Uncover the Secrets of New England-Style Ice Cream: A Chewy, Dense Delight
Are you ready to dive into a frozen treat that's as unique as it is delicious?
Ice cream is a beloved dessert, but did you know that a simple change in ingredients and technique can create a completely different experience? On one side of the spectrum, we have the airy Philadelphia-style ice cream, and on the other, we have the chewy, taffy-like New England style. Today, we're going to explore the secrets behind this dense and rich ice cream, and where you can find the perfect scoop.
The Key Features of New England-Style Ice Cream
New England-style ice cream is all about texture. The ice cream is churned at a slower rate, resulting in a low overrun, which means the ice cream base has less air and smaller, more closely packed air pockets. This helps to maintain a thick, dense texture that's perfect for a heaping of mix-ins like cookies, brownies, and candy.
Another key feature of New England-style ice cream is its higher fat content. For example, Judy Herrell, the current owner of Herrell's, told Serious Eats that the ice cream shop uses a 14% butterfat base, which is well above the 10% to 12% used in standard ice creams. This contributes to a richer, denser texture and a slower melting speed, as fat wraps around and protects all those tiny air molecules and ice crystals.
Where to Find a Scoop of New England-Style Ice Cream
If you're ready to try your hand at the perfect New England scoop, you're in luck. There are quite a few key New England ice cream shops to try for the perfect chew.
Herrell's Ice Cream is a Massachusetts icon with two locations in Northampton and Amherst. Well known for its thick, mix-in-forward ice cream that comes in flavors like black raspberry mudpie and cookie combustion, the shop's been highlighted in publications from Bon Appétit to USA Today. Herrell's is deeply rooted in the lore of New England ice cream, as its founder, Steve Herrell, pioneered the region's beloved ice cream style in 1973 and created the concept of ice cream mix-ins, which he called and eventually trademarked as smoosh-ins. In fact, Herrell is said to have influenced Ben & Jerry's own filling-rich ice cream brand.
If you're interested in digging into a dense scoop, you can always buy a pint of Hood's New England Creamery Ice Cream. It's a classic New England brand with a deep history in the region, and this product line is advertised as its creamiest ice cream to date. Or, if you want to try your hand at the customizable marble slab "mix-in" preparation method popular in the region, stop by a Cold Stone Creamery. You can also try your hand at making it yourself if you're feeling crafty, though you might have to pull that multi-purpose ice cream maker out of your pantry.
Making New England-Style Ice Cream at Home
There's no definitive recipe for New England-style ice cream, as so many of the region's creameries and shops make the dessert using their own recipes and based on individual preferences. Accordingly, there are many ways to make the dense, taffy-like ice cream of your dreams.
One important aspect of achieving an optimal texture is by lowering the speed of your churn in order to prevent too high an overrun. Whipping too much air into your ice cream will produce too fluffy a scoop. So, if you can slow the churn speed on your ice cream maker, make sure to keep it at a lower speed setting.
If you have an ice cream maker that works at a single speed, there are other ways to compensate. Adding stabilizers can help keep your ice cream thick. The Hood New England Creamery uses guar gum and locust bean gum as thickening agents. If you can't find these stabilizers, you can use arrowroot or xanthan gum.
As for those ice cream mix-ins? Well, that's a whole other can of worms (or nuts or chocolate chunks). You can either add your mix-ins towards the end of the churning process or afterward, either by layering them into your ice cream container or working them together on a cold surface, marble slab-style. Just make sure that your mix-ins are chopped small enough and pre-chilled so they don't impact your ice cream's texture. Or, if you're feeling flavorfully fickle, you can always opt for toppings rather than mix-ins.
