Nineteen-year-old Brazilian beauty Larissa Ramos defeated contestants from as many as eighty countries to take home the crown. A biology student, she will now and become the spokesperson for the Miss Earth Foundation, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other environmental groups. She is seen here at a swimwear photoshoot post winning the crown.
If your partner is a computer nerd, your sex life will certainly be rocking, for a survey has revealed that IT professionals make the best lovers.
The anonymous study of 2,000 British men and women also found computer geeks to be the most selfless in the sack, the most adventurous and more likely to use love gadgets.
A total of 78 percent of techies questioned also claimed that sex toys were part of their love life, and eight out of ten tech workers said that sex toys played an important part in their sexual relationships.
In addition, 82 percent IT workers claimed that they put their partners” sexual needs above theirs, which turned out to be the highest among all of those asked.
However, the survey revealed that a perfect body doesn”t necessarily translates into a perfect romp — participants who worked in the fitness industry were found to be least likely to use sex toys, with just three in ten using them regularly.
And fitness freaks were found to be the most selfish lovers too, reports the Sun.
When asked whether they considered their partners’ needs above theirs, only 41 percent answered positively, scoring the lowest among all those questioned.
However, when it comes to stamina, they certainly have an edge over others — IT workers, though passionate, failed to answer in affirmation when asked if they have sex more than three times a week.
Computer geeks had to finish third to office workers and fitness experts.
The survey’s key findings are as follows:
Least selfish ( percentage of people who said their partner’’s pleasure was most important):
1.IT workers — 82 percent
2.Office workers — 74 percent
3. Healthcare — 70 percent
4. Unemployed — 69 percent
5. Hospitality — 65 percent
6. Manual workers — 53 percent
7.Catering — 52 percent
8. Education — 50 percent
9. Business owners — 49 percent
10. Sports and fitness workers — 41 percent
Most often (percentage of people who had sex thrice a week or more):
1. Office workers — 53 percent
2. Sports and fitness workers — 47 percent
3. IT workers — 38 percent
4. Manual workers — 36 percent
5. Catering — 35 percent
6. Unemployed — 31 percent
7. Hospitality — 30 percent
8. Education — 28 percent
9. Healthcare — 24 percent
10. Business owners — 21 percent
Most open to sex toys:
1. IT workers — 78 percent
2. Manual workers — 72 percent
3. Office workers — 70 percent
4. Education — 64 percent
5. Catering — 58 percent
6. Hospitality — 56 percent
7. Unemployed — 56 percent
8. Healthcare — 45 percent
9. Business owners — 34 percent
10. Sports and fitness workers — 32 percent
A new book offers to help men through the minefield of being a male. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
The tome, entitled 150 Things Every Man Should Know by Gareth May, hands out pointers about certain skills, which apparently all lads would find indispensable, such as the correct etiquette in a urinal, hiding a lovebite, or spotting artificial breasts.
British tabloid The Sun handpicked some favourites:
Going commando
1. Your package becomes more visible through only one layer of protection, so prepare for some smiles or smirks.
2. Take extra care when shaking at the urinal. The damp spot has led to many a man’s misery.
3. Avoid trousers with zips.
4. When wearing shorts don’t lift your legs up.
5. Check your fly at regular intervals.
Hiding a love bite
1. Some swear by white toothpaste. Smear over the bite and leave.
2. Apply arnica cream or take arnica pills. Arnica speeds up healing and reduces bruises.
3. Wear a polo neck, scarf or cravat, or all three. Tell friends you’re thinking of joining a bowling club if they’re suspicious.
4. If desperate, reach for some concealer.
Urinal etiquette
1. Control the power of your pee. Backsplash is embarrassing enough on your own shirt, let alone your boss’s.
2. Don’t stand far back and experiment with your aim.
3. Remember: Sinks are for washing your hands and absolutely nothing else.
4. It is totally unacceptable to operate a Blackberry or mobile at a urinal, especially during conference calls.
How to tell if she’s had a boob job
Size: If she looks like she’s smuggling watermelons, they are probably fake…or she’s smuggling watermelons.
