Neither very hot nor very cold foods should be taken at meals. If foods
are too hot, the stomach is debilitated, and if they are very cold,
vitality must be drawn from the system to warm them before the work of
digestion can be carried on; so it would be better to take ice cream
and all ices by themselves rather than as a dessert.
When ices are served for dessert, they should be eaten very slowly.
Water ices, sherbets and frozen fruits, without large quantities of
sugar, are invaluable in cases of fever.
I am not going into the subject of ice cream exhaustively for there
are plenty of books on that subject already, but will give you my own
recipe which must be tried to be appreciated.
The little flour in it gives it a smoothness and creaminess with one
third to one half milk equal to all cream without it; and does not give
the disagreeable flavor of corn starch; also, made by this method, the
cream and milk are sterilized.
Try the cream without any flavoring and see how delicious it is.
Use wet snow instead of ice for freezing in the winter. It works even
better and is less trouble.
Beat the cream well with a wooden spoon after removing the dasher.
Add fruit or nuts to cream when removing the dasher, so that they will
not become hard as they would do if frozen with the cream.
For freezing, have the ingredients cold. Have the ice very fine; the
finer it is, the better the results. One-third as much rock salt should
be at hand. The ice and salt may be mixed, or may be put around the
freezer in the proportion of 3 inches of ice to 1 inch of salt.
First, adjust the freezer, having the mixture to be frozen in the can.
Fill not over ⅔ full to allow for expansion. Then pack with the ice and
salt, turning the handle around once in a while during the operation,
to keep the mixture from freezing to the sides of the can. Have a stick
to pound the ice and salt down well around the can.
Turn slowly at first to make a fine grain, then more rapidly as the
cream thickens.
Before removing the cover to take out the dasher, scrape away the ice
and salt and wipe off the water on the lid and near the top of the
can, so that none can possibly get into the cream. Beat the cream and
replace the cover, with a clean cork in the top. Drain off a part of
the water and repack the can, using less salt than at first, sometimes
not any, so as not to have the cream too hard. To be at its best, cream
should be stiff enough only to hold its shape. Cover with paper, a
blanket or carpet and let stand to “ripen” for 2 hours or longer. This
part is important, as the flavor and texture are perfected only by
standing.
If possible, open the can in an hour and a half and stir the cream so
that the soft center comes to the edge of the can. Repack and cover the
same and let stand for 2 or 3 hours.
Save the salt from the bottom of the freezer to use another time, and
it is a good plan to save a little of the thick salt water to use
instead of the last layer of salt near the top of the can for the next
freezing, as it facilitates the work very much.
In serving, dip the spoon into hot water each time before putting it
into the cream; this, with care, will give a nice shaped serving.
Pop corn without butter or salt is more suitable to serve with ice
cream than cake.
Sugar syrup gives a finer, smoother and more substantial grain to
frozen fruits, sherbets and water ices than sugar and water, and they
do not melt as quickly when exposed to the air.
Pack all ices the same as creams and let stand the same after freezing,
to become smooth and mellow.
For water ices, do not turn the crank continuously. Turn slowly and
rest between, until the ice becomes quite stiff. This is the rule, but
for a change the freezer may be turned rapidly and continuously, with a
different result.
Stir sherbets constantly. Serve both sherbets and water ices in glasses.
Vegetable gelatine is an improvement to ices, giving body to them.
There is a great difference in freezers. Be sure to get a good one.
The construction of the dasher has much to do with the texture of the
cream. Those that freeze the quickest are not necessarily the best.
Do not buy a small freezer: you can freeze a small quantity in a large
freezer, but you cannot freeze a large quantity in a small freezer.
=★ The “Laurel” Ice Cream=
2½ pts. heavy cream
2½ pts. whole milk
2 cups sugar
4 or 5 tablespns. pastry flour
Stir the flour smooth with some of the cold milk and heat the remainder
of the milk, with the cream and sugar, in a double boiler and when hot,
set over the fire. Let it boil up quickly, stir in the flour and when
boiling all through, return to the double boiler for a few minutes,
beating well. Or, heat the milk and cream only in the double boiler
and pour gradually, stirring, over the sugar and flour which have been
mixed together. Return to boiler and cook for 10-15 m. Turn through a
fine wire strainer into a large pan to cool quickly; stir while cooling.
Do not take too large measures of flour.
Any kind of cream may be made from this. Flavor with vanilla for
vanilla cream, or tint pink and flavor with ¾-1 teaspn. of strawberry
extract for strawberry cream, or with a few drops of rose, for rose
cream. Tint green and flavor with almond and vanilla for pistachio
cream, using only a few drops of almond to a teaspn. of vanilla. This
may have a few shredded almonds stirred into the frozen cream.
Sometimes sprinkle fresh grated cocoanut over each serving of cream, or
the cocoanut may be stirred in as other flavorings are.
A very pretty cream is one with citron and candied cherries cut into
tiny pieces and added when the dasher is removed.
We make a fruit and nut cream which is liked very much, by adding well
washed English currants, raisins cut in quarters, citron in small
pieces and coarse chopped English walnuts or pecans. Omit the nuts for
a fruit cream.
For coffee cream, steep (not boil) cereal coffee in milk for 10 to 20
m. Strain through a cloth and use as plain milk with the cream. Flavor
with vanilla.
One quart of sweetened, crushed strawberries or raspberries added
to the recipe makes the right proportion for fruit cream. Drained,
finely-shredded or grated pineapple makes a general favorite in cream.
