Whether you purchase ice cream from the store or make it from yourself, there are several methods to maintain it creamy and several ways to go wrong. Here are some things to consider: where you're keeping it, how you're storing it, and when you last checked the temperature of your freezer.
Deep Relaxation
If there's one thing to remember about preserving ice cream, it's that it despises temperature fluctuations. In a perfect world, newly churned ice cream would be refrigerated to the lowest possible temperature, gently defrosted until scoopable, and then consumed all at once. Some of the ice crystals trapped within melt when the temperature of the ice cream rises. This is OK if you're going to eat your ice cream straight away, but when you re-freeze partly melted ice cream, the ice crystals re-form, but this time they're larger and crunchier, depriving your ice cream of its smoothness.
If there's one thing to remember about preserving ice cream, it's that it despises temperature fluctuations. In a perfect world, newly churned ice cream would be refrigerated to the lowest possible temperature, gently defrosted until scoopable, and then consumed all at once. Some of the ice crystals trapped within melt when the temperature of the ice cream rises. This is OK if you're going to eat your ice cream straight away, but when you re-freeze partly melted ice cream, the ice crystals re-form, but this time they're larger and crunchier, depriving your ice cream of its smoothness.
As an ice cream consumer and producer, your objective is to keep your ice cream as cold—and stable—as possible.
Keep your ice cream as far back as possible in the freezer, away from the door. When you open the freezer door, you allow warm air in. Keep ice cream at the rear and store it behind other frozen-sold goods to keep it safe from those steamy intruders.
Similarly, don't keep your ice cream out of the freezer for any longer than necessary. If your handmade ice cream has half-melted, you should let it melt entirely before churning it again.
Ice cream should be kept at or below 0°F. Adjust your freezer's settings to maintain this temperature if you have a freezer thermometer. If you don't have one, get one now. Alternatively, go the simple route and set your freezer to the coldest setting possible. Your ice cubes are up to the task.
When it comes to firming up your newly churned ice cream, don't overlook the necessity of a cool freezer. Your ice cream will become frosty and gritty without it, undoing all of your hard work.
It's All About the Shape
If you're creating ice cream at home, the container you use matters. Blast chillers allow professional ice cream manufacturers to deep-freeze ice cream in minutes. This reduces the size of ice crystals, keeping the ice cream as fresh and creamy as when it was churned. For about $5,000, you can purchase a blast chiller for your house.
Alternatively, you might select a storage container that promotes ice cream freezing quickly. A form with a high surface-area-to-volume ratio that exposes the bulk of the ice cream to cold air—something broad and flat rather than small and boxy—is what you're looking for. Contrary to popular belief, ice cream pints are not the most excellent form for keeping homemade ice cream.
Rubbermaid's five-cup ice cream container is my personal favorite. It's long-lasting, inexpensive, stackable, airtight, and, most importantly, flat. Inside, ice cream freezes quickly with tiny ice particles. It's the perfect size for a quart of handmade ice cream, with plenty of space for toppings.
You may also freeze your ice cream in smaller containers, which will freeze quicker than one huge one. However, scooping from smaller containers is more complex; the enormous container above provides you with lots of areas to work with.
Plastic should always be preferred over ceramics or glass, regardless of the form or size of the container. Both are poor heat conductors, and ice creams placed in glass take much too long to freeze, even in a perfectly cooled freezer.
Maintain an airtight seal
Ice cream is high in fat, and fat absorbs tastes from the air around it, including those in your freezer, even when frozen. Use a container with a tight-fitting cover to protect your ice cream from smelling like that fish or last week's chili. Place a layer of plastic wrap between your ice cream and the lid for further protection.
Freezer burn is caused by air, which dehydrates and crystalizes the ice cream's surface. A tight cover is beneficial, but air trapped within the container for extended periods might be harmful. Consider shifting your ice cream to a smaller container as you consume more of it. Smaller containers result in less ambient air, lowering the risk of freezer burn.
However, no matter how airtight your ice cream container is, extended freezing can impair the taste and texture of handmade ice cream. Ice cream should be consumed within a week or two for optimal benefits. That shouldn't be an issue with proper ice cream.
