailed instructions, which is useful.
posted by divka at 10:32 AM on January 5, 2010
posted by divka at 10:32 AM on January 5, 2010
I don't have that ice cream maker, so I'll focus on shipping. Blue Bell ships their ice cream at $119 for four half gallons. That link came from this Yelp discussion on shipping ice cream. One suggestion was to test your home-made shipping container before sending your ice cream cross-country.
It may be cheaper to send them an ice cream ball and the dry (or at least not temperature sensitive) ingredients. NOTE: I am not a company shill, but I have used this product and it works, if a bit awkwardly. For best results, mix the frozen outer edge back into the soft middle every 5-8 minutes. Wait longer, and it's a pain to scrape the frozen parts off. Otherwise, you could send them a more traditional ice cream maker. Any way you do it, making ice cream is fun (because you're making your own delicious ice cream!)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:33 AM on January 5, 2010
It may be cheaper to send them an ice cream ball and the dry (or at least not temperature sensitive) ingredients. NOTE: I am not a company shill, but I have used this product and it works, if a bit awkwardly. For best results, mix the frozen outer edge back into the soft middle every 5-8 minutes. Wait longer, and it's a pain to scrape the frozen parts off. Otherwise, you could send them a more traditional ice cream maker. Any way you do it, making ice cream is fun (because you're making your own delicious ice cream!)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:33 AM on January 5, 2010
Ice cream you get at the grocery store has preservatives in it that keep it from melting quickly. Anyone who has made homemade ice cream will agree that it melts much faster than the store bought stuff. I'm not saying that its impossible to mail homemade ice cream, but this is a significant obstacle.
A little googling suggests that you ship it overnight, packed in dry ice inside an insulated container (like a cooler)
posted by AtomicBee at 10:39 AM on January 5, 2010
A little googling suggests that you ship it overnight, packed in dry ice inside an insulated container (like a cooler)
posted by AtomicBee at 10:39 AM on January 5, 2010
First, a great recipe for dulce de leche ice cream, via smittenkitchen, of course.
Second, the shipping. You're going to need to pack the ice cream into a sealable, non-breakable container (something in the gladware family would be appropriate). That container needs to go into a styrofoam cooler. Fill all excess space in the styrofoam cooler with dry ice. Seal well. That styrofoam container can either be put into a cardboard box, for extra sturdiness, or just shipped directly. However, to ship it, you should really, really do an overnight shipment, preferably with am delivery. To do priority overnight via fedex, you're looking at about $90-110, considering the distance and the dry ice.
posted by amelioration at 10:40 AM on January 5, 2010
Second, the shipping. You're going to need to pack the ice cream into a sealable, non-breakable container (something in the gladware family would be appropriate). That container needs to go into a styrofoam cooler. Fill all excess space in the styrofoam cooler with dry ice. Seal well. That styrofoam container can either be put into a cardboard box, for extra sturdiness, or just shipped directly. However, to ship it, you should really, really do an overnight shipment, preferably with am delivery. To do priority overnight via fedex, you're looking at about $90-110, considering the distance and the dry ice.
posted by amelioration at 10:40 AM on January 5, 2010
Having shipped frozen scientific samples across the country, I'm going to first suggest not doing this and second suggest using dry ice to keep things cold during shipping.
Shipping something heavy and with dry ice is expensive. Shipping things with dry ice involve regulations - I'm fairly sure that you cannot do this by USPS and that most locations of Fedex and UPS will not accept your package. That said, I've shipped things like this from work using Fedex and UPS.
During the summer you run the risk of something sitting in a truck or warehouse while your precious package warms up. This time of year is obviously better, but there are still no guarantees.
Ice will keep your stuff around 4oC - this is about fridge temperature. You want freezer temperature which is around -20oC.
I think that making someone ice cream and sending it is a beautiful idea, but I think that it may not be terribly practical.
Good luck though ...
posted by sciencegeek at 10:43 AM on January 5, 2010
Shipping something heavy and with dry ice is expensive. Shipping things with dry ice involve regulations - I'm fairly sure that you cannot do this by USPS and that most locations of Fedex and UPS will not accept your package. That said, I've shipped things like this from work using Fedex and UPS.
During the summer you run the risk of something sitting in a truck or warehouse while your precious package warms up. This time of year is obviously better, but there are still no guarantees.
Ice will keep your stuff around 4oC - this is about fridge temperature. You want freezer temperature which is around -20oC.
I think that making someone ice cream and sending it is a beautiful idea, but I think that it may not be terribly practical.