=Maple Ice Cream=
1 qt. genuine maple syrup
1 qt. heavy cream
1 qt. light cream
¾ qt. milk
7 tablespns. flour
=Lemon Ice=
8-12 tablespns. lemon juice
1 orange
2½ cups sugar
1 qt. water including the gelatine
⅛ oz. vegetable gelatine
Soak and cook gelatine according to directions (p. 335), add water to
make 1 cup, keep warm; cook sugar and 3 cups of water together for 5
minutes and strain into the gelatine. Prepare the lemon and orange
juice, and if desired, shave off a little of the thin yellow rind and
let it stand in the juice for a few minutes, then strain it out. When
the gelatine mixture is partially cooled, add the juice gradually,
stirring. The orange may be omitted.
Or, omit gelatine, boil sugar with 1 qt. of water and when cool combine
with the juice.
=Orange Ice=
1 pt. sugar
1 qt. water
1 pt. of orange juice
6-8 tablespns. lemon juice
⅛ oz. vegetable gelatine
Flavor juice with thin yellow rind of orange and proceed as in lemon
ice, omitting gelatine if preferred.
=Raspberry Ice=
1 cup raspberry juice
¾ cup sugar (less if juice is already sweetened)
1 pt. water
2 tablespns. lemon juice
1 sixteenth oz. vegetable gelatine, or not
Cook sugar and water together and add to prepared gelatine. When nearly
cool, add raspberry juice and stir occasionally until cool. Freeze.
=Currant and Raspberry Ice=
2 cups currant juice
1 cup raspberry juice
1 pt. water
1-1½ cup sugar
⅛ oz. gelatine, or not
Proceed as in Raspberry Ice.
Use cherry, strawberry, quince, gooseberry, grape or pineapple for
ices, varying the proportion of sugar and water according to the
sweetness of the fruit. Pineapples should be grated and with the lemon
juice added to cold syrup and strained through a sieve. Pineapple is
one of the most delightful ices.
=Mint Ice=
Add fine cut or chopped spearmint to lemon ice mixture just before
freezing, or to orange ice for orange mint ice.
=★ Grape Sherbet=
1½-1¾ cup sugar
1 qt. water, scant
scant ¼ oz. vegetable gelatine
5-6 tablespns. lemon juice
2 cups grape juice
whites of 2 eggs
2 tablespns. powdered sugar
Flavor the sugar with oil of lemon if desired, and boil with the water
for 5 m. only. Prepare the gelatine with a scant cup of water, and add
to warm syrup; cool; add lemon and grape juice, stirring. Put into
freezer and stir for 15 m. Beat the whites of eggs until light but not
stiff; add the powdered sugar and beat 2 m., add to the sherbet in the
freezer and finish freezing. Ripen from 2 to 4 hours. This sherbet is
of a beautiful lavender color when finished.
Substitute other fruit juices for the grape, varying the quantity of
sugar. Red raspberry is better in water ice, as the whites of the eggs
spoil its flavor.
=★ Mint Sherbet=
1 qt. water
1½ cup sugar
5-7 good-sized stalks of mint
⅓-½ cup lemon juice
white of 1 large or 2 small eggs
1½ tablespn. powdered sugar
scant ¼ oz. vegetable gelatine
scant cup of water
Boil sugar and water and add to gelatine prepared with the scant cup of
water. When cool, add stirring, the lemon juice and fine cut or chopped
mint. Stir in freezer 15 m. Add whites of eggs beaten with powdered
sugar as in grape sherbet and finish freezing. Ripen.
=Pineapple Sherbet, or Frozen Pineapple=
1¾ pint fine ground pineapple
large 2½ cups sugar
1 qt. liquid, gelatine and all
¼ oz. gelatine
1½-2 tablespns. lemon juice
whites of 2 eggs
2 tablespns. powdered sugar
Shred and grind nice, ripe pineapples. Prepare gelatine with 1 cup of
water and add more to make 1½ cup. Cook sugar and 2½ cups of water
together for 5 m. and add to gelatine. When nearly cool, combine with
pineapple and lemon juice; cool; stir in freezer for 15 m. Add whites
of eggs beaten with powdered sugar and finish freezing. Ripen.
=Mina’s Lemon and Orange Sherbets=
_Lemon_--
4 lemons
4 oranges
1 lb. sugar
1 qt. water
whites of 4, or less, eggs
⅛ oz. of vegetable gelatine
_Orange_--
10 oranges
1 lemon
1 pt. sugar
1 qt. water
whites of 4, or less, eggs
⅛ oz. vegetable gelatine
Follow directions for Grape Sherbet.
=Frozen Strawberries=
1 qt. berries
2 cups sugar
3 or 4 tablespns. lemon juice
1 qt. water
Add 1 cup of sugar and the lemon juice to well mashed berries. Let
stand in ice box 1-2 hours. Boil water and remaining sugar together for
5 m., cool, add to berry mixture, freeze, ripen. Serve plain or with
whipped cream.
=Frozen Peaches=
1 qt., in pieces, of nice ripe peaches
1-1½ cup sugar
1 qt. water
1-2 cups cream
Rub measured peaches through colander; add cold syrup made by boiling
sugar and water together for 10 m. Freeze. Stir in cream whipped and
slightly sweetened, when dasher is removed. Repack and ripen.
=Frappés=
Frappés are partly frozen mixtures of fruit juices, pulps or fine
grated fruits and when not too sweet are excellent in fevers and are
often served in place of a drink or a sherbet to well people. Of course
they are served in glasses.