Making cherry ice cream, should I macerate the cherries?
I am going to be making cherry ice cream, I haven't used cherries before but in making strawberry ice cream I have always macerated the berries.
Should I do the same for cherries, the few recipes I have looked at don't say to to this.
I am planning to use the Good Eats custard base and add the cherries and some dark chocolate chunks.
Best Answer
tl;dr Either way is fine.
When making ice cream- your quest is to bind up water. Water crystallizes and makes ice cream icy instead of creamy. There are a lot of ways to keep water from freezing in ice cream from reducing the volume of water in the mix, to using natural antifreezes, to binding the water up with gums or starches.
Sugar loves water. The water will eagerly hook up with sugar and won't be able to freeze.
If you macerate your cherries two things will happen-
1- Water will be drawn out of the cherries and
2- The water that is left in them will be saturated with sugar and slower to freeze.
The result is that the cherries will be softer, sweeter (of course), be slightly more concentrated, and not freeze solid.
If you don't macerate them then they will be little chunks for cherry ice.
Both ways are perfectly tasty and I've had ice creams that do it either way. It just depends what you want to make.
Pictures about "Making cherry ice cream, should I macerate the cherries?"
How do you keep cherries from freezing in ice cream?
Because cherries have natural sugar content, they don't freeze solid like ice cubes, they'll be slightly soft, which makes chopping really easy. Mix those with just a little sugar and a little more almond extract and then pop them back in the fridge or freezer to stay cold.How long does it take to macerate cherries?
Maceration starts instantly, and in some cases you'll notice change in fruit texture or flavor within minutes of contact. But the best results require more time, anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.How do you make easy cherry ice cream?
Here's how to make it:How long do macerated cherries last?
Store in a sealed tight container, in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. The end result is what I expected, and very similar to that of the distillery. Cherries that were sweet, delicious, soft, and ones that were perfect in dessert as well as a refreshing cocktail.3-Ingredient Cherry Ice Cream Recipe
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