Icecream Journal

Ernie is back to answer another question. This one comes to us from Bob R., in Haines City, Florida.

“My clubhouse has bought some novelty ice cream that we plan to sell in our clubhouse. How long can we store this ice cream at 0 degrees in our new upright freezer before it will develop freezer burn or go bad?”

Ernie’s Answer: Wow, in my house ice cream usually only lasts a couple hours. For the average person storing ice cream in a refrigerator/freezer, it should stay fresh and tasty for at least a month if unopened and stored at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Once we warm it up to dip (6 to 8 degrees) and then refreeze for a later day, no doubt by the third time you will be noticing changes in texture which cannot be undone.Most home freezers have automatic defrost cycles which can cause ice cream to melt slightly and re-freeze. This, as we discussed earlier on the Ice Cream Journal, can cause heat shock and limit ice cream’s overall life span.

But if you have access to a deep freeze (like Bob does) and you’re using it for long-term storage (not taking the ice cream in and out of the freezer), it should last much longer, eventually approaching the sell-by/use-by date stamped on the bottom of the container. But remember, this date is only a general guideline and not all deep freezes are the same.

In different quantities, milkfat can be used to affect the smoothness, color, texture and food value of ice cream. For these reasons, milkfat is considered to be the most important ingredient in ice cream. In fact, it's so important, that federal regulations state that in order to be considered “ice cream” the product must contain at least 10 percent milkfat. Premium ice creams contain slightly more milkfat and gourmet or super-premium ice creams can contain even more.

The exceptions to this rule can be seen in Turkey Hill's Light Recipe Ice Creams, which contain between 3 and 5 percent milkfat. The special blending and processing techniques, plus all those great inclusions, give it that smooth texture and rich taste.

Milk sherbet, a summer time favorite for its cool and refreshing taste, often uses less than 3 percent milkfat.

This is a pretty simple recipe. Like most ice cream recipes it’s also very flexible. You can substitute the Rice Chex used in the topping with any of your favorite cereals. Try Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes or, if you’re feeling adventurous and colorful, maybe Fruity Pebbles…but only if you’re feeling REALLY adventurous.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups crushed Rice Chex

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

• 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine butter, cereal, brown sugar, peanuts and coconut to make crust and topping mixture. Press HALF of the mixture into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. dish. Cut ice cream into 3/4-in.-thick slices; arrange evenly over crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture; press down lightly. Cover and freeze until serving.

This past weekend, the Food Network held its 2007 Food Network Awards to honor outstanding culinary achievements over the past year. It's sort of like the Oscars for food. We missed the show, but we're told Turkey Hill was mentioned during coverage of the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park in the category of “Best Ballpark Eats.”

Thankfully, the show will be re-airing tomorrow night (Thursday) at 9 pm on the Food Network. Here's a listing of categories, nominees AND winners. Don't read it if you're planning to watch and you want to be surprised.

As a long time sponsor and the official ice cream of the Philadelphia Phillies (Phillies Graham Slam), Turkey Hill was selected to present Phils first baseman Ryan Howard with his 2006 National League Most Valuable Player award during a ceremony before Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros. We were also asked to throw out the first pitch.

We thought for awhile about who from Turkey Hill should represent the company on the field during the ceremony. A heated discussion about who’s a bigger Phillies fan ensued, but in the end we felt the best thing to do was give the opportunity to Scott Thompson from Acme Markets, who passed the privilege on to his son, Steven. We gave the honor to Scott in appreciation of the support Acme has given to both Turkey Hill and the Phillies over the many years that we’ve worked with them.

Pictured below is Steven with the reigning MVP during Saturday’s ceremony. That’s Steven’s dad, Scott, on the right under the Phanatic’s jersey.

A while ago we wrote about Penn State University’s “Ice Cream University” course. Not coincidentally, Penn State University Park (main campus) is also home to the world’s largest university creamery. The Creamery makes ice cream, milk and cheese, which it sells to the public and also produces for the campus’s dining halls.

The Creamery uses 4.5 million gallons of milk annually, half of which comes from a herd of 225 cows at the University’s Dairy Production Research Center. They also sell 750,000 hand-dipped ice cream cones each year to students, alumni and other campus visitors.

Over the years, the Creamery has attracted several famous customers, including President Clinton, Tom Ridge, Lynn Swann, Bob Costas, Martha Stewart and, of course, Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno (on several occasions, we’d imagine). Normally, the Creamery doesn’t allow customers to mix two flavors on the same cone, but in 1996 they made an exception for President Clinton when he requested Cherry Quist and Peachy Paterno. That’s him on the left enjoying his combo. There’s something about a world leader eating an ice cream cone that looks kind of funny, isn’t there? Penn State President Graham Spanier (left in photo) must agree.

A big part of the ice cream’s appeal lies in its super premium butterfat content of 14.1 percent, which makes for a very rich dessert. Here’s a listing of available Creamery flavors. Over 100 ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt varieties in all. That’s a different flavor every two weeks for an entire four year undergraduate stay!

We hope spring is warmer for some people than it is for us here in central Pennsylvania. The sooner it warms up, the sooner we can all start hiking and biking and picnicking and camping. Speaking of camping, the winners of this month's prize (chosen at random from comments left on the Ice Cream Journal in March) will be able to make ice cream around the campfire with their new ice cream making ball. The winning comments came from:

Leah R. from Monongahela, PA

Marla N. from New York, NY

Congrats Leah and Marla, and thanks to everyone for reading and commenting. Until next month, here's a link to a picture that sums up this frigid April weather. The quote at the bottom is perfect.

From time to time we’ll be dishing out second servings of some of our favorite Ice Cream Journal entries from the past in a feature we call “Second Scoop.” Here’s one to get us started:

Opening a fresh container of ice cream is always exciting. You get to see all the swirls and chocolate bits and cookie dough chunks (hopefully lots of them) all lying there waiting to be scooped up into your bowl. And sometimes you see something like the picture below.

This container of Turkey Hill French Vanilla Ice Cream was purchased by a customer last month, who then sent us this picture. No word on whether this happy half gallon will be sold for thousands on eBay or attract hoards of mystified and adoring fans, but as far as cultural icons go, the smiley face is right up there with the best of’em.

Baseball season is here. Is there anything better than eating ice cream out of a miniature baseball helmet on a hot summer day? It’s no coincidence that ice cream and baseball pair so well with each other. One is the American Pastime; the other is America’s favorite treat. And both were meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace…with friends…and maybe a few hot dogs.

If we’re not mistaken, the image above looks like it was taken from the upper deck of New York’s Shea Stadium. Go Mets! Or whoever your favorite team may be.