Vanilla ice cream

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Vanilla ice cream served on an ice cream cone Vanilla Ice Cream Cone at Camp Manitoulin.jpg
Vanilla ice cream served on an ice cream cone
Dame blanche (dessert) Chocolate sauce and vanilla icrecream.jpg
Dame blanche (dessert)

Vanilla is frequently used to flavor ice cream, especially in North America, Asia, and Europe. [1] Vanilla ice cream, like other flavors of ice cream, was originally created by cooling a mixture made of cream, sugar, and vanilla above a container of ice and salt. [2] The type of vanilla used to flavor ice cream varies by location. In North America and Europe consumers are interested in a more prominent, smoky flavor, while in Ireland, a more anise-like flavor is desired. [1] To create the smooth consistency of ice cream, the mixture has to be stirred occasionally and then returned to the container of ice and salt to continue the solidification process. [2] According to Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions, many people often consider vanilla to be the "default" or "plain" flavor of ice cream (see "Plain vanilla"). [3]

Contents

History

Vanilla was first used among the Mexica. By the 1510s, Spanish conquistadors, exploring present-day Mexico, had come across Mesoamerican people who consumed vanilla in their drinks and foods. The vanilla bean was brought back to Spain with the conquistadors. In Spain, "vanilla was used to flavor a chocolate drink that combined cacao beans, vanilla, corn, water, and ice". The drink eventually spread to France, England, and then all of Europe by the early 1600s. [4] In 1602, Hugh Morgan, the apothecary of Queen Elizabeth I, recommended that vanilla should be used separately from cocoa. [5]

Ice cream can be traced back to the Yuan period of the fourteenth century. There is evidence that ice cream was served in the Mogul Court. The idea of using a mixture of ice and salt for its refrigerating effects, which is a part of the process of creating ice cream, originated in Asia. The method spread from the East to Europe when the Arabs and the Moors traveled to Spain, between 711 and 1492. [6] Once the refrigerating method of mixing ice and salt had spread to Europe, the Italians became involved in making ice cream. [2] By the early eighteenth century, recipes for ice cream had appeared in France. According to Frozen Desserts: The Definitive Guide to Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati, and Other Frozen Delights, the French transformed ice cream into a smoother and richer food with the addition of eggs or egg yolks in the recipe. The first ice cream recipes recorded by the French in the early eighteenth century did not include egg yolks. However, by the middle of the eighteenth century, French recipes for ice cream started to include egg yolks. [6]

When the use of vanilla in foods and drinks became independent of cacao, it became more prominent in French recipes. The French used vanilla to flavor French vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream was introduced to the United States when Thomas Jefferson discovered the flavor in France and brought the recipe to the United States. [5] During the 1780s, Thomas Jefferson wrote his own recipe for vanilla ice cream. The recipe is housed at the Library of Congress. [7]

Ice Cream Maker Ice cream maker Husqvarna.JPG
Ice Cream Maker

Production

To make ice cream in the United States during the eighteenth century, cooks and confectioners needed a "larger wooden bucket", "a metal freezing pot with a cover, called a sorbetiere", ice, salt, and the cream based mixture that they planned on freezing. The process starts with finding ice of a "manageable" size, then mixing it with salt and adding the mixture to a bucket. Together, the ice and the salt create a refrigerating effect. The cook or confectioner adds their ice cream mixture to a freezing pot and then puts the cover on it. The freezing pot is put into the wooden bucket, where it is stirred and shaken to give the ice cream a creamy consistency. Occasionally, the freezing pot must be opened, so that the frozen ice cream can be removed from the sides. The work was done by slaves and servants. [2]

In 1843, Nancy M. Johnson invented the first ice cream maker with a crank on the outside of the wooden tub. The crank mixes the ice cream, while also scraping the frozen ice cream off of the sides of the pot. Before 1843, making ice cream required more time. The crank on the outside of the wooden tub eliminates the step of removing the pot from the wooden tub to scrape the sides of the pot of frozen ice cream. After the creation of Nancy Johnson's invention, commercial ice cream companies started to use ice cream makers powered by "horse-powered treadmills, steam engines, and finally electric motors". People who made ice cream at home began using electric ice cream makers as well. Ice cream production was more popular when sugar became cheaper and ice was easier to obtain. After the Civil War ended, ice cream prices had decreased, and more wholesalers had joined the ice cream making business. [2]

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Vanilla Extract

Types of flavorings

Ice cream is flavored by artificial or natural vanilla flavoring. Artificial flavorings contain 100% vanillin, the main ingredient that contributes to natural vanilla extract's flavor. Natural vanilla extract also contains nearly 200 more compounds in addition to vanillin. The different chemical properties of these compounds may cause compatibility issues with different ice cream preparations. [8] Vanilla ice cream may be classified by the type of flavoring used. If natural vanilla extract is used, then the product is called "vanilla ice-cream". If vanillin from natural vanilla is used, then the product is called "vanilla flavored ice cream". If artificial vanillin is used, then the product is labelled as an "artificially flavored vanilla ice-cream". [9] The United States Food and Drug Administration characterizes vanilla ice cream into three categories: (1) the ice cream only contains vanilla extract; (2) the ice cream contains 1 ounce (28 g) of synthetic vanillin per gallon (3.8 L) of one-fold vanilla extract; (3) the ice cream only contains synthetic ingredients. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neapolitan ice cream</span> Ice cream composed of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavours

