(Part 2) Top products from r/icecreamery

1. Churn time and temp ranges are wide because different bases freeze at different rates, different machine have different mechanisms, etc. The best advice I can give is to start checking at 15 minutes with a new recipe, expect the next round is be roughly the same total churn time. Depending on your machine and freezer, consider putting the entire machine inside your freezer. You get lower, more consistent temperature and less noise.
   
2. Ratios are very important. The basic ratios have to do with water, fat, and sugar. Without rabbit-holing too far, think of a basic base recipe that you like (say, vanilla) and think of the variations from there. As in, if you're making caramel, the sugar in the caramel you make counts towards the total sugar in the base. It gets a bit more complicated with things that change freezing temperature, like alcohol, but that's the strategy.
   
3. Water is your problem there. Most fruit is too watery and will freeze solid. Smaller pieces will just give you icy bits. Apples do well dried or cooked, so consider adjusting your recipe. Common solutions for adding fruit flavor are:
   
   1. cooking some/most of the water out of a fruit (changes the flavor)
      
   2. Steeping fruit in the cream or custard base (hot or cold, 1 - 24 hours depending)
      
   3. making a flavored fruit and sugar syrup for the base or swirl (adjusting the water and sugar accordingly)
      
   4. using freeze-dried fruits (powdered first, then added to the base - my favorite
      
4. A few things. Are you making sundaes or ice cream? That is, are the other flavors options or integral? You can certainly make wild syrups for topping more easily than integrated ripples. For ripple effects, the best results are from layering fully churned base and jam-consistency swirl repeatedly. If you add to the churning base, it will incorporate and you will not see ripples. The exception, for me, is stracciatella, which I use in place of chocolate chips for things like "mint chip" (fresh mint, good dark chocolate stracciatella works great). For that I add for the last few turns of churning.
   
   Lebovitz's book is wonderful and you should start there.
   
   
   I also like Stella Parks' BraveTart, which includes, but is not limited to, ice cream.

I truly made it up as I went along, without a whole lot of precise measurements. The star of this particular endeavor was supposed to be the other half of the batch, a brown butter & brown sugar base with chickpea "cookie dough" chunks. I ended up completely infatuated with the potato underdog instead and will probably make again soon, measuring everything as I go this time.

To the best of my recollection:
I started with a half-batch of my usual cottage cheese (low sugar, low fat, stabilizer-heavy) base -- about 650 ml -- from which I omitted salt. I am sure your favorite base would do fine. I added:

• 2 tablespoons of melted, but not yet browned, butter
  
• 1 tablespoon of clear vanilla extract
  
• 1 teaspoon of clear butter extract
  
• 1.5 cups (90g - big fluffy flakes) dehydrated potato flakes, in 0.5 cups interval
  
• (unsure) 3 tablespoons of butter "sprinkles", added gradually to taste - this stuff and this stuff
  
  Checking taste and texture as I went, I could have easily stopped at 1 cup of potato flakes, at which point the base had a subtle potato taste and a noticeably different texture. I'd probably suggest that someone else stop there :P But I had to push the potato envelope and am personally glad I did. The texture was thick, stretchy, and a bit chewy -- think of when you overbeat/process mashed potatoes and they sort of turn to glue. I was also somewhat heavy-handed on the butter sprinkles, to the extent that they gave a pleasant salty-sweet flavor to the base (with a comforting "instant mashed potatoes butteriness that somehow works with the sweet, vanilla note base).
  
  It sounds gross and relies on astronaut food, but I am smitten. As you can probably tell.

I've been looking into this puppy for a very long time now. It's super expensive as far as these things go, but I think I'll spring for it.

I wanted something with a compressor and a big capacity, so that already took me up to the $300+ range. What threw me over the top is that I've really always had an interest in potentially starting an ice cream or gelato business, and I'd have to do a lot of testing at home. Very few models seem to be able to freeze anywhere close to the time it takes this, and freeze time significantly affects the final product.

What also sold me on it is that of all the other ice cream machines on Amazon and elsewhere, this one had mostly 5 and 4 star ratings with a couple 3s thrown in there but absolutely no 2s or 1s. Even though 2s and 1s are sometimes outliers anyway, if I'm spending that much on an ice cream maker, I want it to be perfect.

A more affordable option might be the Cuisinart Ice 100, which seems to have pretty good reviews.

I'm a huge huge fan of gelato, which is very hard to find in the US (mostly impossible, actually, but there are a few rare spots in NYC, one I've found in Newburyport, MA).

