IMG_4481.jpg' alt='Does Cream Of Tartar Have A Shelf Life' title='Does Cream Of Tartar Have A Shelf Life' />Ice Cream Geek Blog Stabilizers in Ice Cream. Most commercial ice creams contain things like guar gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum, polysorbate 8. What are these scary sounding things, and why are they in our ice cream In the ice cream business, these are all known as stabilizers, and they mainly help with two things reducing iciness, and extending shelf life. The first time I made strawberry ice cream it came out really icy and cold because of all the extra water in the fruit. I tried it again with a packet of powdered gelatin and it made a huge improvement. Thats when I realized that there might be something to this stabilizer business, even in homemade ice cream. As for the part about extending shelf life, thats especially true when you take a pint of ice cream out of the freezer and put it back after a few minutes. Each time it warms up a little and then re freezes, it re freezes at a much slower rate than when you churned it in your ice cream machine. When you freeze it quickly, you get smaller ice crystals that taste smooth. But when it re freezes slowly, you get larger crystals. Your home freezer probably cycles on and off and doesnt keep the ice cream at a perfectly stable temperature, either. Stabilizers help with that, as well as providing a smooth texture and slowing down the melting process of ice cream. But what are they Many of these stabilizers are also known as emulsifiers, which are used to bring together things like oil and water that dont normally want to mix. One of the most common emulsifiers is egg yolk, which makes things like mayonnaise and Hollandaise sauce possible. Quinoa Patties. In the case of ice cream, its the water in the milk and the fat in the cream that dont want to mix together. Most commercial ice cream mixes seem to use stabilizers instead of egg yolks Im not sure if thats because of the cost, the fat content of the eggs, the risk of salmonella, or just because its a lot easier to deal with a scoop of guar gum powder than having to crack open all those eggs. But what are they actuallyClotted cream is so easy to make at home. Please dont think that Im saying that clotted cream is only easy for experienced bakers to make. Clotted cream is. Find recipes for every meal, easy ideas for dinner tonight, cooking tips and expert food advice. How long do spices last Check this chart for your favorite spices and see how long they really last. Shelf life, storage and expiration information. Does Cream Of Tartar Have A Shelf Life' title='Does Cream Of Tartar Have A Shelf Life' />Ok, lets look at each one of the scary ingredients Guar gum comes from guar beans, which are mainly grown in India. The beans are processed into a white powder and used as an emulsifier and as a thickener thats eight times as powerful as cornstarch. Locust bean gum comes from the seeds of the Carob tree, which anyone unfortunate enough to be allergic to chocolate will be familiar with, because carob is often used as a chocolate substitute ehh, sort of, anyway. It also has a nicer sounding name carob bean gum. The white powder is used as a thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier, and gelling agent. Its also fairly expensive, as ice cream stabilizers go. Carrageenan comes from seaweed yep, thats right and is another type of thickener and stabilizer. It also helps keep milk from separating into water and solids. Xanthan gum comes from glucose or sucrose thats been fermented with a bacteria, and is then processed into a white powder and used as a thickener and stabilizer. Its another relatively expensive stabilizer thats not as widely used in ice cream. Polysorbate 8. 0 is derived from sorbitol, which comes from glucose, or corn sugar. Its an emulsifier used in ice cream to provide a smooth texture and to help prevent melting. Mono and diglycerides come from vegetable fats such as soy bean, canola, and palm oils, and are another type of emulsifier. Gelatin, which is found in homemade ice cream recipes more often than the ingredients above, comes from animal collagen. I think thats enough said on that topic. Moving onId been told that guar gum and xanthan gum were fairly common at health food stores, so I went to see what I could find. I came away with a six ounce packet of xanthan gum powder for 1. Either one would probably last quite a while. Time for some tests with xanthan gum. After searching around the net a bit, I found a few articles saying a little bit of xanthan gum goes a long way. I tried three small batches of vanilla ice cream, with 18 teaspoon, 28 teaspoon, and 38 teaspoon of xanthan gum powder added to one cup of ice cream mix. The results were interesting. First, all three ice creams were smooth, with no trace of gel blobs like I got the first time I tried gelatin I later learned you can first add gelatin to cold water, and then heat it to dissolve it completely. Id read that the xanthan gum powder should be added to the ice cream mix in a blender to keep it from clumping, and that seemed to work really well. When I made the batch with 18 teaspoon, I didnt really see much difference in the thickness of the mix before churning it. After churning it, there was a small but noticeable difference in taste compared to my normal ice cream with no stabilizers at all. It tasted slightly less cold, and a little bit creamier. It was subtle though. When I made the batch with 28 teaspoon, I could see a visible difference in the thickness of the mix. There was also a much more noticeable difference in the taste of the frozen ice cream. It was starting to taste too creamy, like something wasnt quite right. It was starting to lose that fresh, homemade taste, but was much closer to what Ive tasted at places like Marble Slab Creamery. When I made the batch with 38 teaspoon, the mix was so thick it almost looked