Made some just the other night, by adding pitted and quartered fresh
cherries to vanilla ice cream as it was chilling in the ice cream maker.

Very nice taste and texture overall, but the pieces of cherry themselves
had a somewhat jarring texture due to the crystallization of the water
therein after it froze. They weren't frozen solid, but the texture
was... icy.

I'm trying to think of ways to reduce this effect, and came up with two,
each with positives and negatives:

1) soak the cherry quarters in a sugar solution, the high sugar
concentration hopefully working as an antifreeze. The negative here is
that I'd rather not have the cherries be that sweet--the ice cream I'm
making is a less-sweet variety, and I'd like to stay with that theme.

2) drying the cherries, so that there isn't that much water to freeze.
The problem here is that, as the fresh cherry quarters churned with the
vanilla ice cream, their juice was added to the ice cream, giving it a
nice color and adding the cherry flavor. Unless I separately add cherry
juice to the ice cream, I'll lose that. Also, I wonder if, coupled with
the cold, if the dried cherry pieces will be leathery.


Any thoughts? Other ideas?

--
to reply
replace "spamless.invalid" with "verizon.net"

"Scott" > wrote in message
...
>>
> Any thoughts? Other ideas?
>
>If you shop at Trader Joe's and have it on hand -- I always do - great
>stuff, their cherry juice in glass jars -- add some of it for color your
>color and taste. It is 'not' sweet.

Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.
Dee Dee

"Scott" > wrote in message
>
> 1) soak the cherry quarters in a sugar solution, the high sugar
> concentration hopefully working as an antifreeze. The negative here is
> that I'd rather not have the cherries be that sweet--the ice cream I'm
> making is a less-sweet variety, and I'd like to stay with that theme.

That works well and does not make them overy sweet, IMO. Do that with your
peaches also.


>
> 2) drying the cherries, so that there isn't that much water to freeze.
> The problem here is that, as the fresh cherry quarters churned with the
> vanilla ice cream, their juice was added to the ice cream, giving it a
> nice color and adding the cherry flavor. Unless I separately add cherry
> juice to the ice cream, I'll lose that.

You are then making cherry ice cream, not cherry vanilla. Ever notice
strawberry ice cream is just that, not strawberry vanilla? If you want
cherry ice cream, add the juice for color and flavor. If you want cherry
vanilla, just add the macerated cherries.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Scott wrote:
> Made some just the other night, by adding pitted and quartered fresh
> cherries to vanilla ice cream as it was chilling in the ice cream maker.
>
> Very nice taste and texture overall, but the pieces of cherry themselves
> had a somewhat jarring texture due to the crystallization of the water
> therein after it froze. They weren't frozen solid, but the texture
> was... icy.
>
> I'm trying to think of ways to reduce this effect, and came up with two,
> each with positives and negatives:
>
> 1) soak the cherry quarters in a sugar solution, the high sugar
> concentration hopefully working as an antifreeze. The negative here is
> that I'd rather not have the cherries be that sweet--the ice cream I'm
> making is a less-sweet variety, and I'd like to stay with that theme.
>
> 2) drying the cherries, so that there isn't that much water to freeze.
> The problem here is that, as the fresh cherry quarters churned with the
> vanilla ice cream, their juice was added to the ice cream, giving it a
> nice color and adding the cherry flavor. Unless I separately add cherry
> juice to the ice cream, I'll lose that. Also, I wonder if, coupled with
> the cold, if the dried cherry pieces will be leathery.
>
>
> Any thoughts? Other ideas?
>


Try using glycerin (or Kirsch or Amaretto) to embalm the cherries
instead of sugar syrup.

Or put less sugar in your vanilla ice cream base and add glacé or
maraschino cherries instead of fresh.

Bob

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
>
> and add glacé or maraschino cherries instead of fresh.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
>> and add glacé or maraschino cherries instead of fresh.
>
> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>


That wasn't my first suggestion.

Bob

Scott wrote:

> Very nice taste and texture overall, but the pieces of cherry themselves
> had a somewhat jarring texture due to the crystallization of the water
> therein after it froze. They weren't frozen solid, but the texture
> was... icy.
> I'm trying to think of ways to reduce this effect, and came up with two,
> each with positives and negatives:
> 1) soak the cherry quarters in a sugar solution, the high sugar
> concentration hopefully working as an antifreeze. The negative here is
> that I'd rather not have the cherries be that sweet--the ice cream I'm
> making is a less-sweet variety, and I'd like to stay with that theme.


Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia seems to be perfect ice cream, IMO.
What about soaking the cherries in kirsh or something before adding to
the ice cream?