Shape: Boob jobs look hard and muscular. Real breasts look soft and curve out like a ski-slope.
Texture: Unless you were around in the blitz you might not know what a sandbag feels like. So think bag of sugar.
How to talk your way out of a fight
1. Sometimes offering to buy them a drink can defuse the situation, but don’t give them your credit card and tell them to set up a tab.
2. Don’t be intimidated or show any sign or weakness.
3. Stand your ground with confidence if they square up to you. Don’t shuffle, slouch or put your hands in your pockets.
4. Don’t give into temptation, grab a pool cue and yell: ‘Let’s be having you!’
5. Speak calmly and don’t crack jokes.
6. If you’ve used all reasoning and he still wants a fight, chances are it’s fisticuffs even if Gandhi and Nelson Mandela [ Images ] were doing the talking.
How to get over a girl
Do: Hit the pub with some mates.
Don’t: Drink yourself into a stupor.
Do: Pack her belongings into a box and return them to her as soon as possible.
Don’t: Have sex with the ex. Okay, just once if you have to.
How to turn a girl off if you don’t like her
Be elusive: Tell her you’re busy all the time and never return calls, texts or emails.
Drop hints: Tell her you’re in a relationship with someone else who struggles with your platonic female friends.
Disgust her: Wear really old, dirty clothes and don’t clean your teeth for a week.
All of us had a specific skill set — software testing. It was an emerging field during the time so we knew we had an edge. We invested the one lakh in setting up a lab — we rented out some ten machines and used a partner-friend’s garage to start up a training institute for software testing in Noida.
Alongside, we also took up a few offers for software testing ourselves and continued to network. It was difficult initially. But when our students started getting placed they acted as our ambassadors and opened up the doors of their employers. That’s when we moved beyond retail training and started training various corporate houses. Eventually we began making inroads into these companies and started testing their software.
Who else is part of CresTech?
Navneesh Garg (28) and Lalit Jain (29) had chipped in the initial funds along with me. Both are computer engineers and have worked with HCL and Wipro respectively. Avinash Tiwari (28) and I had worked together in HCL, Oracle and Adobe. So I knew it was only a matter of time before he joined us. And sure enough, he did.
Unlike Hyderabad or Bangalore, Noida isn’t exactly a place, which breeds software experts. How did you go about marketing the idea of software training?
Around the time we started the institute, there were some 60-odd colleges that had suddenly mushroomed in Delhi NCR. So the market was staring us right in the face. Also, since software testing was the thing to do at the time, many young people were interested in learning it. Call it good timing or plain luck, but from the very first month of our establishment, we started making profits. Never once, since then, have we posted a loss. Within 15 months we were out of the garage and on our own!
When did you get your first client?
Within a year, actually. Sapient Corp was our first client. One of our students had referred us. We stepped in and helped them complete a project that was stuck because of a technical hitch. Navneesh went to Bangalore and worked on it for about three months. Ever since, Sapient has stuck with us and they are one of our biggest clients today.
How and when did you start expanding your base to the US and Australia?
The US office was set up in 2007 — when tremors of the sub prime crisis were just being felt. We realised that the country was going into recession and yet expanding business was the only way ahead for us. Europe, being a conservative market, was not really an option. That’s when we started looking at Australia. Thankfully, we were able to visualise certain market trends there and that helped. Today we are a 20-member operation there.
Image: (From L-R) Avinash, Pankaj, Navneesh and Lalit started off from a garage, a la Apple Inc
It was the year 2005 and barely 24 months had passed since Pankaj Goel lost his father. The then 25-year-old was the only earning member of his family and was supporting his widowed mother and a yet-to-be-married sister.
Goel, a software testing professional, was drawing a decent salary from his employer Adobe India. So when he announced to his folks that he wanted to move on and start an enterprise, eyebrows were raised.
It wasn’t an easy decision, Goel admits. Opposition from the family made things even more difficult. Yet it was a dream he did not want to let go of.