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanilla</span> Spice extracted from orchids of the genus Vanilla

Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (V. planifolia).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice cream</span> Frozen dessert

Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food colouring is sometimes added in addition to stabilizers. The mixture is cooled below the freezing point of water and stirred to incorporate air spaces and prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. It can also be made by whisking a flavoured cream base and liquid nitrogen together. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures. It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custard</span> Semi-solid cooked mixture of milk and egg

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in custard desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caramel</span> Confectionery product made by heating sugars

Caramel is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanillin</span> Chemical compound

Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used more often than natural vanilla extract as a flavoring in foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eggnog</span> Sweetened dairy-based beverage

Eggnog, historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites. A distilled spirit such as brandy, rum, whiskey or bourbon is often a key ingredient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanilla extract</span> Culinary liquid made from vanilla pods in ethanol solution

Vanilla extract is a solution made by macerating and percolating vanilla pods in a solution of ethanol and water. It is considered an essential ingredient in many Western desserts, especially baked goods like cakes, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes, as well as custards, ice creams, and puddings. Although its primary flavor compound is vanillin, pure vanilla extract contains several hundred additional flavor compounds, which are responsible for its complex, deep flavor. By contrast, artificial vanilla flavor is solely made up of artificially derived vanillin, which is frequently made from a by-product of the wood pulp industry. Because of the way that vanilla extract is made, there is no possible way for it to be colorless or clear. Therefore, any clear vanilla flavoring is artificial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice cream maker</span> Kitchen equipment for making ice cream

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate syrup</span> Chocolate-flavored condiment used as a topping or ingredient

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorbet</span> Frozen dessert

Sorbet is a frozen dessert made using ice combined with fruit juice, fruit purée, or other ingredients, such as wine, liqueur, or honey. Generally, sorbets do not contain dairy products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate ice cream</span> Ice cream with natural or artificial chocolate flavoring

Chocolate ice cream is ice cream with natural or artificial chocolate flavoring. One of the oldest flavours of ice creams, it is also one of the world's most popular. While most often sold alone, it is also a base for many other flavours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacon ice cream</span> Bacon dish

Bacon ice cream is an ice cream generally created by adding bacon to egg custard and freezing the mixture. The concept of bacon ice cream originated in a 1973 sketch on the British comedy series The Two Ronnies as a joke; it was eventually created for April Fools' Day by a New York ice cream parlour in 1982. In the 2000s, the English chef Heston Blumenthal experimented with ice cream, making a custard similar to scrambled eggs and adding bacon to create one of his signature dishes. It now appears on dessert menus in other restaurants.

<i>Crème brûlée</i> Custard dessert with hard caramel top

Crème brûlée or crème brulée, also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is generally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherbet (frozen dessert)</span> Frozen dessert

Sherbet, often referred to as sherbert, is a frozen dessert made from water, sugar, a dairy product such as cream or milk, and a flavoring – typically fruit juice or purée, wine, liqueur, and occasionally non-fruit flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, or peppermint. It is similar to, but distinct from sorbet, which lacks dairy.

References

  1. 1 2 Berger, R.G., ed. (2007). Flavours and fragrances chemistry, bioprocessing and sustainability. Berlin: Springer. p. 459. ISBN   978-3540493396.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Andrew (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. p. 314. ISBN   978-0195307962 . Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  3. ↑ Hilden, Katri; Robinson, Tim; Currie, Lee; Hutchinson, Emma (2006). Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions. Murdoch Books. p. 15. ISBN   978-1-74045-818-4 . Retrieved 4 April 2013. Vanilla has become a synonymous with 'plain'- perhaps most vanilla ice cream is flavoured with fake vanilla extract
  4. ↑ Karner, Julie (2006). The Biography of Vanilla. Crabtree Publishing Company. p.  7. ISBN   0778724905.
  5. 1 2 Myers, Richard L. (2007). The 100 most important chemical compounds : a reference guide (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p.  292. ISBN   978-0313337581. vanilla ice cream europe.
  6. 1 2 Liddell, Caroline (1996). Frozen Desserts: The Definitive Guide to Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati, and Other Frozen Delights. Macmillan. p. 11. ISBN   0312143435 . Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Marling, Karal Ann (2008). Ice : great moments in the history of hard, cold water. St. Paul, MN: Borealis Books. pp. 10–11. ISBN   978-0873516280.
  8. ↑ Young, Bruce Tharp, Steve (2007). Tharp and young on ice cream. Lancaster: Destech Publications. p. 336. ISBN   978-1932078688.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Anandan, A. (2004). Sura's vanilla, the green gold (1st ed.). Chennai: Sura Books. p. 66. ISBN   8174785450.
  10. ↑ Havkin-Frenkel, Daphna; Belanger, Faith C., eds. (18 November 2010). Handbook of vanilla science and technology. Chichester [etc.]: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 221. ISBN   978-1444329377.
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