that thing about ice cream
By claire fountain • photography by jojo ans

One early summer’s day, while waiting in line for ice cream, a friendly stranger approached and said, “You know, the thing about ice cream is that no one can be mad while eating it.” He smiled and ordered strawberry.  I paused and in my food-centric mind pictured a frozen-confectionery factory where flavors were scientifically balanced, complete with timers and notes, to achieve joy upon consumption.  Scanning the little shop’s tables, there was not an angry-ice cream eater to be found. Eating ice cream takes people to a happy place that few other foods could ever achieve in such broad audiences. Ice cream is as whimsical a dessert as one could want. An affordable luxury. Creamy and sweet with a simple base, hosting flavors from the mild to the wild, ice cream can be folded with an even wider range of additions and adorned with sprinkles, nuts, sauces and, of course, the iconic cherry on top.

Who does not enjoy ice cream? With a flavor to suit every liking, there is even a quiz to shed light on your personality type based on what flavor of ice cream you prefer. At its core, ice cream is delicious. Some may be higher quality than others, but in the end ice cream reigns supreme as the frozen dessert of choice the world over. To the consumer, ice cream tastes great, but how does this beloved treat come into existence? While the name ice cream says it all, a great deal of science can go into the explanation of ice cream: It is borne out of liquids, rapidly churned and frozen into soft solids, then married with a monitored and measured portion of air. This process does not take more than a few minutes, and less than a few hours if you include the required hardening of the ice cream and the ultimate consumption of the treat.

A Global History

Ice cream’s recorded history dates way back to the 1600s, though the actual birth date is unknown. Ancient references refer mostly to flavored ices, like Roman emperor Nero Claudius Caesar’s craving for “honey-flavored, fruit-studded snow,” or sharbat, a Persian delight of the 7th century consisting of fruit-flavored crushed ice. Ice cream is not formed by freezing plain cream itself. Adding sugar to the cream nominally lowers the cream’s natural freezing point, but then, in order to achieve the right frozen consistency, the mixture needs to be surrounded, or enveloped, by ice that is far below its normal freezing point. Enter in salts that alter the structure of the ice by dissolving and becoming cold enough to freeze the cream and sugar mixture, and voilà. The French technique of constantly stirring their freezing mixture resulted in a smoother and creamier final product. And earlier versions include a French experiment in excess called glace au beurre (ice butter) that contained 20 egg yolks.

The young American colonies were charmed by this cooling confection, which was most often made with cream, sugar and vanilla bean or fresh seasonal fruits. It was reportedly served in George Washington’s early Philadelphia-based government, at his weekly Thursday-evening presidential dinners. The frozen confection was a highlight at James Madison’s inauguration ball and, before long, the United States started the mass production of this creamy treat.  Philadelphia circa 1843 saw the patenting of freezers, simplifying ice cream production. In 1876, the Philadelphia Exposition put ice cream on the day’s hot list as a truly American product now that it lacked eggs and differed from the French or European “old-world” versions.

The mass of dairy farming in the United States also helped to propel ice cream into an item enjoyed in greater amounts. To this day, Americans still consume more ice cream per person than ice cream lovers in any other country.

Like other modern edibles, ice cream fell into the hands of industrialization and has now become less of a fanciful indulgence and more of a commodity. When made with high quality ingredients and less air, it is more expensive and creamy but will not hold up long or well if not kept in proper freezer conditions. When quantity over quality is desired, such as the ice cream dished out at chain stores and franchises, ice cream will most often be made with fillers, gelatin and other stabilizers that create a less temperature sensitive product that is also more affordable. That is not to say that only pure and simple ice creams are best. In fact, natural stabilizers might be more helpful than hurtful when used consciously and with your taste enjoyment in mind.

Churn Baby Churn

Being a complex food, there is a balance that has to be achieved in order to create a desirable end product. Marketers of ice cream often toss around the benefits of high “butterfat percentages,” up to 16 percent at times, suggesting that fat will yield a richer and superior ice cream. “Premium ice cream” has a minimum requirement of 10 percent butterfat. Rich in butterfat might be rich in cost of ingredients but not, per se, the best road to top quality. Too much fat in the mixture can churn into chunky little globules of butterfat. According to Culinary Institute of America chef and inhouse ice cream guru Francisco Migoya, a reasonable 7 to 9 percent butterfat is plenty and makes a suitably rich ice cream. This percentage is also balanced with the fat in the egg yolks. An ice cream made with eggs is considered a custard-based ice cream as opposed to a Philadelphia-style ice cream, which is eggless and made with a milk, cream and sugar base. Gelato, despite marketing claims of fat difference, is just the Italian term for any ice cream. Generally, a gelato in the States would be less than 7 percent butterfat but has less air, making a luxurious and dense texture.