So Goel quit his job and along with two of his friends, Navneesh Garg and Lalit Jain, he invested a lakh of rupees and started training young students in software testing.
Soon enough, another of Goel’s colleagues and good friend Avinash Tiwari joined them and there hasn’t been any looking back ever since.
Today the company they started — CresTech Software Systems Ltd — earns them a revenue of $1 million and is placed by Nasscom amongst the top 50 emerging companies in India.
In an interview with rediff.com, Goel, now 29, tells us about the time he took the plunge and how a software company was born out of a garage in Noida:
Four software professionals and a lakh of rupees — is that all it takes to start an enterprise?
Well, yes and no. The four of us always had the entrepreneur bug within us. That was what prompted us to leave our respective jobs and start off this enterprise.
When we quit we did not have any business plan whatsoever. We only knew that we didn’t want to work in a company anymore and instead wanted to start one ourselves. So that’s what we did.
Image: Pankaj Goel’s four-year-old company now earns almost $1 million each year
Yet in some ways there is something endearing about Kapoor — her employees seem comfortable around her and speak their mind. They even chuckle at her when she gets uncomfortable posing for the camera (”They know I hate this part,” she says). Indeed there is a sense of easy camaraderie in the small office that Kapoor runs from a suburban industrial estate in Mumbai.
Kapoor heads Barrier Break Technologies, an enterprise that tests websites and software to see how ‘accessible’ or disabled friendly they are. She also believes that it is time disability solutions are not looked at as charity but rather as business propositions. Kapoor (35) should know. She has been making a living at it for herself and supporting her 55-odd employees — almost 75 per cent of them being disabled — for quite a few years now.
As a matter of fact, it was her accessibility solutions business that kept her company afloat during the downturn last year.
Here she tells us about her journey on ‘the road less travelled’:
Much is being made about accessibility these days. You were the first to even introduce the concept in India. What gave you the idea?
I started off as part of an NGO teaching computers to visually impaired people (around 1997). Slowly but surely I realised two things — one that NGOs almost always have to go around with begging bowls and two they invariably end up spending less on the cause itself.
Meanwhile, I had learnt about the business model on accessibility in the West. By then I had also started Net Systems Informatics (N-Syst) that focussed on knowledge management. We decided to include accessibility solutions primarily because we hoped that Indian companies that signed contracts with their Western counterparts would require their software and sites to be tested for accessibility. Much to my surprise no one was interested.
Around the time (2004) Vision Australia contacted us and asked us if we could test a site and compare notes. It was a great opportunity for us to assess where exactly we stood because in India there was no one we could compare ourselves with.
Turned out that Vision Australia was impressed with our work and that gave us a shot in the arm.
N-Syst was set up to address the needs of Indian companies. But most of our work first came from the West. So we first had to look towards the US to make money.
Image: Shilpi at the Barrier Break Technologies office in suburban Mumbai.
The Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank will issue directions to the banks to step up credit for micro, small and medium enterprises.
A task force formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] on Thursday discussed steps to enhance credit to MSMEs, which contribute 45 per cent to the country’s industrial production.
“The Finance Ministry and the RBI will soon issue instructions to banks to ease the credit to the industry,” the Secretary in the MSME ministry, Dinesh Rai, said.
The meeting of the group, headed by Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary T K A Nair, also considered ways to infuse venture and equity capital into these units.
The MSMEs, which bore the brunt of the economic slowdown have been seeking concessional credit as also equity infusion.
The sector, which employs 4.2 crore people and accounts 40 per cent of India’s [ Images ] exports, has been suffering sickness due to reasons such as shortage of working capital and technology obsolescence.
The task force, constituted in August, also comprises Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla and Labour Secretary P C Chaturvedi, had formed several expert sub-groups to look into the specific problems faced by the sector.
The group also discussed reports on credit and revival of sick units.
