Ice Cream Ireland

 This was one of our very first ice cream formulations and has proven very popular of the the years. In fact, there is a certain little girl whose first word was reportedly “Jaffa” when demanding this flavour from her parents. It’s a crowd-pleaser, with shredded bits of Jaffa cakes as well as another British invention - marmalade.

Marmalade goes way back (the Oxford English Dictionary cites 1480 as the first usage of the word) and is generally made with citrus fruits - orange being the most popular option. As citrus fruits became more available in Britain in the 16th century, marmalade became a choice sweet. In fact, anyone who has travelled in the UK will be hard put upon to remember a traditional breakfast without the option of these preserves and toast.

We like to use the marmalade as a base flavour and freshen it with orange zest. The great thing about orange zest (besides its magnificent taste) is that it uses a part of the fruit one would normally just throw away or compost, and that always is a pleasure.

ORANGE JAFFA (ORÁISTE) ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

• 130g sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 240 ml cream
• 200 ml milk
• Zest (grated peel) of half an orange
• 50 g marmalade
• 4 Jaffa cakes

What to do:

1. Add the orange zest to the milk and bring to a simmer.
2. Remove from the heat.
3. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
4. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
5. Pour the mixture back into the pan, and place over low heat.
6. Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly (around 65-70C) and just coats the back of a spoon. Don’t over-heat, though, because at around 76C you will scramble the eggs!
7. Immediately remove from the heat. Sieve if you want to remove the orange zest.
8. Stir in the marmalade.
9. Transfer the custard into a small container, cover, and refrigerate until cool (5C).
10. Whip the cream until it has doubled in volume (you should have soft peaks - don’t over-whip).
11. Fold the cream (gently stir) into the custard.
12. Shred the jaffa cakes into small pieces.
13. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, adding the jaffa cakes when it’s semi-solid. You can also just cover and place in the freezer, stirring every few hours, and again, add the jaffa cakes when it’s semi-solid.
14. If you’re using a domestic ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer-proof covered container when the ice cream has achieved a semi-solid consistency (around 15 minutes). Place it in the freezer, and continue to freeze until it is solid.

Note: To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and maintain that temperature for at least 5 minutes. Use a cooking thermometer, though! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.

Technorati tags: orange, jaffa, biscuit, ice cream, recipe

Gastronom.ie has a sneak preview of the long list for the 2008 Irish Blog Awards in the Food blogs category, and there are some great ones in there and a few new to me. Congrats to everyone!

1. Well Done Fillet
2. Val’s Kitchen
3. English Mum in Ireland
4. The Humble Housewife
5. Sour Grapes
6. Little Bird Eats
7. What the Waiter Knows
8. Just Add Eggs
9. Food Lorists
10. Ice Cream Ireland
11. iFoods
12. Martin Dwyer
13. Italian Foodies
14. Eat Drink Live
15. The Mood Food Blog

P.S. Where is Bubble Brothers?

Technorati Tags: Irish Blog Awards, Awards, food, 2008

 Given that all of the ice cream recipes I have given here call for egg yolks, I wanted to re-visit meringues, since they are such an obvious solution in terms of what to do with the egg whites. I wrote up a recipe before here, but I think the following is simpler and better.

Meringues are a lovely dessert - crunchy puff of sweetness on the palate. They can be enjoyed on their own, with whipped cream, or with ice cream and fruit. You can shape them into little baskets or simply make little meringue drops. They are, of course, gluten-free.

Meringues are said to have been invented in the 15th Century in the Swiss town of Meiringen by an Italian chef named Gasparini. They are made simply by beating egg whites, adding sugar and other ingredients, and then baking them. I like mine with a little hint of lemon. This recipe makes quite a lot of meringue, but since the ice creams mostly call for 5 egg yolks, it seems useful to use the 5 egg whites!

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• 350 g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

What to Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 150C.
2. Butter two large baking sheets.
3. Beat the egg whites in a dry glass or stainless steel bowl (if using an electric mixer, do this at medium speed rather than high speed, which will take a bit longer but give the meringues more strength) until fairly stiff.
4. Beat in the sugar in a slow stream, and then add the lemon juice, mixing all the time.
5. Beat until very stiff and shiny.
6. Using two spoons, place on the baking sheet. It should make 18 large meringues, so divide accordingly, leaving space around the meringues to allow them to expand.
7. You can shape them as you wish!
8. Bake for 45 minutes.
9. Cool on wire racks.

