Have you ever made ice cream at home before? One of the team here at Well and Good was busy over the holidays trying out loads of new ice cream recipes. The choc cherry ice cream (shown in picture) was a real favourite and didn’t last long in the freezer! It had a lovely creamy base with the 70% dark chocolate pairing well with fresh cherries.
The magic ingredient to make amazing ice cream
Did you know guar gum is an excellent stabiliser for ice cream? It takes your ice cream from great to spectacular. The texture you get from using guar is very similar to the gelati you find in those Italian gelati shops that always have lines out the door. The guar also reduces the iciness of the product which is one of the biggest problems with home made ice cream.
How to use Guar Gum
It is quite incredible how little of this ingredient you need to use. When you’re whipping up your next batch of ice cream, simply add between 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum to your base for each litre of ice cream. You may want to experiment with the quantity as everyone has different tastes.
Avoid the issue of clumping
Many first time users of guam gum add it straight into the wet mixture – this is a big no. The problem is that it will turn into a gluggy clump of gum – far from desirable for your ice cream! Be sure to mix the guar gum with another dry ingredient such as sugar first to avoid this problem. It is best to gradually add the gum to the ice cream using a mixer or a whisk.
Ice cream tastes so much better when you do it yourself and you avoid all the added extras that come with the store bought products. So get yourself an ice cream machine today and get started – it’s easy!
