Blackberry Sorbet - Vegan, Gluten-Free

we grow an odd sort of blackberry in the bramble patch - no one's entirely sure what variety it is. The fruits are massive, nearly black and just barely sweet. This final quality makes them ideal for preparations with added sugar, such as jam or sorbet, in which the tart, rich flavor of the berries is concentrated without being overwhelmed by the sweetness.

Blackberry Sorbet
makes about three pints

1 C water
2 C sugar
pinch kosher salt
3.5 C strained blackberry puree (see note)
1 T lemon juice

in a small saucepan, combine water, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir til sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely. Stir into blackberry puree and add lemon juice. Chill this base at least 4 hours or overnight.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instrictions. (I use a kitchenaid ice cream churn attachment on my mixer; this sorbet takes about 7-12 minutes to freeze properly.)

Moving quickly, pack finished sorbet into one large freezer-safe container for storage or several smaller 1/2pt containers for sharing. Freeze 2 hours before serving. Keeps up to 3 months in freezer.



note: to prepare blackberry puree, whiz up 4 to 4.5 C blackberries (depending on size of fruits) in a blender until mostly smooth. Pass puree through mesh sieve into a large pitcher, to remove seeds and fruit centers; a spatula is helpful to speed up the straining process.

Cinnamon-Bun Ice Cream - Vegan

Cinnamon-Bun Ice Cream
modified from Veganomicon
makes about 1.5 quarts

2 C plain, unsweetened soy milk
1 1/3 C raw sugar
1 half vanilla bean, scraped

12 oz silken tofu (1 pkg Nori-Mu brand)
1 C coconut cream (spooned from top of canned coconut milk)
2 t ground cinnamon
1 t pure vanilla extract
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger

2 T maple butter
1 t blackstrap molasses

Combine the milk and sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stirr in vanilla bean scraping. Let cool until warm.

In blender, combine tofu, coconut cream, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger and about 6 oz of milk mixture. Process until very smooth.

Place maple butter and molasses in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in remaining milk mixture, making sure that all the butter and molasses are dissolved. Stir, do not whisk, in the blended mixture until color is uniform.

Chill at least 2 hours or overnight before freezing in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's unstructions.

Consume soft-serve just after churning or portion into containers and freeze 2 hours for scoopable ice cream.

Frozen Dessert Factors and Ingredients

Factors/Ingredients

MILKS – the basis of most frozen desserts, vegan and conventional.

cow milk is the conventional base of most ice creams and produces a consistent product. It is widely available, inexpensive and comes in a variety of forms: heavy cream, ½ + ½ , whole, 2%, 1% and skim (nonfat). A number of yogurts are also widely available to the average consumer, including plain, flavored and Greek-style. Not acceptable for vegans or the lactose intolerant.

goat, sheep and waterbuffalo milks are available in limited varieties in many natural food stores and large supermarkets. The smaller selection of grades is largely irrelevant to ice cream production, as whole milk provides adequate fat for most recipes. Yogurts produced from these milks also make frozen yogurt a possibility. Not acceptable for vegans. Goat milk is acceptable for some lactose intolerant.

soy milk and soy creamer can be effectively combined to take the place of animal milk in many recipe conversions. While a “plain” flavor creamer is available, all are as yet sweetened, a factor that can be compensated for by reducing added sugar in converted recipes. The stabilizers in both soy milk and soy creamer mimic the thickness of animal milk well and produce a smooth mouth feel when churned correctly. Acceptable for vegans and the lactose intolerant.

almond, hemp, oat, and rice milks can be used in addition to other, higher fat milks to produce a smooth, rich ice cream. The combination is essential, as their individual qualities are generally thin. These milks generally have distinct flavors that can be used well to enhance the flavors of the complete recipe. Acceptable for vegans and the lactose intolerant.

coconut milk is usable in ice cream both on its own and in combination with other milks, dairy or non-dairy that have low fat content. To utilize the coconut fat best, refrigerate the milk in its can overnight. Skim the thick white milk from the top and use in ice cream batter; put the clear coconut water to other use. Coconut milk has a distinct flavor which works well on its own and in concert with other flavors in recipes. Acceptable for vegans and the lactose intolerant.


