Ice Cream Philly Style

Nothing beats ice  cream, especially home made. It's so delicious and the perfect foil for homemade pies and cobblers. The best ice cream for this Philadelphia style, the original American treat .It's easy to make , especially if you have the best dairy ingredients. The result is light and airy, the perfect summer time refreshment.

Julia Moskin not only wrote about it in her Recipe Lab column in today's New York Times Food section but made a batch too. Philadelphia style ice cream is different than the French custard style most of us are used to. For one thing it doesn;t have any butterfat or eggs to weigh it down. This eliminates any residual heaviness that lingers on the tongue afterwards. The taste is clean and dairy. After all it 's just milk and cream . This makes it better for flavors like lemon  and vanilla to shine through as well as the taste of  the cream itself. This also makes it excellent for pairings with everything from fruit to pies and cakes. It's not heavy  and doesn't make the entire dessert heavy either. The ice cream is also commercially made by Breyer's which first manufactured it back in 1866, Edy's and Basset's. Ben and Jerry's  along with Haagen -Daz make the heavier custard style which is still yummy but dense.

Home chefs can have fun with this recipe but remember it's all about the creams used. Ms. Moskin insists on an unpasteurized cream, the kind you find at farmer's markets. Unfortunately store bought kinds  have preservatives such as carrageenan and guar gum which can ruin the final texture .Also untrapasteurized or UHT heavy cream has already been pasteurized to 280 degrees Farenheit  as opposed to 162 degrees  for regular cream.This can give the ice cream a "cooked" flavor which you don't want  The second most important ingredient is sugar but you can also  use honey, agave or maple syrup. Then it's just a quick simmer over a low flame or even in the microwave. Taste  as you go. The initial requirement is one cup or 3/4 cup corn syrup. Remember that the cold air mixed in by your ice cream machine will blunt the sweetness. Ms Moskin also recommends that both the mixture and the machine be as cold as possible. Nothing should be semi chilled or partially frozen,It makes for tiny ice crystals whichs makes for a smoother texture. Remember the faster your ice creams goes from liquid to frozen, the smoother it will be as ice cream. You can sub in Earl Grey  tea  for the vanilla bean  for a variation, perfect after a light supper.

Philly style ice cream is easier to make than the custard style kind. It's also lighter and refreshing. Make a batch to go with the fruits of the season

Cider Time

Fall is here and that means cider. There;s nothing as refreshing as apple cider on a crisp October day. Its' taste is sharp and it's has an invigorating tang. If you want more of a kick, then have a glass of the lard kind. This is the season for for any kind of cider, hard or soft.


Cider is one of our oldest beverages.The name comes from a variation of the Hebrew shekar and the Greek sikara . Saint Jerome called it sicera and from that came the old French word cidre. The Romans found the Kentish villagers drinking it as early as 55 BCE. It was one of the most popular drinks during the Middle Ages and apple orchards, grown exclusively for cider flourished under England's Norman period. It came to North America with the colonists and it was easier to brew than beer or wine. It was the colonies' most consumed beverage. Now it is divided in to the alcoholic hard and the non - soft. Hard cider today is a wonderful accompaniment to cheese and crackers or to a hearty cassoulet. Soft cider is good with that fall favorite, fresh made cinnamon doughnuts.

Cider itself is a mash of cider apples that goes through a large hydraulic press. It's mashed to the consistency of apple sauce and then placed between layers of cloth. The soft variety should be pasteurized because it is a petri dish for botulism and has caused deaths in recent years. Unpasteurised cider is made and sold at some family owned farms and has a purer taste than the mass produced kind. However it is risky to drink so be careful when buying it.

The is the season for a large glass of cider. Its' sweet tart taste is perfect for those hearty fall dishes and flavors. Enjoy a glass now with a good dinner or for dessert with some fresh baked doughnuts or crullers..