© Copyright 2009 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
Ice Cream Manufacture
The basic steps in the manufacturing of ice cream are generally as follows:
blending of the mix ingredients
pasteurization
homogenization
aging the mix
freezing
packaging
hardening
Process flow diagram for ice cream manufacture: the red section represents the operations involving raw, unpasteurized mix, the pale blue section represents the operations involving pasteurized mix, and the dark blue section represents the operations involving frozen ice cream.
Blending
First the ingredients are selected based on the desired formulation and the calculation of the recipe from the formulation and the ingredients chosen, then the ingredients are weighed and blended together to produce what is known as the “ice cream mix”. Blending requires rapid agitation to incorporate powders, and often high speed blenders are used.
Pasteurization
The mix is then pasteurized. Pasteurization is the biological control point in the system, designed for the destruction of pathogenic bacteria. In addition to this very important function, pasteurization also reduces the number of spoilage organisms such as psychrotrophs, and helps to hydrate some of the components (proteins, stabilizers).
Pasteurization (Ontario regulations): 69° C/30 min. 80° C/25s
Both batch pasteurizers and continuous (HTST) methods are used.
Batch pasteurizers lead to more whey protein denaturation, which some people feel gives a better body to the ice cream. In a batch pasteurization system, blending of the proper ingredient amounts is done in large jacketed vats equipped with some means of heating, usually steam or hot water. The product is then heated in the vat to at least 69 C (155 F) and held for 30 minutes to satisfy legal requirements for pasteurization, necessary for the destruction of pathogenic bacteria. Various time temperature combinations can be used. The heat treatment must be severe enough to ensure destruction of pathogens and to reduce the bacterial count to a maximum of 100,000 per gram. Following pasteurization, the mix is homogenized by means of high pressures and then is passed across some type of heat exchanger (plate or double or triple tube) for the purpose of cooling the mix to refrigerated temperatures (4 C). Batch tanks are usually operated in tandem so that one is holding while the other is being prepared. Automatic timers and valves ensure the proper holding time has been met.
Continuous pasteurization (see schematic diagram for mix here) is usually performed in a high temperature short time (HTST) heat exchanger following blending of ingredients in a large, insulated feed tank. Some preheating, to 30 to 40 C, is necessary for solubilization of the components. The HTST system is equipped with a heating section, a cooling section, and a regeneration section. Cooling sections of ice cream mix HTST presses are usually larger than milk HTST presses. Due to the preheating of the mix, regeneration is lost and mix entering the cooling section is still quite warm.
Homogenization
The mix is also homogenized which forms the fat emulsion by breaking down or reducing the size of the fat globules found in milk or cream to less than 1 µ m. Two stage homogenization is usually preferred for ice cream mix. Clumping or clustering of the fat is reduced thereby producing a thinner, more rapidly whipped mix. Melt-down is also improved. Homogenization provides the following functions in ice cream manufacture:
Reduces size of fat globules
Increases surface area
Forms membrane
makes possible the use of butter, frozen cream, etc.
By helping to form the fat structure, it also has the following indirect effects:
makes a smoother ice cream
gives a greater apparent richness and palatability
better air stability
increases resistance to melting
Homogenization of the mix should take place at the pasteurizing temperature. The high temperature produces more efficient breaking up of the fat globules at any given pressure and also reduces fat clumping and the tendency to thick, heavy bodied mixes. No one pressure can be recommended that will give satisfactory results under all conditions. The higher the fat and total solids in the mix, the lower the pressure should be. If a two stage homogenizer is used, a pressure of 2000 - 2500 psi on the first stage and 500 - 1000 psi on the second stage should be satisfactory under most conditions. Two stage homogenization is usually preferred for ice cream mix. Clumping or clustering of the fat is reduced thereby producing a thinner, more rapidly whipped mix. Melt-down is also improved.
Ageing
The mix is then aged for at least four hours and usually overnight. This allows time for the fat to cool down and crystallize, and for the proteins and polysaccharides to fully hydrate. Aging provides the following functions:
Improves whipping qualities of mix and body and texture of ice cream
.