EMULSIFIERS – contribute to the richness and smoothness of ice cream products. Overuse of any emulsifier can result in an uncomfortable inhibition of melting in ice cream products.

eggs are a v basic emulsifier used in traditional European ice cream recipes. Yolks not only being batters together, but also contribute to richness and smoothness with their high fat content. Egg whites are sometimes used in gelatos and cooked ice creams, and contribute a lightness as well as a closeness of texture to the products their used in. Not acceptable for vegans.

plant gums (guar or agar), xanthan gum (produced from the dead husks of specific bacteria), and plant starches (tapioca, corn, potato, arrowroot) are excellent stand-ins for eggs in dairy or non-dairy ice creams. Soy Lecithin is also a good option, but is less widely avaible. These should be used in moderation, according to set ratios, as many are unaccustomed to their texture. Acceptable for vegans.


FAT CONTENT – contributes to richness, flavor. Too high a fat content can result in a displeasing grainy, globular texture in ice cream products; too low a fat content can result in a too-hard, thin-flavored product.

Whole milks, coconut milk, egg yolks can all be used to increase fat content in ice creams. Pure cocoa butter, used properly is also excellent for this purpose. Whole milk and egg yolks are not acceptable for vegans; coconut milk and pure, certified vegan cocoa butter are acceptable for vegans.


SWEETENERS – contribute to flavor and are a hallmark of frozen desserts.

Granulated sugar, evaporated cane juice and raw (demeraro) sugar are the most commonly used sweeteners and can be use interchangeable in recipes. The latter two contribute a richness of flavor due to their molasses content and are acceptable for vegans. The first (granulated sugar) has a light, unobtrusive flavor and is not acceptable for vegans. Similar to granulated sugar in flavor and sweetness is beet sugar, which is acceptable for vegans.

Agave Nectar – excellent in recipes designed to showcase its unique smoothness and flavor. Use in place of other liquid sweeteners. Acceptable for vegans.

Frozen Dessert Types and Qualities

Types of frozen desserts
as recipes/individual methods are posted, ice cream headings will be turned into links

Ice Cream – A frozen dessert consisting of milk and/or cream, sugar, flavorings and sometimes eggs. The unfrozen ice cream is called “batter” and is prepared and then chilled before churning and freezing. Ice creams are churned by machine or by hand and are served either soft (directly after churning) or hard (frozen for several hours after churning).

American Traditional/Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream – churned ice cream containing no eggs.

French Style Ice Cream – churned ice cream containing egg yolks, prepared in the manner of Crème Anglaise.

Ice – crushed ice that is drizzled with sweetened, flavored syrup or fruit juice.

Ice Milk – v. low fat churned ice cream made with whole or low-fat milk, containing no eggs or other additional fats.

Gelato – churned Italian ice cream made with whole milk, sometimes with egg whites and never with cream. characterized by a v. light, smooth texture and quick melting.

Granite – mixture of water, sugar, fruit juice or other flavoring that is frozen in shallow pans and occasionally agitated but not churned. characterized by the bright texture of large ice crystals.

Semifreddo – a light-textured semi-frozen dessert. includes ice cream cakes, frozen custards, some fruit tarts and ice cream sandwiches made brioche or pastry.

Sorbetto – a churned dessert of water, fruit/fruit juice and sugar. contains no milk, cream or eggs.

Sherbet – fruit ice cream.

Frozen Yogurt – low fat churned ice cream with yogurt in place of higher-fat dairy products.


Qualities

smoothness – texture determined by ice crystal size.
small crystals = smooth texture, large crystals = coarse texture

ice creams are frozen rapidly while being constantly agitated (churned), creating small ice crystals. uniformly small crystal size maintained by proper storage at a consistent, sub-freezing degree.

granites are frozen slowly with occasional agitation, forming large crystals

overrun – during the churning process, air is incorporated into the freezing batter, resulting in an increase in volume. the difference in volume between the un-churned batter and the final product is expressed as a percentage of the original volume.

e.g. A batter that increases from 1 C unchurned to 1.5 C frozen product would be said to have 50% overrun.

In commercial production, ice creams run the gamut from 20% overrun (premium ice creams) to 100% overrun (lower grade or dietic ice creams).

mouth feel – the mouth feel of an ice cream product is described by its richness, speed of melting and smoothness. The primary factors in mouth feel of a product is the fat content, the inclusion of emulsifiers (eggs or plant gums) and the products overrun percentage. Generally, high fat products are heavier and richer in feel and melt slowly; low fat products are lighter and melt more quickly.

storage – ice cream products should be stored at a consistently sub-freezing temperature and not allowed to melt and refreeze, which causes large, uneven crystals to form.