Good luck though ...
posted by sciencegeek at 10:43 AM on January 5, 2010
Here are the UPS instructions for shipping with dry ice.
posted by sciencegeek at 10:45 AM on January 5, 2010
posted by sciencegeek at 10:45 AM on January 5, 2010
One thing to consider: Surprise, time-sensitive food gifts might be a bad surprise... my friend sent me a box of chocolate dipped fruit once, and by the time I got around to collecting my package from the leasing office, the fruit had mostly gone bad. Make sure your recipient understands that s/he needs to get the package and consume post-haste.
posted by jangie at 11:00 AM on January 5, 2010
posted by jangie at 11:00 AM on January 5, 2010
I'm going to have to take sciencegeek's side here. The chances of this working out poorly significantly outweigh the chances of it working out well.
Store ice cream is formulated (both in its ingredients and in how it is produced) for relative long-term stability in the freezer. Homemade ice cream is not. Homemade ice cream tends towards a "soft serve" texture and is does not do nearly as well in the freezer. The essence of homemade ice cream texture is basically beating air in to freezing dairy: in my experience the homemade stuff has a tendency to "settle" (increasingly resembling, well, just straight up frozen dairy) and I can only imagine the effects of transit making this worse.
I think the shipping issues are significant as well. I used to prepare live plants (delicate orchids) for shipment and maintaining a temperature-sensitive environment through the mail is difficult under the best of circumstances and routinely impossible under normal ones. I think the estimate of the overall cost pushing into the $100 range is not out of line.
On top of all this is the likely outcome, which is (and I suspect this is one of the better case scenarios): go somewhere where they have really good soft serve and get some. Take it home and let it melt. Turn your freezer temp down and stick the melted ice cream in there. Take it out the next morning. That impenetrable hockey puck is a likely outcome for your $100 gift.
Ice cream maker tricks: maybe Cuisinart will work better than my cheapy version but I've had problems getting ice cream to work with the freezer-canister type maker, basically it is a race to get it solid enough before the canister warms too much to work. Fixes were turning the freezer temp down, chilling everything - every ingredient, every utensil - before formulating and moving fast during prep. If you cook any ingredients particularly you have to do that first and get it cold cold cold before you start churning. I definitely plan a 2 day, multi-phase operation when I decide to make ice cream.
posted by nanojath at 11:31 AM on January 5, 2010
Store ice cream is formulated (both in its ingredients and in how it is produced) for relative long-term stability in the freezer. Homemade ice cream is not. Homemade ice cream tends towards a "soft serve" texture and is does not do nearly as well in the freezer. The essence of homemade ice cream texture is basically beating air in to freezing dairy: in my experience the homemade stuff has a tendency to "settle" (increasingly resembling, well, just straight up frozen dairy) and I can only imagine the effects of transit making this worse.
I think the shipping issues are significant as well. I used to prepare live plants (delicate orchids) for shipment and maintaining a temperature-sensitive environment through the mail is difficult under the best of circumstances and routinely impossible under normal ones. I think the estimate of the overall cost pushing into the $100 range is not out of line.
On top of all this is the likely outcome, which is (and I suspect this is one of the better case scenarios): go somewhere where they have really good soft serve and get some. Take it home and let it melt. Turn your freezer temp down and stick the melted ice cream in there. Take it out the next morning. That impenetrable hockey puck is a likely outcome for your $100 gift.
Ice cream maker tricks: maybe Cuisinart will work better than my cheapy version but I've had problems getting ice cream to work with the freezer-canister type maker, basically it is a race to get it solid enough before the canister warms too much to work. Fixes were turning the freezer temp down, chilling everything - every ingredient, every utensil - before formulating and moving fast during prep. If you cook any ingredients particularly you have to do that first and get it cold cold cold before you start churning. I definitely plan a 2 day, multi-phase operation when I decide to make ice cream.
posted by nanojath at 11:31 AM on January 5, 2010
I have no idea why you want to do this, and it could end in a mess, but it would be fun to try.
Omaha Steaks ships frozen meat successfully. Get on Craigslist and see if you can get some of their packaging. They use a very thick styrofoam inside a cardboard box. If you can't get that, wrap it in foam sheets or styrofoam peanuts, then put it in the thickest styrofoam container you can find, preferably sized well to the ice cream container. It should be in a ziplock bag or 2, first, just in case. Tape it up.
When you make the ice cream, turn your freezer to super duper cold, and put the ice cream in the bottom, back of the freezer for 24 hours, to get as frozen and cold as possible. Overnight it, if possible. When I was gifted Omaha steaks, they took a couple days and were still frozen hard. They must start out extremely cold.
Have fun. This is for science, right?
posted by theora55 at 12:52 PM on January 5, 2010
Omaha Steaks ships frozen meat successfully. Get on Craigslist and see if you can get some of their packaging. They use a very thick styrofoam inside a cardboard box. If you can't get that, wrap it in foam sheets or styrofoam peanuts, then put it in the thickest styrofoam container you can find, preferably sized well to the ice cream container. It should be in a ziplock bag or 2, first, just in case. Tape it up.
