What is your favorite Ice Cream?

World Class Chocolate from 31 Flavors
Black Raspberry Chip from Graeter's
Edy's Slow Churn Light French Silk (seriously, try it)
Ben and Jerry's Phish Food
UDF "Premium Homemade" Gournmet Vanilla Chocolate

and if you haven't tried a German Chocolate Blizzard from DQ - I recommend it.

Ben & Jerry's Phish Food and Choclate Chip Mint by anybody (most recently Baskin Robbins).

The Cherry Garcia Ben and Jerry's is good too.

There is something I noticed since starting this thread and looking at the nutrition labels of the "higher end" pints vs. the half gallons (actually if you look the half gallons are now 1.75 gallons, reduced product, same or higher price).

Anyway, the pints are higer in fat and calories by quite a bit. I guess since they are small the makers feel they can really make them decadent?

Have you every tried eating a fourth of a pint of ice cream, they list one serving as 1/4 pint. It's hard to do.

Simply Thai had green tea mochi (ice cream in rice wrapper rolled in powdered sugar) a month or so ago. I don't know if they have it presently (they said they didn't know how often they'd have it).

It is am unusual and tasty treat.

I love anything and everything at Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. The Chocolate Chip Raspberry that Graeter's has is fabulous, too.

I love anything and everything at Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. The Chocolate Chip Raspberry that Graeter's has is fabulous, too.

they had a grape sorbet a few years ago that i used to LOVE.. havent been in recently though, dont know if they still make it. it was FAB.

Blue Bell - Banana Pudding

I recently had that, and it is the shiznit! It's like Mom's homemade pudding, turned into ice cream. Highly addictive stuff.

On edit: Didn't see Ned's post before mine... honest! Wow, it must really be it for us both to think the same.

I gorged myself on Blue Bell Lemon Ice Box Pie last night (bad day at work - had to do it)
The stuff is simply amazing!

Godiva's Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

There is something I noticed since starting this thread and looking at the nutrition labels of the "higher end" pints vs. the half gallons (actually if you look the half gallons are now 1.75 gallons, reduced product, same or higher price).

Anyway, the pints are higer in fat and calories by quite a bit. I guess since they are small the makers feel they can really make them decadent?

Have you every tried eating a fourth of a pint of ice cream, they list one serving as 1/4 pint. It's hard to do.

You'd be surprised how much air and other garbage is whipped into the more commercial brands.


do this...
scoop out some breyers french vanilla.
put it in a clear container and let it sit and settle in the fridge overnight.

you'll notice the top layer is milky substance, but then there's a interesting thin, watery yellowish transparent layer on the bottom.

it's pretty disgusting.

honestly, if i'm buying ice cream, i don't stray much from B&J's, graeter's, or similar 'craft' ice creams.



I may be pretty violently lactose intolerant... but i can't shake a craving for ice cream every now and then...




seriously though.
make your own.
it's not as hard as you think.
the trade off in the amount of fat the good stuff has is surely better than the mystery ingredients the commercial garbage has (plus air you're paying for)



Here's an easy base recipe for the at home cook:
(the same base recipe i used at Asiatique actually)

1 qt heavy cream
1 qt half and half
2 cp sugar
1 tsp salt
8 egg yolks

mix all ingredients except egg yolks in heavy bottomed sauce pan.
whip egg yolks in a bowl until pale and frothy.
bring cream mixture to a simmer (180 F is the temp that eggs coagulate)...
and 'temper' half the cream mixture into the yolks, whisking quickly to ensure the eggs don't scramble.
return the egg and cream mixture to the remainding cream, and heat again to a simmer (180 F) - stirring constantly.

flavor as desired (if you desire something such as chocolate, it's best to melt it with the cream when you heat it, or you can add it at the end as long as it's still hot.)

Chill overnight (i cannot stress how much of a difference this will make in your final products texture!), then freeze the next day in any ol' ice cream machine.





and for you pros out there:

this recipe is the workhorse standard i use now.
and makes an incredible end product, with little washout of color (due to the egg ratio)

2 liters milk & 750 ml cream
300 g glucose
330 g sugar
64 g trimoline
180 g milk powder
300 g whole egg
10 g stabilizer

1. Heat milk, cream, glucose, sugar, and trimoline until warm.
2. Add milk powder.
3. Heat until simmering gently.
4. Whisk in stabilizer and cook for one minute.
5. Temper mixture into eggs.
6. Strain through a chinois, cool.

flavoring and freezing procedures are pretty much the same as the recipe above.

play with things. figure it out. haha.
steep some cilantro and habenero in it... then throw it in a blender.
it's green as could be.



seriously, the possibilities are limitless.

Surely someone out there remembers Ermanns bakery (of course you do!) in the mid city mall. Such a TERRIBLE joint for baked goods, albeit cheap as all get out, yet they had this incredible caramel ice cream made in house. I don't go out for ice cream much so I havn't much insight beyond this relic and we all seem to be in search of our own particular structure of creaminess/sweetness/sofness/flavor/texture, but that ice cream was UNBELIEVABLE to me and I've not found a replacement since. Any suggestions as to what ice cream is similar to their structure? Desperately seeking nostalgic sanctity....Also, any left over memories you'd like to share about that bakery? I have a few.

[Robin Garr]

Surely someone out there remembers Ermanns bakery (of course you do!) in the mid city mall.

Ehrmann's was wonderful! It was my family's favorite for years and years and years, and I just hated to see it go.

There's really nothing like it ... unless you make your own at home, using a hand-cranked freezer and heavy cream.

Welcome to the forum, Jackie! Glad you're here.

Thank you so much Robin, you really seem to go to great lengths to welcome a preson aboard, the fact that I actually got a personal reply from you and not an assistant about a silly password frustration - and you are ALWAYS on watch here. I have unlimited respect for you, and I know you get sick of the compliments, of course I could take it to e-mail, but I just wanna say it now, you the coolest. My second fave on this forum so far is John R. Maybe I can start a contest...just kidding, but thanks for the kindest reply!

[Robin Garr]

personal reply from you and not an assistant about a silly password frustration

Assistant! Who can afford assistants!?

Thanks, Jackie ... check's in the mail!

Now as far as the ice cream at Ehrmann's, I'll promise you if you will promise me to notify if ever we come across a local resource for a comparable product, mmmmmm......sweet creamy heaven...in the setting of an old time dive bakery. I'd bet it has to be out there someplace.[/img]