No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe | Handle The Heat (2024)

FAQs

Why is my no churn ice cream so hard? ›

Homemade ice cream usually contains much less air than the stuff you buy in the store. Air keeps ice cream soft. So the less there is, the harder your ice cream. It can also be caused by low fat or sugar content.

Keep It Creamy

Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency.

To ensure your homemade ice cream will come out creamy, use heavy cream, half-and-half or milk with a higher percentage milk fat, such as whole milk. If the ice cream is made with a lower percentage milk fat, it has the potential to become icy.

Sweetened condensed milk

This prevents the risk of large ice crystals forming and making sure the end result is silky smooth and buttery.

Ice crystals form when there is air in the container between the ice cream and lid. To keep crystals from forming, you need to make sure no air touches the ice cream.

Immediately pour your ice cream base in through the spout. You want to have the machine running when you pour your ingredients in so you don't end up with any icy pieces. Churn for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened and increased in volume to your desired consistency.

Eggs are used in ice cream to add a rich flavor and color, in- hibit ice crystallization, and also to help stabilize or emulsify the fat and liquid so the resulting product is smooth and creamy. Commercial manufacturers use pasteurized eggs, stabilizers, and other ingredients to produce a safe and acceptable product.

Adding thickening agents, such as egg yolks, cornstarch, gelatin, tapioca starch, or even Junket tablets, enhances the texture and elevates the overall ice cream experience. Remember, making homemade ice cream is as much an art as it is a science.

So you can up the fat in your ice cream by substituting cream for milk or half-and-half in recipes. Even more effective, is that you can also add more egg yolks if making a custard-based ice cream, which will increase the creaminess due to their emulsifying properties.

What additive keeps ice cream soft? ›

Guar Gum. Made from guar beans, guar gum works as a stabilizer, emulsifier, and thickener and may be used in the production of soft-serve ice cream.

Most home ice cream recipes call for simple table sugar, which is chemically known as sucrose. But in pro kitchens you have more options. Liquid sugars like invert sugar, corn syrup, honey, and glucose syrup all add body, creaminess, and stability to ice cream, and a little goes a long way.

The common cause for ice cream to harden in the freezer is a simple one – the temperature is just too low. Ice cream needs to be stored ideally at a temperature of between -12°C (10°F) and -20°C (-4°F).

Before blending your hard ice cream, add ⅓ part heavy cream to the bowl. Blending the ice cream with the heavy cream will produce a softer, runnier mixture, which can be transferred to a Ziploc bag and left to set in the freezer.

For the best results, stick with full-fat coconut milk that contains an emulsifier like guar gum. This ingredient helps keep the coconut milk soft and creamy texture when frozen. Without it, the consistency will be icy but still delicious.