Vanilla Gelato
Simplicity is never simple. I mean, when people talk about getting all Zen and embracing simplicity, mostly they're either talking down to everyone else, a way to condemn the rest of us; or they're talking some strange language that never applies to me. "Live intentionally every minute," someone once told me. I couldn't possibly. I get tired just thinking about it. Sometimes, I want to laze about on my ample ass and watch TV.
Yet I'm stopped in my tracks by the simplest things: the coneflowers in bloom, a cool morning breeze, the stars at night. None of which is actually simple but instead the result of complex physical and chemical processes.
Like vanilla gelato. (Ha--you knew I'd get around to it, didn't you?) It's actually a complex chemical problem that seems stripped of any pretensions. Which is why I love it so much.
Gelato is a creamless ice cream. In a traditional preparation, there is no cream, just eggs and whole milk. But when Bruce and I were writing The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book, packed with recipes for gelati (check it out here), we discovered something strange. American milk production leaves less cream in its whole milk than Italian milk production does. In the U. S., we run about 3.8%, maybe a little more, regulated on a state-by-state basis; Italian whole milk production runs up to 4.6% cream. Which means Bruce and I had to add a little heavy cream to our recipes to get the right texture using the whole milk we could find in our supermarkets.
Not so simple, eh? Anyway, here's how it goes. First beat 7 large egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick, yellow ribbons pour off the turned-off beaters when they're lifted out of the mixture, about 6 minutes or so. You can do this with a whisk--and old-timey chefs would do so--but you'll need the forearms of a longshoreman.
Next, heat 2 3/4 cups whole milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the little bubbles begin to fizz around the interior rim of the pan.
With the electric mixer running at medium speed in the egg yolk mixture, drizzle about half this hot milk mixture in. Then continue beating a few seconds until well combined--and finally beat this combined mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the pan.
Now set the pan over very low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, about like loose batter, and can coat the back of a wooden spoon (which you can see here). Beat in 2 tablespoons vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of any inadvertent bits of scrambled egg.
Chill in the fridge overnight, then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the machine's directions. Want a denser gelato? Then set the ice cream machine's dasher and any internal parts in the freezer for 15 minutes before you freeze the gelato. The colder everything is, the faster the gelato will freeze, less air churned into the custard in the machine. I advise eating it right away--intentionally, of course. Every bite. Or just in front of the TV. You pick.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 8:32AM | in Desserts, Fabulously Empty Calories, Frozen Treats
Reader Comments (4)
Oh my god, that first photo -- talk about an ample ass, my ass is getting more ample just looking at that.
I'm so glad I bought your frozen dessert book when I came to your class. Time for me to crack it open and make some gelato.
I agree about that photo; amazing, my god. It makes me think, for the billionth time, that I should buy an ice cream maker.
But, I live alone and have no self control and already have an ample ass (I love that you used that phrase and plan to steal it!). I'll have to settle for occassionaly buying gelati from one of the stands in the North End of Boston that I try to ignore as I walk home from work every night. (Gelati for dinner is a terrific idea, until it's 10:30 at night and you are starving).
OK, not for dinner. But sprinkle toasted wheat germ on some and it's a perfect breakfast.
Awesome! Love it, thank you for this post! I love the whole "Milk mystery - demistified" part. This will set my gelato apart! Now, I can rule the world!