Tips & Tricks

Amazing what comes to my attention. Here’s the latest ice cream accessory: if you suffer frosty fingers from eating ice cream out of the tub, you can order this Cuddle your ice cream cozy (by Gracie Designs) for $8. That is, I suppose, cheaper than gloves.

And to go back, for a moment, to Delizia! and eating food on the fly – here’s a bit of information from Mr. Dickie in case you’re travelling to Italia and wondering about Italian ice cream etiquette:

In Italy, ice cream is the only thing that can be enjoyed legitimately while walking, but even then the cone should be wrapped in a napkin, with another napkin ready to dab the mouth, and the maximum permitted speed is a gentle amble.

It’s a bit unclear whether eating a full tub in an ice cream cozy while ambling gently is in breach. I suppose it is, so take along a thick skin and a few extra napkins.

Technorati tags: cuddle my ice cream, gracie designs, Italy, accessory

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As we go into the New Year, I’m sure that many people have weight on their minds, so I thought I’d write about it. Of course, personal weight doesn’t interest me much, but using weight in recipes is another matter!

Specifically, I wanted to pass on an important tip going into 2008 and that is to:

Always use weight as a measure for dry ingredients.

If recipes offer both volume and weight measures for things like sugar, chocolate, etc., use weight! If recipes offer only volume measures for dry ingredients, convert it to weight and make a note on the recipe.

A basic kitchen scale is a very cheap investment that will pay huge dividends, since the weight of dry ingredients doesn’t vary. Volume measures do (much more than you might think) and that could spoil a recipe.

A cup of sugar, for example, depending on how packed it is, can easily make a recipe too sweet (or not sweet enough). If you want to measure out a cup of sugar, you most likely will give the measuring cup a little shake to level the sugar for an easier reading. That shake settles the sugar and means you will need more to fill the cup. Top it up, and the recipe will turn out sweeter. Give it another shake, and even more sugar will fill the cup. The size of the sugar granules also vary in different regions, and smaller granules mean that more fit in the measuring cup. All of this goes away as an issue if you use weight.

Other dry or solid ingredients have similar problems – for example, I’ve never known how to pack butter into a cup! Also, what’s a cup of chocolate? You can buy chocolate as a bar, little drops, or big pieces, and each will fill a cup differently. So the easiest thing is to use weight!

In our production, we use metric when we weigh ingredients, because it’s so much simpler. If you like using ounces, you should know that an ounce can be almost as confusing as a cup (I’ve written about the problems of using non-metric volume measures here).

There’s the scarily named avoirdupois ounce (most common), troy ounce, and apothecary’s ounce, to name just a few, all weighing different amounts. For liquid weight measures, a UK liquid ounce is different from a US liquid ounce.

If you want help with conversions, there’s a very handy website here.

Happy cooking in 2008!

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Wondering how, in rural Ireland, you might get your hands on balsamic vinegar from Osteria Francescana in Modena or some verjus? I found out via Caroline that Anne of Greatfood.ie has launched an Irish Gourmet food store, which you will find here.

Technorati tags: Great Food, gourmet, food, Ireland

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I have to say this has been so amazing for me – to ask for help from the blogosphere and to get it! I am full of warm, fuzzy feelings!

I’m a bit bleary from all the book editing, so if I’ve left anyone out, please let me know and I will add you!

Thanks, thanks, thanks!

Here are my excellent testers:

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Chocolate Gourmand

Brian took on the Coffee Kahlua and wrote the most detailed, thoughtful post. Not only did he try it a couple of ways, but he posted (beautiful) photos of every step.

I am seriously impressed!

If you don’t know his blog, check it out for sure.

Thanks, Brian!

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Crazy Delicious

Nicole made the Raspberry sorbet as well as Cookies ice cream to satisfy the hubby who’s not a sorbet fan. She had a metric moment, which has come up as a bit of a theme, but she figured out the conversions.

She loved the raspberry and he loved the cookies (even though she added too much vanilla bean, so everybody was happy. It seems even the dog got a lick!

Thanks, Nicole!

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Cryptic Words Meander

Jennifer tried the Cinnamon ice cream. She comments on the metric measures used, but figured out that converting it before writing a shopping list could keep a Mom from crying in the store!

She left the cinnamon stick in longer and liked the result. She would have liked cinnamon specks in the ice cream.

Thanks, Jennifer!

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dsz123.net

Dave made the Strawberry and Sage ice cream.

He used frozen strawberries, cut down on the sugar and added more sage. Helpful comments.

Thanks, Dave!

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Eat Drink Live

Laura made two recipes – fudge and brownies. When words like “salvation” are mentioned, one thinks it was a success!

She did Kahlua brownies and liked the alcohol in it. She feels perhaps she suffered gluttony and promises to sin no more! I hope not, though, because her blog is filled with so many tempting items…

Thanks, Laura!

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Endless Pursuit of Life

Tricia took on Cookies ice cream and wrote it up, pointing out the custard-heating process could use more clarification. She used Newman-Os, which is a healthier but still tasty option!

The final product disappeared in record time!

Thanks, Tricia!