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
>>> and add glacé or maraschino cherries instead of fresh.
>>
>> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>
>>
>
>
> That wasn't my first suggestion.
>
> Bob

It should not be a suggestion at all. Sort of like substituting tofu for
prime rib. Or Sprite for Dom Perignon, since they both have bubbles.

Cherry vanilla ice cream is a regular vanilla with the addition of Bing
cherries. Anything else is just that, something else. If you add cherry
juice, you are making cherry ice cream. There are standards to maintain.

"Dee Dee" wrote:
> "Scott" wrote
>
> > Any thoughts? Other ideas?
>
> Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.

Precisely.

Sheldon

In article >,
"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:

> You are then making cherry ice cream, not cherry vanilla. Ever notice
> strawberry ice cream is just that, not strawberry vanilla? If you want
> cherry ice cream, add the juice for color and flavor. If you want cherry
> vanilla, just add the macerated cherries.

No, I was talking about adding cherry juice in addition to dried
cherries (used for the low moisture content, so therefore shouldn't
crystallize) to the vanilla ice cream mix . When I added fresh cherries
to the churn, a lot of juice came out, coloring and flavoring the
vanilla ice cream. If I used dried, I didn't think I'd get that.

--
to reply
replace "spamless.invalid" with "verizon.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

In article >,
"Dee Dee" > wrote:

> Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.


Why? The question was, how to I stop the cherries from freezing into
hard, crunchy lumps. No matter *when* I add them, they'll still freeze
(except if I just drop cherries onto the ice cream before serving, which
is hardly the point).

--
to reply
replace "spamless.invalid" with "verizon.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

Scott wrote:
> "Dee Dee" wrote:
>
> > Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.
>
> Why? The question was, how to I stop the cherries from freezing into
> hard, crunchy lumps. No matter *when* I add them, they'll still freeze
> (except if I just drop cherries onto the ice cream before serving, which
> is hardly the point).

Um, it's *ICE* cream... the fruit is supposed to freeze, not solid
like biting into an ice cube but kind of like biting into frozen
sherbet. the cherries should have more bite/tooth than the cream part,
kind of al dente. If the cherries are pitted, halved, placed in a
bowl in the fridge the day before a lot of the water will seep out,
with lower moisture content the fruit will not freeze as hard. Then
fold the cherries into the ice cream by hand at the end of the dashing
stage... any cherry juice that drained into the bowl becomes cook's
treat, or colors a vodka-rocks.

Sheldon Baddabing

Scott wrote:

> In article >,
> "Dee Dee" > wrote:
>
>
>>Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.
>
>
>
> Why? The question was, how to I stop the cherries from freezing into
> hard, crunchy lumps. No matter *when* I add them, they'll still freeze
> (except if I just drop cherries onto the ice cream before serving, which
> is hardly the point).
>

To prep the fruit so it doesn't soften as hard, macerate it in
sugar, and lots of it. A few hours at least. I often leave it
overnight, especially with firmer fruit.

It works.

--
Reg

"Scott" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Dee Dee" > wrote:
>
>> Stir your cherries by hand after you are thru churning.
>
>
> Why? The question was, how to I stop the cherries from freezing into
> hard, crunchy lumps. No matter *when* I add them, they'll still freeze
> (except if I just drop cherries onto the ice cream before serving, which
> is hardly the point).
>

Yeah, I understood your question. If you've got the answer, then ....

Dee Dee

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:16:44 GMT, Scott >
wrote:

>The question was, how to I stop the cherries from freezing into
>hard, crunchy lumps. No matter *when* I add them, they'll still freeze
>(except if I just drop cherries onto the ice cream before serving, which
>is hardly the point).

I third the suggestion to soak the cherries in cherry brandy or
amaretto. The alcohol won't freeze, so the cherries will stay soft,
plus they'll be extra-yummy (unless you don't like alcohol - I think
it has its places). Low-carbers add some form of alcohol to homemade
ice creams so sugar (which keeps the ice cream soft) can be avoided.

Carol

In article .com>,
Sheldon > wrote:

> Um, it's *ICE* cream... the fruit is supposed to freeze, not solid
> like biting into an ice cube but kind of like biting into frozen
> sherbet. the cherries should have more bite/tooth than the cream part,
> kind of al dente. If the cherries are pitted, halved, placed in a
> bowl in the fridge the day before a lot of the water will seep out,
> with lower moisture content the fruit will not freeze as hard. Then
> fold the cherries into the ice cream by hand at the end of the dashing
> stage... any cherry juice that drained into the bowl becomes cook's
> treat, or colors a vodka-rocks.

Thanks for the suggestion, and to the others for theirs.

I understand it's *ICE* cream; while the fruit wasn't solid like a cube,
it was hard enough that it made crunching noises while being chewed, and
the sensation was more of ice than of cherry.

--
to reply
replace "spamless.invalid" with "verizon.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/