The Making of Ices

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (1.9 L) ice-and-salt freezer with sealed metal canister and dasher
• •Clean wooden tamper or sturdy ice scoop
• •Stiff flexible spatula
• •1½-quart (1.4 L) lidded freezer container or mould
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the preparation

   Finish the cream-ice or syrup-ice preparation according to its own formula, then chill it thoroughly to 40°F (4°C) or colder. This entry begins with a finished preparation and governs only its freezing and moulding. A warm base spends too long passing through the freezing range, which gives crystals time to grow; if it is not properly cold, wait. The salted ice cannot repair a careless chill.

   Strain the cold preparation if it has a cooked cream base. A smooth liquid freezes evenly, while bits of cooked egg or skin remain stubbornly themselves.
2. 2

   Pack the freezer

   Set the clean, dry canister on its pivot with the lid closed. Pack alternating layers of broken ice and coarse salt firmly around it, using the source proportion of 3 pounds of salt for every 25 pounds of ice. Tamp the packing snugly with a clean wooden tamper or the handle of an ice scoop, stopping at two-thirds of the canister's height so its upper third remains safely above the salted ice. Keep the drain open below the lid line, reserve some ice and salt for replenishing, and let the packed freezer stand for ten minutes. Saltpetre is omitted; it is unnecessary for this home-scale bath.

   The ice must hug the canister without large pockets. Salt melts the ice into a colder brine, and close contact carries that cold into the preparation.
3. 3

   Fill and seal

   Brush every grain of salt and chip of ice away from the canister lid before opening it. Pour in the chilled preparation, filling the 2-quart canister only halfway so the Glaces have room to expand. Fit the dasher, close the lid tightly, and cover its opening or cork according to the machine. Salted ice must never fall into the preparation; a few grains can spoil the whole batch, and salt cannot be churned away.

4. 4

   Churn without pause

   Turn the crank steadily, or start the motor, so the preparation is carried continuously against the freezing wall while the dasher removes each film as it sets. Keep the motion regular rather than frantic. If you must stop and a hard frozen collar forms, disconnect the machine, brush the lid clean, open it, and scrape the collar back into the softer centre with a stiff spatula before resealing and continuing. Ça se rattrape. Never put a utensil near a moving dasher.

5. 5

   Read the texture

   After 20 to 35 minutes, the crank should grow resistant and the preparation should mound in smooth, dense folds like very soft ice cream, with no liquid sloshing beneath. That smooth resistance, not the clock, marks the finish. If it remains loose after 25 minutes, drain excess meltwater below the lid, repack the bucket with the reserved ice and salt in the same proportion, wait five minutes, and resume churning. Stop once the mass is homogeneous; forcing a rich cream preparation far beyond that point can work its butterfat into grains.

6. 6

   Pack the mould

   Lift out the canister and wipe away every trace of brine before opening it. Remove the dasher, scrape the clinging Glaces back into the mass, and fold briefly with a chilled spatula to distribute the texture evenly. Pack the Glaces firmly into a chilled 1½-quart lidded container or mould, pressing out air pockets and levelling the surface. An ornamental mould is brigade scaffolding; the close packing and second freezing must stay.

7. 7

   Harden and temper

   Press parchment or reusable freezer wrap directly against the surface, close the container, and harden the Glaces in the coldest part of a 0°F (-18°C) freezer for at least three hours. Before serving, let the container stand in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, or at room temperature for 5 minutes, until a spoon enters cleanly without crushing the texture. If it is still too firm, give it another five minutes rather than attacking it with heat. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This is the freezing formula, not a flavour formula. Reach for any finished cream-ice or syrup-ice preparation, but have it completely cold before packing the machine.
• •The salt quantity preserves the source ratio at this smaller scale: 1 pound 3 ounces for 10 pounds of ice. Saltpetre helped the old freezing bath fall colder, but it is unnecessary when a modern churn and household freezer divide the work.
• •Use small broken ice, not large cubes. Small pieces pack closely around the canister and make better contact; large gaps leave warm patches where the preparation freezes unevenly.
• •Never double the preparation in one 2-quart canister. Churn two batches in succession with a fresh freezing bath, because an overfilled canister cannot spread the liquid thinly enough against its cold wall.
• •If the finished Glaces become coarsely crystalline after storage, thaw them completely in the refrigerator, whisk until uniform, chill to 40°F (4°C), and churn again. The texture can be rebuilt, but half-thawing and refreezing only makes the crystals larger.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and chill the cream-ice or syrup-ice mixture a day ahead. Keep it covered at 40°F (4°C) or colder and whisk it smooth before churning.
• •Chill the storage container or mould before beginning. A warm container softens the outer layer just when the Glaces should be hardening quickly.
• •Churn and mould the Glaces at least three hours before serving. For the finest texture, serve within four days; keep the surface tightly covered so dry freezer air cannot reach it.
• •Break the ice shortly before packing the machine and hold it in a draining vessel. Half-melted ice dilutes the brine before the freezing has begun.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)