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Fairy Cake Heaven

Rachel made the Honey Cardamom. She ended up with a kitchen redolent of cardamom and a tasty dessert.

She didn’t use an ice cream maker, and the mix separated slightly while it was freezing.

Thanks, Rachel!

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Food Rockz

Food Rockz Man made the Honey Cardamom. He pointed out that I should clarify whether to use pre-ground or freshly-ground cardamom since the latter is stronger (he grinds his in a coffee grinder).

He used a double boiler to avoid over-heating the custard, which I found a good idea if you’re nervous about temperature.

Thanks, Food Rockz Man!

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I’ve Got Seoul

Lisa made the Cardamom and Cinnamon ice creams. She mentioned that the custard was thinner than normal custards, which is a good point, and I should make sure to add to the book that this is o.k. She substituted grown cinnamon for the cinnamon stick with no ill effects. Finally, she didn’t have an ice cream machine, and it’s great to know these recipes worked without one.

Thanks, Lisa!

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Little Bird Eats

Jen took on the Cinnamon ice cream and added the Hot Fudge sauce to placate her chocoholic Mr. B.

Both were a success, and it seems she had to restrain him from chugging the lot. It’s a fun post!

Thanks, Jen!

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Roscommon to Imogene

Homebase and Middleson got cooking with no fewer than three recipes! The Extreme Cocoa went down well, and although they had no problems eating the chocolate crust, they suggested it should be less thick for better spreading. They had some trouble with the strawberry and sage – the coulis was too thin and separated. They also suggested metric conversions. A very detailed and helpful post.

Thanks guys!

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Stuff yer bake

Sarah made the Cinnamon ice cream AND an apple crumble. What a great pairing.

She liked the fluffiness from whipping the cream, which seems to be a common theme.

Thanks, Sarah!

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Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Susan made the Gelato Alla Crema to go with her “Big, Fat, Greek, Topless Pear Tart.”

Not a bad idea, and it seems to have worked quite well.

Thanks, Susan!

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Supertaster

Wendi made the Strawberry Sage and Cookies.

She suggested more sage and more cookies. I like that kind of thinking!

Very cool photos.

Thanks, Wendi!

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The Humble Housewife

Deborah made the Cookies ice cream after a difficult search for Oreos.

The ice cream making went smoothly and she gave the recipe top ratings.

She also offers a great alternative to the traditional Irish breakfast. No… it’s not ice cream!

Thanks, Deborah!

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Vivre en Nouvelle-Zelande

The amazing Frederique made two recipes – Coconut and Rum and Extreme Cocoa.

Her Mom chipped in with Manuka Honey and Orange Blossom, and even followed my recipe, which, it seems is a great honour.

She found her’s too sweet, with not enough orange blossom. Frederique also found the Extreme Cocoa too sweet, but loved it when she cut down the sugar. The Coconut worked well.

Lots of interesting comments and stunning photos.

Thanks Frederique & Mom!

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I also got loads of emails or comments from people who don’t have blogs (or are too shy to share them!). Thanks so much to everyone. My three favourite emails are:

Hi Kieran,

I’ve been reading your blog for several months now and thoroughly enjoy it! Thanks so much for posting your recipes and experiences with the shops. I share the love of ice cream.

I made the cinnamon ice cream with many accolades from friends and family. We all love it. It combines all the best of autumn: spice, cream, dessert. It’s certainly addicting, for sure. We tried it with apple pie, as suggested–fantastic. We tried it with a tiny swirl of chocolate (tasted like Mexican hot chocolate…. chilled!). We tried it with spice cake, which matched the flavors, and provided texture and temperature for contrast.

In the end, three of us decided it was the best ice cream we had ever had, and my friends now call me the Ice Cream Queen. All thanks to you!

Sincerely,

Marie, Boise, ID USA

And this from Andrea:

The coconut and rum ice cream is a winner. Toasting the coconut is so important as it adds a lovely textural element. I also used coconut cream (as it was already in the cupboard). Now to critique…
Your sugar measurement is in ml, I presume you meant grams. Also 3/4 cup of coconut weighed 60g on my scales.
The ice cream after 35 min in my ice cream maker was still very soupy, I gave it a couple of stirs while setting in the freezer and ice crystal formation doesn’t seem to be a problem. I guess that is the alcohol content (both making freezing slower but helping prevent ice crystals).
My only other comment is a small but picky one. The ingredient list doesn’t follow in the order that you need ingredients. Making it easy for someone like me to forget something!
Thanks for sharing a great recipe! Now I have a craving for pineapple sorbet. At least in Darwin it is always ice cream weather…

Made the brown bread ice cream. It was a first for us. There is no such thing as brown bread ice-cream in Holland. We loved it, especially with the whisky and chocolate sauce.

My comments:

Your receipt was easy to follow, I tried following it to the letter. I used a gaggia gelateria (self freezing)  machine. Amounts were correct. Temperature was a different thing. No way custard will thicken at 60’C. Tried it with a thermometer. Put the mixture in the fridge to cool and surely, it separated. Put it back in the pan and heated it to 76’C. It was nice and smooth and coated the back of my spoon.