Notes:

1. If you want to make meringue nests, the easiest way is with a piping bag. Start in the centre, work out in a tight spiral, then build up the sides. Make them smaller that you might think, for the baked meringues will expand!
2. There are many of things you can add to meringues in terms of flavouring - vanilla essence, almond essence, and cocoa for chocolate meringues are just a few examples. If you do add flavouring, always add it at the end, once the meringues are stiff.

Technorati tags: meringue, recipe, ice cream, dessert, baking

  It looks like a photo or two from my brother and my “Caught with Ice Cream” series from last year will find a second life as they should appear on the Tubridy show on RTE television tonight.

I have no idea in what fashion, except I think it will be part of a photo montage. Apologies to Bertie and Enda in advance in case ice cream is used against them. Of course, in my mind, ice cream can only be a good thing, but I’m kind of biased…

Technorati tags: Tubridy, RTE, Enda Kenny, Bertie Ahern, ice cream

 The soaring price of food was often in the news in 2007, and we are not immune. We have been looking at our accounts, and it is impossible to miss the fact that many of our main ingredients, including milk, cream, and eggs, have risen as much as 30% within the last calender year.

While this is good news for farmers, who have seen generally declining prices up until recently, it is not good news for consumers. It is inevitable that we (like many other food companies) will be forced into a price increase to counter our rapidly shrinking margins.

What’s interesting is that the price disparity between organics and conventional foods, although still substantial, has shrunken somewhat. With a litre of local, regular milk now an amazing €1.24 in our local supermarket, we have discussed whether we should switch to organic milk for our coffee drinks. Organic milk costs more, of course, and we would have to pass that on.

Would such a move be a good idea? We all know that organics is a good thing, but how much extra would you be willing to pay for a cappuccino or latte made with organic milk?

For an organic latte or cappuccino, I would pay an extra:

• 10c
• 20c
• 30c
• 40c
• 50c
• I wouldn't pay extra for a coffee made with organic milk

View Results

Technorati tags: coffee, organic, milk, price, poll

 There are few things as satisfying in life as seeing the people you love do well. I’m so delighted to pass on the news that one of my best friends from the States, Cynthia Wade, has scooped an Oscar nomination for her documentary film, Freeheld. Based upon Laurel Hester, a dying police lieutenant who wants to leave her pension benefit to her same-sex partner, the film is about love and battling injustice. The film has already won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

I am so proud of you, Cynthia. Well done, and best of luck!

Best of luck to the Irish nominees as well!

Technorati tags: Oscar, documentary, award, Freeheld

I have written about the health benefits of chocolate before, and there was an article on the topic in yesterday’s Tribune, which you can read here. What surprised me was the mention of a 2004 study from Imperial College London that chocolate is 30% more effective than codeine in suppressing coughs. I had never heard that one before, but the study shows that theobromine, a chemical found in cocoa and known for its health benefits, works better for easing coughs - without any of codeine’s side effects.

So, if you’ve given up chocolate as part of a New Year’s resolution and are coughing away, you might think again! A chocolate bar with high cocoa content might just save you a trip to the chemist. Mind you, if you’re like me and such a resolution would be unthinkable - it’s simply yet another good excuse to keep munching. 

Technorati tags: chocolate, cocoa, cough, theobromine, health

For anyone interested in business blogging, and there’s a piece on it in the business section of today’s Sunday Times. There’s a bit on Ice Cream Ireland as well as words of wisdom from Damien, Beaut.ie, and Krishna De…

 Feeling the need for a little chocolate burst last night, I went making some cookies. I have written about Pierre Herme here and here. The recipe came from him via Dorie Greenspan’s excellent cookbook Paris Sweets, which is a compendium of desserts from Paris’ best pastry shops.

What makes these cookies really special is the inclusion in the ingredients of fleur de sel, hand-harvested sea salt that is less salty and more flavourful than regular salt. Although the recipe only calls for half a teaspoon, it’s a distinctive flavour in the final cookie and really works well. (I actually have “fior di sale,” which comes from Italy rather than France, but is the same idea.)

These are dead easy and will disappear very quickly indeed, so I highly recommend them. Rather than write up the recipe, I will refer you to Dessert First, where Anita has already done so. She rates them as her favourite cookies. I’d better eat the last few before I make up my mind! 

P.S. - The photos don’t really show how dark and full of chocolate they are. I took the photos late at night, and it’s impossible for me to be patient and fiddle with lighting and camera settings when there are fresh cookies cooling!

Technorati tags: korova cookies, sables, chocolate, Dorie Greenspan, Pierre Herme

Here’s the latest mock-up from the publishers for the cover of our up-coming ice cream book. I’d be grateful for feedback! Please comment. Do you like it?

Technorati tags: cookbook, cover, ice cream, Irish, publishing