Preventing Ice Crystals: Step by Step

Here is preventing ice crystals, broken into clear, simple steps. The method is forgiving, so small changes are fine. Let's look at what makes preventing ice crystals work, and what you can skip.

Before you start

In practice, movement during freezing breaks up crystals as they form. An ice cream maker churns the base constantly, which is why churned ice cream is so smooth. Without a machine, stirring the mixture every thirty to forty-five minutes during the first few hours mimics churning and keeps crystals small.

Ripe, in-season fruit does most of the work for you.

Step by step

Storage can undo good work. Each time a frozen dessert partly thaws and refreezes, small crystals melt and rejoin as larger ones. Keeping the freezer at a steady temperature, avoiding the door shelves and returning desserts to the freezer promptly after serving all support keep them smooth for as long as possible.

Labeling containers with the date makes it easy to use things while they are at their best.

What to check

Some simple additions help homemade frozen desserts stay smooth. A tablespoon of corn syrup, a spoonful of cream cheese or a little nonfat dry milk powder in an ice cream base adds body and binds water. For sorbets, pureeing fruit thoroughly and straining it gives a finer texture, since pulp and fiber can encourage coarse, uneven crystals.

The goal is a recipe you can repeat easily, not a perfect one-off.

Freezing or baking

Put simply, the difference between creamy and icy frozen desserts comes down largely to the size of the ice crystals inside them. Modest crystals feel smooth on the tongue, while large ones feel coarse and crunchy. Understanding what encourages large crystals aids home cooks avoid them.

Ripe, in-season fruit does most of the work for you.

Serving

Freezing speed is one factor. When a mixture freezes slowly, water molecules have time to gather into large crystals. Freezing quickly produces many small crystals instead. Chilling the base thoroughly before freezing, using shallow containers and placing desserts in the coldest part of the freezer all help speed the process.

Labeling containers with the date makes it easy to use things while they are at their best.

Storing leftovers

The key point is that ingredients play an equally important role. Sugar, fat, milk solids and certain stabilizers interfere with crystal formation. Sugar lowers the freezing point so that some water stays unfrozen, fat coats crystals and prevents them from joining, and milk proteins add body. This is why rich custard-based ice cream stays smoother than a plain frozen juice.

If you remember one thing, let it be that the balance of sugar, fat and water decides the texture.

Practical tips

A few simple things tend to help:

• Keep the freezer door closed as much as possible while things set.
• Taste the mixture before freezing; it will taste less sweet once frozen.
• Chill the base in the fridge before it goes in the freezer.
• Store finished treats in an airtight container.

The bottom line

The best recipe is the one you will make again. Take it one batch at a time. Every attempt teaches you something about your own freezer and oven.