It does so by:
providing time for fat crystallization, so the fat can partially coalesce;
allowing time for full protein and stabilizer hydration and a resulting slight viscosity increase;
allowing time for membrane rearrangement and protein/emulsifier interaction, as emulsifiers displace proteins from the fat globule surface, which allows for a reduction in stabilization of the fat globules and enhanced partial coalescence.
Aging is performed in insulated or refrigerated storage tanks, silos, etc. Mix temperature should be maintained as low as possible without freezing, at or below 5 C. An aging time of overnight is likely to give best results under average plant conditions. A “green” or unaged mix is usually quickly detected at the freezer.
Freezing and Hardening
Following mix processing, the mix is drawn into a flavour tank where any liquid flavours, fruit purees, or colours are added. The mix then enters the dynamic freezing process which both freezes a portion of the water and whips air into the frozen mix. The “barrel” freezer is a scraped-surface, tubular heat exchanger, which is jacketed with a boiling refrigerant such as ammonia or freon. Mix is pumped through this freezer and is drawn off the other end in a matter of 30 seconds, (or 10 to 15 minutes in the case of batch freezers) with about 50% of its water frozen. There are rotating blades inside the barrel that keep the ice scraped off the surface of the freezer and also dashers inside the machine which help to whip the mix and incorporate air.
Ice cream contains a considerable quantity of air, up to half of its volume. This gives the product its characteristic lightness. Without air, ice cream would be similar to a frozen ice cube. The air content is termed its overrun, which can be calculated mathematically.
As the ice cream is drawn with about half of its water frozen, particulate matter such as fruits, nuts, candy, cookies, or whatever you like, is added to the semi-frozen slurry which has a consistency similar to soft-serve ice cream. In fact, almost the only thing which differentiates hard frozen ice cream from soft-serve, is the fact that soft serve is drawn into cones at this point in the process rather than into packages for subsequent hardening.
Hardening
After the particulates have been added, the ice cream is packaged and is placed into a blast freezer at -30° to -40° C where most of the remainder of the water is frozen. Below about -25° C, ice cream is stable for indefinite periods without danger of ice crystal growth; however, above this temperature, ice crystal growth is possible and the rate of crystal growth is dependant upon the temperature of storage. This limits the shelf life of the ice cream.
A primer on the theoretical aspects of freezing will help you to fully understand the freezing and recrystallization process.
Hardening invloves static (still, quiescent) freezing of the packaged products in blast freezers. Freezing rate must still be rapid, so freezing techniques involve low temperature (-40oC) with either enhanced convection (freezing tunnels with forced air fans) or enhanced conduction (plate freezers).
The rate of heat transfer in a frezing porcess is affected by the temperature difference, the surface area exposed and the heat transfer coefficient (Q=U A dT). Thus, the factors affecting hardening are those affecting this rate of heat transfer:
Temperature of blast freezer - the colder the temperature, the faster the hardening, the smoother the product.
Rapid circulation of air - increases convective heat transfer.
Temperature of ice cream when placed in the hardening freezer - the colder the ice cream at draw, the faster the hardening; - must get through packaging operations fast.
Size of container - exposure of maximum surface area to cold air, especially important to consider shrink wrapped bundles - they become a much larger mass to freeze. Bundling should be done after hardening.
Composition of ice cream - related to freezing point depression and the temperature required to ensure a significantly high ice phase volume.
Method of stacking containers or bundles to allow air circulation. Circulation should not be impeded - there should be no ‘dead air’ spaces (e.g., round vs. square packages).
Care of evaporator - freedom from frost - acts as insulator.
Package type, should not impede heat transfer - e.g., styrofoam liner or corrugated cardboard may protect against heat shock after hardening, but reduces heat transfer during freezing so not feasible.
Ice cream from the dynamic freezing process (continuous freezer) can also be transformed into an array of novely/impulse products through a variety of filling and forming machines, which have ben identified on a separate page.
You can have a healthy meal on the table in 30 minutes, from start to finish. The key is a little planning. Read through the recipe and make sure you have all the ingredients (or good substitutes) on hand.