like pudding even before I churned it. It was very sticky coming out of the machine, and the taste was almost chewy. Interesting, but I didnt want more than a spoonful. Final thoughts. I could happily eat the batch with 18 teaspoon per cup, although its hard to say if I actually prefer it to the version without stabilizers. The batch with 28 teaspoon per cup would be ok too, especially if you like commercial ice creams that use a lot of stabilizers and taste fairly soft and sticky. But the batch with 38 teaspoon per cup was clearly too much. Ill probably stay with one teaspoon or less in a full quart of ice cream. The sweet cream base I use has a very high butterfat content, plus it has eggs, so adding stabilizers didnt make a big difference it was already smooth and creamy. Next time Ill try it in something more icy, like ice cream with a lot of fruit in it, or maybe even a sorbet, which is basically just fruit juice. I think it could be especially interesting in Philadelphia style ice creams, which dont contain eggs. I also want to try experimenting with lowering the butterfat content of the base mix, and then compensating with stabilizers. I think I finally understand now why commercial gelato doesnt taste icy even though it has such a low butterfat content. Watch this space for followup posts on the subject. Clearly, more experimentation is needed. If youve tried stabilizers in ice cream, feel free to post your comments below and let me know what you found. See also Stabilizers in Ice Cream Part 2 Strawberry Ice Cream. Flaming Baked Alaska Cupcakes Sprinkle Bakes. Just call me the cupcake arsonist. This is the second time Ive intentionally set fire to this cutesy confection. Whats the appeal Maybe I feel the cupcake could use a break from its curlicued reputation. Or maybe it appeals to my inner juvenile delinquent who loves to play with matches. All I know for sure is, this is one incredibly delicious show stopping dessert  Its a perfect dramatic finale for any dinner party. Baked Alaska is a layered dessert consisting of cake, ice cream and sweet meringue, so it wasnt terribly difficult to translate into cupcake form. To begin, youll need a naked cupcake no wrappersTheyd catch fire, and we certainly dont want burning paper on our delicious treat. You have two options to obtain your naked cupcakes 1. Bake cupcakes without liners in a greased and floured cupcake pan. For easy clean up, use your least cutesy cupcake papers and just peel them away before you begin assembling the cakes. Im all for the latter one less pan to wash. Inexpensive parchment paper liners will do just fine. To make the blue flame magic happen, turn down the lights and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of warmed brandy over each meringue coated cupcake. Ignite with a grill lighter or a long fireplace match. Please note that I used a little more brandy on these cupcakes for photography purposes. I needed a longer burn time so I could get a good picture of the flame. I ate one of these cupcakes after photographing and it was a little strong made my tongue tingly. Back when I made Flaming Strawberries on Cupcakes, I didnt know heating the liquor would help it catch fire easier. Try it  It makes all the difference Other goings on My pal Meaghan of The Decorated Cookie has a new book available called Sugarlicious I recieved my copy last Thursday, and it is a delight to read Lots of edible crafty goodness in there. I recommend Slight freak out at the realization that in just a few short months, Ill be making a wedding cake that serves 2. Jesus take the wheel. Bon Appetit included me and some of my bloggy pals in their Red Velvet round up. Check it out hereIm still working on answering your letters Just an update in case you havent received your reply yet. My fur baby Churro hurt his paw while playing outside, which resulted in a trip to the pet ER. Hes doing better, but gosh was I ever worried I really dont know how parents of human children do it. You have my utmost respect Flaming Baked Alaska Cupcakes. Yield 1. 0 1. 2 cupcakes                                                                                                            click for printable versionCakeIce cream Use your favorite cupcake recipe, or my Basic Vanilla Cupcake recipe below1 12 cups all purpose flour. Heat oven to 3. 50F and line cupcake pan with papers. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until lightened in color and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. When completely incorporated, divide batter evenly amongst liners, filling them 23 full. Bake for 1. 5 2. Peel away cupcake liners and discard. Cut a small divot out of the top of each cupcake, large enough to hold about 2 tablespoons of ice cream. Fill each divot with ice cream and place filled cupcakes in the freezer while preparing the meringue. Note Warm the brandy just before serving the cupcakes. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Transfer half the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Preheat oven to hottest setting this is usually broil. Remove the cupcakes from freezer. Set each cupcake on their own small plate, and then set the plates on one or two large baking sheets. Immediately pipe meringue swirl on top of the cupcakes, coveringenveloping the ice cream completely. Use an off set spatula to coat the lower part of the cupcakes with meringue. Place cupcakes under broiler until meringue is lightly browned be sure to give this step your undivided attention Remove from the oven and present to guests. Gently pour 2 tbsp. Ignite the brandy with a long kitchen match and let burn until the flame subsides. When the flames die down, serve immediately. Note As a safety precaution, keep cupcakes on the metal baking sheet until flame subsides. Flaming Baked Alaska Cupcakes. By Heather Baird. Published. Monday, February 1. Monday, February 1. Flaming Baked Alaska Cupcakes Recipe.