When you make the ice cream, turn your freezer to super duper cold, and put the ice cream in the bottom, back of the freezer for 24 hours, to get as frozen and cold as possible. Overnight it, if possible. When I was gifted Omaha steaks, they took a couple days and were still frozen hard. They must start out extremely cold.
Have fun. This is for science, right?
posted by theora55 at 12:52 PM on January 5, 2010
I realize you said make ice cream, but just some frozen food for thought, eCreamery lets you design your own flavor and label, and ships it for you. My girlfriend bought me some, and it showed up in perfect shape.
posted by hypersloth at 1:31 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by hypersloth at 1:31 PM on January 5, 2010
Thanks filthy light thief, for the ice cream ball link. I never heard of it before, but now have an intense need to purchase one immediately. Have you used it?
posted by jennak at 2:45 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by jennak at 2:45 PM on January 5, 2010
jennak - yup, I've used it. The inside container is smaller than you'd imagine, and it takes a while for the end product. It's fun if you're easily entertained, or don't get annoyed at 20 minutes of rolling a ball around for some dessert. There's also the "mega" size, though I imagine that would take a few more times of scraping the freezing bits into the gooey center. I've used it on a car camping trip (we had access to a general store with a freezer full of ice) and a couple of times at home. Another thing to note: adding alcohol will significantly increase the time for ice cream to turn from chilled goo to actual ice cream. Not ideal if you want to make a lot of ice cream, but a fun way to make dessert.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on January 5, 2010
I can address tips for ice cream, because I anticipated my ice cream maker SO MUCH and read tons, but not everyone does that and it leads to disappointment. Sorry if some of this is redundant, I don't really have time to read all the answers.
-Chill your ice cream base overnight before you freeze it, or use am ice bath or whatever to bring the temperature down.
-Freeze your canister for minimum 24 hours. More is better. Put it at the back of your freezer, which is coldest.
-Don't expect the ice cream to get past soft serve consistency. When you poke your finger in and the dent stays, it's done. Put it in the freezer to firm up.
-Put a bit of liquor or another freezing inhibitor in sorbet and sugar free ice cream so it won't freeze hard as a rock.
-Recipes: you can find plenty elsewhere, but David Lebovitz is the ice cream GOD. He has a great ice cream book, but his blog also has many recipes (or a quick google search turns up many repostings of recipes from his book. the Perfect Scoop, on other blogs).
I've had great times with my ICE-20, and I'm sure you will too. Don't be discouraged if your first try ends up soup.
I'm not sure about the shipping part though. If you decide to do it, good luck!
posted by R a c h e l at 3:47 PM on January 5, 2010
-Chill your ice cream base overnight before you freeze it, or use am ice bath or whatever to bring the temperature down.
-Freeze your canister for minimum 24 hours. More is better. Put it at the back of your freezer, which is coldest.
-Don't expect the ice cream to get past soft serve consistency. When you poke your finger in and the dent stays, it's done. Put it in the freezer to firm up.
-Put a bit of liquor or another freezing inhibitor in sorbet and sugar free ice cream so it won't freeze hard as a rock.
-Recipes: you can find plenty elsewhere, but David Lebovitz is the ice cream GOD. He has a great ice cream book, but his blog also has many recipes (or a quick google search turns up many repostings of recipes from his book. the Perfect Scoop, on other blogs).
I've had great times with my ICE-20, and I'm sure you will too. Don't be discouraged if your first try ends up soup.
I'm not sure about the shipping part though. If you decide to do it, good luck!
posted by R a c h e l at 3:47 PM on January 5, 2010
Oh, here's one link to a few recipes form his book. Seriously, he's my hero.
posted by R a c h e l at 3:48 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by R a c h e l at 3:48 PM on January 5, 2010
I'd recommend Jeni's Ice Creams; unless you just have to make it yourself.
posted by jaronson at 3:52 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by jaronson at 3:52 PM on January 5, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for all the great suggestions. Okay, so the impetus behind this question is that I got my long-distance gf this ice cream-maker and she was unable to take it back with her and I thought this might be a pleasant surprise. Given that the freezing might be impossible, is there something else I can make with the thing that I can send her?
posted by johnasdf at 5:30 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by johnasdf at 5:30 PM on January 5, 2010
Um, why don't you just send her the ice-cream maker?
posted by Joleta at 8:14 PM on January 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Joleta at 8:14 PM on January 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well, since everything you would make with an ice cream maker is frozen, I think you're kinda out of luck because you'd run into the same problems, though. When you see her next, though, you can make a mean margarita in it.
posted by R a c h e l at 7:17 PM on January 10, 2010
posted by R a c h e l at 7:17 PM on January 10, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
You'll need to ship your ice cream in a cooler on dry ice. Water ice doesn't stay cold enough to keep ice cream in good shape. There are some postal regulations for shipping dry ice.
posted by Ery at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2010