Here are the five healthy dishes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less:
Besan Cheela
Besan Cheela (also called chilla, puda, pudla), also referred to as Vegetarian Omelette in some parts of India [ Images ], is a traditional Indian breakfast and evening snack item which is quite easy to prepare. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare this nutritious, low-calorie, high-protein food. Besan (gram flour) is a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber which also prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.
Recipe
Mix besan, finely chopped onion, green chillies, coriander (dhania), red chilli powder and pepper powder in water like dosa batter.
Heat a non-stick pan and pour about half a cup of batter on to it.
Pour some oil onto the sides and cook till crisp.
Serve hot with green chutney.
Lemon Coriander Soup
Fragrant lemon juice and piquant chillies make this clear soup very appetizing. Coriander lends its own distinctive flavour and freshness to make this one-of-a-kind soup. While lemon works well with its antioxidant and anti-cancer properties, coriander works as a good anti-diabetic.
Recipe
In a pan, heat some oil and saute finely chopped onion, spring onions, ginger and garlic till they are translucent.
Add vegetable stock, coriander stems, cabbage, carrot cubes, coriander leaves and crushed peppercorn and bring to a boil.
Strain the water and bring it to boil again, add salt and lemon juice.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
Egg White Omelette
From bowl to table, 10 minutes is all it takes! A low-fat, low-carbohydrate, low-cholesterol start to the day. Egg whites are fat-free and a good source of protein. In addition, egg protein is easily absorbed and digested by the body. It is for this reason that sportsmen and body builders often tend to have egg whites in their diet.
Recipe
Mix egg whites with pepper, green chillies, herbs, diced onion and mushrooms (optional).
Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Pour the egg white mixture in and keep on medium heat till cooked.
Oats Upma
What better way to gain the strength and energy to carry you through a hectic morning schedule than with a steaming bowl of freshly cooked Oats Upma. Oats, with their high fiber content, not only help remove cholesterol from the digestive system but also act as antioxidants and thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Recipe
Roast the oats in a pan without oil for about three mins and keep aside.
Heat some oil in the pan and add urad dal (black gram), chana dal (Bengal gram), mustard seeds, green chillies, dry red chillies and fry for some time till the dal turns golden brown. Now add sliced onions, minced ginger and curry leaves.
Saute the onions till they are tender, add asafeotida and salt.
Add water and boil for a minute or two, then add the roasted oats. Keep stirring till all the water is absorbed and oats are thoroughly cooked.
Serve hot.
Whole Wheat Pasta
Pasta is a favourite comfort food — it’s quick and easy to cook and always tastes good. But with all those carbs can it be healthy too? You bet! The trick is to use pasta made of whole wheat and by adding more lean protein and vegetables into the mix. Whole wheat is a rich source of fibre which helps lose weight and also lowers the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Recipe
Boil the pasta in salted water. Once cooked drain the water.
Mix together oil, vinegar, tulsi (basil), oregano, salt and pepper and keep aside.
Take another pan and saute capsicum, garlic, broccoli and carrots till soft.
Pour the cooked vegetables into the pot with the pasta.
Pour the vinaigrette (mixture of vinegar, oil and other herbs) over the pasta and vegetables. Toss to distribute vegetables and vinaigrette evenly.
Other than the recipes above, there are many others that you could try your hand at such as whole wheat / multigrain bread sandwiches, roasted / steamed vegetables, soups made of tomato / sweet corn, etc.
The following information comes from a publication developed by the late Professor A. M. Pearson of the University of Guelph, targeted to the manufacture of ice cream in the home with an old-fashioned hand or electric crank bucket, cooled by ice and salt. There are many other ways to do it, and the recipes are equally applicable. Please return to the ice cream page for further details related to commercial ice cream production.
Homemade Ice Cream has not lost any of its good, old-fashioned appeal. There is a delicious homemade ice cream to meet every need: regular, low calorie, non-cooked and one using a non-dairy liquid coffee whitener. Everyone can make a homemade ice cream to suit their need with convenience afforded by packages of ingredients from the supermarket.