When I use my own method I simply ad a teaspoon of corn-flower when cooking the custard. It prevents it from curdling. Delia Smith I’m afraid, but it works.

Bread in ice-cream was a nice addition. The flavour could have been a bit more outspoken though. The taste of the brown sugar was a bit overpowering. I did use a nice dark brown and course textured bread. Next time I will try roasting the crumbs first and/or reduce the amount of sugar.

Thank you for your wonderful website and ideas.

Hope you find this useful.

Kind regards,

Karin

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It’s funny – as I’ve been working through recipes for the cookbook and for our demonstrations, I’ve come up against the problems we had in our early days with using cups as measures. We only use litres and grams for production here, and now I remember why!

The “imperial” or UK pint is 20 ounces. A US pint is 16 ounces. A UK cup is 10 ounces, and a US cup is 8 ounces. The problem is that here in Ireland, depending on the manufacturer of the measuring cup, it might be US or UK. That’s a 20% difference in volume!

We had so many recipes come out wrong in the early days. We knew the standard here was imperial, so we did our calculations. What we didn’t expect was that we were sometimes using US measuring cups. We couldn’t understand how recipes could come out so differently, until we finally figured it out.

I wonder how many people out there have been disappointed with the results of recipes that might be US measures and they have a UK measuring cup, or vice versa.

So… I’m going metric only in the cookbook, with a conversion page. Believe me, what ever you might think of metric, it’s far safer!

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For my first article in the August series for the Irish Times (today’s paper), I decided to write about Nell Grandfield (picture below, from an old postcard), who was making ice cream in our Dingle shop from the 1940s to the 1970s.

I often think how we’re so proud of our gourmet foods in recent times, and are so snobbish about the old fashioned ways.

Yet, if you think about it, virtually all Irish farmers were organic 50+ years ago, before pesticides really came in, and there were many, many people making small batches of what we’d now consider artisan foods. Of course, they didn’t have access to the wide range of ingredients we do, and perhaps not the level of outside influence, but you can’t hold that against them.

Many of the top chefs are now extolling the virtues of buying organic and buying local from small producers. If you think about it, that’s what everyone was doing in the days before the big supermarkets. So either people in the food business back then were all ahead of their time, or we owe them a bit of credit, or both…

Nell’s Fruit Cup

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream (recipe here)
• 1 dash of raspberry cordial or coulis
• A couple tablespoons of fruit salad or fruit cocktail
• A wafer, cut diagonally

What to do:

1. Scoop the ice cream into a glass dish
2. Spoon over the fruit
3. Add the raspberry sauce
4. Top with the wafer
5. Enjoy it!

Technorati tags: fruit, cup, Nell Grandfield, dessert, recipe, Irish Times

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It might be drizzling this morning, but for the last few days in Dingle, the sun has been blazing down and everybody’s spirits lifted. I bought a heap of fruit to go making fruit salad. I think there are few things I make at home that are quite as expensive, but there also are few things that taste as good on a summer’s day. Fruit salad can be eaten on its own, topped with cream, or poured over ice cream.

Here are some tips to making a great fruit salad:

1. Use fruit you like!
2. Make sure the fruit is ripe.
3. Try to buy local fruit that is in season when ever possible. Nothing beats it!
4. Choose fruit with a variety of colours to make the salad look its best.
5. Mix up the textures a bit – smooth fruits, crunchy fruits, etc.
6. Squeeze in the juice of a couple of lemons or limes. This will help keep the fruit from turning brown.
7. A tablespoon or two of cognac is a great addition!
8. Letting the fruit salad sit for a few hours will greatly enhance the flavour, especially if you have put in some cognac. (It’s a good idea to leave it in the refrigerator).
9. If you do add sugar, add less than you think you would need. The fruit salad will become a lot sweeter as it sits a while.
10. Serve it in a glass dish for dramatic effect.

Technorati tags: fruit, salad, fresh, dessert, recipe

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When Lorraine tipped me off that the new Bridgestone Irish Food Guide was out, I was very excited. My brother Sean bought me a copy when he was in Dublin, and now I have it in my hands. I am delighted, and not only because we were given a great mention in it. This book is very useful.

My old copy is quite worn at this stage – creased, stained and dog-eared from many trips around the country, and it is a little out of date. For me it has been a invaluable tool when travelling in Ireland, in finding good food in odd places and in discovering culinary treasures, and I strongly suggest that any Irish foodie or visitor exploring this country purchase the new one immediately. John and Sally McKenna are great at what they do, show a remarkable amount of love for it, and they are spot on in their suggestions. I can’t say I have ever been led astray by their guides, and I use them all the time.

What makes me very happy as well is how the guide has swelled. It is now around 500 pages, and I don’t think it reflects any drop in standards by the McKennas, but rather the proliferation of Irish artisan foods and the increasing wealth of choice for food-lovers in terms of eateries. Happy days indeed.

By the way, I’m also pleased to see that some other Irish food bloggers were included – besides La Cucina, you will find Bubble Brothers and Ummera.

You can ask for the Irish Food Guide at your local bookshop or order it on-line here.

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