David Leibovitz has a lot of wonderful recipes for both ice cream and gelato. More ice cream in his book, http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Granitas-Accompaniments-ebook/dp/B005EH3ERU/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369578203&sr=1-4&keywords=david+lebovitz, but his site has quite a few good gelato recipes. Everything I've ever made by him has been fantastico!

Also, I have both of these books and can vouch for their craft. Everything I've made from them have been delicious.

http://www.amazon.com/Ciao-Bella-Book-Gelato-Sorbetto/dp/0307464989

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Artisan-Gelato-Techniques-Flavor-Infused/dp/159253418X

Two books have vastly expanded my knowledge, understanding, and creativity in my approach to homemade ice cream making. I absolutely swear by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book and Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book. I see a lot of chatter about Jeni's of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream ice cream recipes for mouth feel, but her approach uses corn syrup and corn starch. That's the kind of ingredient I am trying to avoid by making my own ice creams, so I can't attest to her recipes.

Ben & Jerry have three cream base recipes. Humprhy Slocombe should really be owned by anyone who makes ice cream. It's kind of like a Joy of Cooking, but for ice cream. and it is a fun read. Whenever I try out a new flavor, I start with these two books and go from there.

Take the extra step and order something on amazon if that’s an option. You can order decent chocolate on there. The first thing you need is a nice cocoa powder. What are you currently using on these trials? When I did cree’s recipe, I used guittard cacao powder.

As mentioned by others in your previous post you really need to use a good chocolate. Pay close attention to the ingredients in your chocolate. Does the chocolate contain many agents that prevents it from melting? If so that will impact freezing and texture when melted. It seems that many cheaper chocolates contain chocolate liquor which includes cocoa butter, and will contribute a lot of fats that may freeze up weird. Don’t use bad brands like Ghirardelli or even “nice” organic bars like Endangered Species. They’re really not that nice.

Try something like this instead:
https://www.amazon.com/Callebaut-Finest-Belgian-Semisweet-Chocolate/dp/B077GCTLTJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=baking+chocolate&qid=1565057045&s=gateway&sr=8-2

I used an adapted version of David Lebovitz's recipe, which I found on Kitchen Confit. Basically it uses 4 oz of goat cheese instead of 8 oz. I think 4 oz is plenty goat cheese-y.

It's worth noting that the first time I made this, I overcooked the egg mixture and ended up with some sort of scrambled egg concoction. I was able to rescue it with an immersion blender.

Edit: The topping is something I made up. It's mostly honey, with a bit of butter and a tiny splash of vanilla. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe for it because I just played around with it on the stove until I liked what I saw/tasted/smelled.

https://www.amazon.com/Gelato-Messina-Recipes-Nick-Palumbo/dp/1742705154

This is the book. It's a great book to read but I've never made the recipes. It's almost commercial-style recipes presented in a recipe book.

Messina are renowned in Australia for popular gelatos

Yes is you buy the attachment it will in fact make ice cream

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KICA0WH-Cream-Maker-Attachment/dp/B0002IES80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369774165&sr=8-1&keywords=kitchenaid+ice+cream+maker

I think the automod took it off, here's the original:

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Maltodextrin is known for helping give body to sorbets. Maybe try that?

https://www.amazon.com/WillPowder-Tapioca-Maltodextrin-1-Pound-Tubs/dp/B00250U9BI

Vanilla bean is my vote!

I use Massey paste for great flavor & color. Don't have a heart attack when you see the price. Premium vanilla is insane right now.

Massey madagascar paste

I use a big Rubbermaid container. They were on sale a while back for 50% off.

Like this one but I got an aqua colored one-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WEMFOS/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_5H.dub0PP7JTS

The place near my house uses this scooper . $3.50 for one scoop, $4.95 for two.

I've used dextrose occasionally, and I use guar/xanthan/carrageenan every time, depending on my needs.

If you're ready to dig into the deeper ice cream science beyond basic recipes, but still just want to make ice cream at home, I can't recommend this book highly enough:

https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Cream-Whole-Gail-Damerow/dp/0944435297

pizelle maker: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-WM-PZ2-Pizzelle-Press/dp/B00006F2ME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410907502&sr=8-1&keywords=pizzelle+maker

I use the store-brand version of 6-cup Gladware containers.

They're inexpensive, and I'm not particularly concerned about long-term storage.
(Really, how long is the ice cream going to last with three kids in the house?)

This is a recipe from the Salt and Straw ice cream cookbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Sweet-Treats-Tub-Raspberry/dp/B00JQNCA32/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466232190&sr=8-3&keywords=ice+cream+containers