Speaking of air, you may be wondering how ice cream sustains that semisolid state while being relatively light. It all begins with the mixture; be it an egg-custard base, a Philly-style blend or even the mix for Indian ice cream favorite kulfi (a simple thick reduction of milk and sugar, see recipe page 13), all ice cream needs some sort of churning. As ice cream is churned in freezing conditions or, more accurately, below the freezing point, and as the ice cream has sugars and salts added to lower the temperature, ice crystals begin to form from the water components of the dairy. Some ice crystals are needed to congeal ice cream, but too many crystals, especially large crystals, can form even bigger clusters ruining the mouthfeel of your pints. Churning the ice cream agitates the ice crystals and introduces cells of air that keep the freezing ice cream mixture soft enough to scoop and eat, while building the volume. “Overrun” (the measure of volume of the air whipped into the ice cream mixture) is determined in this step. An ice cream with 100 percent overrun would be fluffy but would disappear right on your tongue like a tuft of cotton candy, since it is half air and half mixture. Lower overruns create dense and sultry ice creams. Remove the mixture from the machine and you have ice cream! Folding in any nuts or fruits or swirling in caramels, fudges or other fruit purees is completed at this point, before the ice cream is put away to harden and firm. Hardening the ice cream is necessary because, after the agitation process, the ice cream is still soft due to half of its water components not yet being frozen. During hardening, an approximate 40 percent of this remaining water finds those existing ice crystals and freezes them as well, literally “hardening” the ice cream.

In terms of the final product, think “ice creamier.” Not a grammatically correct term but the only way to describe the taste of a clean, pure and delicious ice cream. The same way local milk drinkers can say that their milk tastes more “milky,” such is true with ice cream, balanced and complete. Flavoring of ice cream, now widely varied and sometimes a bit ridiculous, should be genuine; enough to satisfy and intrigue, yet not to overwhelm.

Ice Cream and the Hudson Valley Today

With its rich creamery and dairy history, the Hudson Valley is a prime spot for ice cream production as well as consumption.  Roadside stands and ice cream shops dot the landscape, many of which adhere to the old-fashioned values of simple cones, good ol’ sundaes or hand-packed pints to take away as ice cream eating is engrained in our lives and summers as a cultural necessity. Seeing ice cream as an artisanal item worthy of being sourced from experienced hands is catching on in our food-centric Hudson Valley.  Steven Astorino, owner of Zora Dora in Beacon, is one such artisan making his unique mark on the local ice cream scene. Much like a bread baker knows his loaves and crumbs, Astorino, a passionate ice cream maker, knows his ice creams. Sourcing local fruits, organic dairy and organic sugar, his flavor creations are not your run-ofthe-mill choices. He crafts ice cream popsicles, or paletas, in small batches, only 28 per batch for ice cream flavors, that are adored by locals, visitors and sourced by many restaurants and chefs. Zora Dora’s personal connection to Hudson Valley farms and customers is love you can taste on an easy-to-hold ice cream stick. You might want to forget what you think you know about ice cream and sorbet flavors and try what is being offered. Steven says he has yet to have a disappointed customer. This summer look forward to flavors such as the Moo-Oink (chocolate chipotle and bacon) or the celebrity remembrance flavors like the Gary Coleman (dark chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate) or the Dennis Hopper Blue Velvet. Find these in Beacon or at his stand on the Hudson Walking Bridge.

Many are aware of Stewart’s ice cream, which holds court in convenience store locations sprinkled throughout the region. The packaging may be plain but the content is made from dairy sourced from over 45 local farms near their plant in Greenfield Center, New York, and they are a company reasonably committed to making local ice cream with local dairy. The Culinary Institute is also conscious of their sourcing and uses ingredients that result in the best tasting ice cream they can produce. They have a selection of rotating flavors so as to keep things lively and interesting. Chef Migoya currently has some experimental flavors now in the works, such as goat’s milk with caramel, or a baguette-flavored ice cream. Adirondack Creamery also prides itself on the quality of using local Boice Bros. dairy in Kingston, and is also locally owned and operated, keeping food miles low for their products while being mindful of the environmental impact of production.

The current zeitgeist of raised food consciousness and locavorism calls for quality and artisanal ice cream made from good, earnest ingredients. Hudson Valley dairies, like the well-known Ronnybrook, are gaining a well-deserved reputation and following for their ice cream. Much like Hudson Valley goat cheese has been taking over menus in New York City, our local ice cream might be next. Some small-scale productions like Milk Made, a NYC-based ice-cream-of-the-month delivery service, is already pushing Hudson Valley milk and eggs in their ice creams. If you try your hand at making your own ice cream, enjoy being the master and maker of your own scoops, cones and creations, using whatever dairy you choose!  The outspoken 18^th-century French writer and philosopher Voltaire once said, “Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.” May this food of fun, joy, delicious history and taste be happily and forever available to all.

(1)  The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee, Scribner (2004)

(2)  The Ice Cream Bible by Marilyn Linton and Tanya Linton, Robert Rose (2008).

(3)  Special thanks to chef Francisco Migoya and Steven Astorino.