Soy Refreshing!

By / Food / June 16th, 2010 / 1

As promised, here is my attempt at soy gelato.

What inspired this particular experiment was a desire to enjoy as-close-to-authentic-as-possible gelato rather than ice cream. For those of you who’ve enjoyed both, you’ll know that the difference lies in the consistency. Gelato is much smoother, denser and creamier than North American style ice cream, which can contain a fair bit of ice crystals in all of the air pockets.

 

The Cuisinart ice cream maker I’ve owned for forever and a day has, I’m dismayed to say, seen little action over the years. It’s small and easy to operate, and it came with a pretty thick recipe booklet. The problem? The recipes and instructions were all in Chinese!

the_ingredients

I was going about this attempt blind because I didn’t have a reliable recipe (given that I’d never attempted gelato before). So, I made it up as I went along. Four egg yolks, soy milk, no sugar because the soy milk came fortified with every possible nutrient and flavour enhancer known to man or woman, and amarena syrup would give me, I was sure, a pretty good final product. Amarena syrup is an Italian product that is absolutely to die for. It’s made from cherry juice and sugar. I add a few tablespoons to water on sweltering summer days for a super tasty and refreshing drink. You can find it packed into jars with whole cherries that can then be spooned over ice cream or pie. I knew it would make a fabulous tasting ice cream.

cuisinart     churning

The mechanics of gelato making seemed fairly easy. Heat the milk until boiling; cool; add amarena syrup; stir in 4 yolks and 1 egg white. Pour the whole thing into the ice cream maker. Leave it alone to churn for 20 minutes.

Here it is after 20 minutes:

partially_frozen

There’s no reason why you can’t spoon it out into a tall glass and enjoy it like a milk shake. But, I was hoping for something a little closer to the consistency of gelato. For that, I would have to transfer the mixture to a container and leave it in the freezer for about 3 hours.

Here it is:

soy_ice_cream

Remember I said that this was my first attempt? Not bad, if I do say so myself. It turned out to be very light and flavourful. However, I would change a couple of things. I’m after a thicker consistency; so, I think that next time, I’ll develop a thicker custard to begin with. Then, I’ll add a bit of sugar to the mix. The sugar content in the amarena syrup (while it tasted great before I froze the mixture) didn’t taste quite so sweet after the gelato had frozen. Still good, mind you, just not as sweet as I’d prefer. All in all, a good first attempt, I think. Now, on to the second …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosemary Mantini has always loved words. When she isn't working as the Associate Editor at Tidings Magazine, she's helping others achieve their writing dreams, and sometimes she even relaxes with a good book and a glass of wine.

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