Janice Bryant
Prof. A.M. Pearson
University of Guelph, 1980
Ice cream fills a useful place in homes throughout the country. It is a favourite for desserts or snacks incorporating an array of many flavour variations. Ice cream contains many nutrients. With the recipes provided, all should be able to enjoy some type of this tempting food. If the regular recipe does not suit your needs, there is the low calorie recipe which contains less than 3% fat for both a cost and calorie saving. The recipe using coffee whitener is significantly less costly than the regular and does not contain milk fat should that be your limitation. So let’s mix up a batch of ice cream for anyone and everyone to enjoy!
Ingredients Used
The main constituents of ice cream are fat, milk solids-not-fat (skim-milk powder), sugar, gelatin (or other suitable stabilizer), egg and flavouring.
A variety of milk products can be used: cream, whole milk, condensed milk and instant skim-milk powder. The recipes stated below proved satisfactory using whipping cream (32-35% fat), table cream (18% fat) and whole milk. The fat gives the product richness, smoothness and flavour. Skim-milk powder is used to increase the solids content of the ice cream and give it more body. It is also an important source of protein which will improve the ice cream nutritionally. Use good quality, fresh powder to avoid imparting a stale flavour to the ice cream.
Liquid coffee whitener (usually purchased frozen) is a cream substitute in one of the recipes. It will yield a slightly different flavour which is still very acceptable. The texture of the ice cream is very creamy. Liquid coffee whitener offers the convenience of being stored frozen in your freezer and is readily available if a quick decision is made to make ice cream.
Sugar is a common ingredient to use as a sweetener. It increases the palatability and improves the body and texture.
The next ingredient, gelatin (or similar substance) assists in absorbing some of the free water in the ice cream mix and helps prevent the formation of large crystals in the ice cream.
It also gives substance or a less watery taste when the ice cream is consumed. The eggs are added to make the fat and water more miscible and also to improve the whipping ability which gives the ice cream greater resistance to melting.
Although vanilla is the flavour added to all of the mixes listed below, you may add flavours to suit you taste.
Preparation of the Ice Cream Mix
The mix (unfrozen ice cream) has to be cooked (pasteurized). For pasteurizing the mix, it is best to use a double boiler to prevent scorching.
Place the liquid ingredients (milk, cream or coffee whitener) in the upper section of the double boiler. Beat in the eggs and the skim-milk powder. Mix the gelatin with the sugar and add to the liquid with constant mixing. While stirring, heat to about 70oC. Place the container in cold water and cool as rapidly as possible to below 18oC.
Aging the Mix
The ice cream mix is best if it is aged (stored in the refrigerator) overnight. This improves the whipping qualities of the mix and the body and texture of the ice cream. If time does not permit overnight aging, let the mix stand in the refrigerator for at least four hours. After the aging process is completed, remove the mix from the refrigerator and stir in the flavouring.
Freezing the Mix
The freezing procedure has a two-fold purpose, the removal of heat from the mix and the incorporation of air into the mix. Heat is removed by conduction through the metal to the salt water brine surrounding the freezing can. This transfer of heat depends upon the temperature of the brine, the speed of the dasher and how well the dasher scrapes the cold mix from the surface of the freezer can. The dasher speed and surface contact are important to achieve complete removal of the frozen ice cream from the wall of the freezer can. A brine made from 500 grams (1 lb.) of salt and 5 kilograms (11 lbs.) of crushed ice (one pail full) makes a good freezing mixture.
Before starting to freeze the ice cream, make sure all parts of the freezer coming in contact with the ice cream are clean and have been scalded. Let the can cool before pouring in the mix. Place the empty can in the freezer bucket and insert the dasher ensuring both the can and the dasher are centred. Pour the cold, aged mix into the freezer can. The can should not be filled over two-thirds full to allow sufficient room for air incorporation.
The recipes listed below will fill a 5 litre (5 quart U.S.) freezer can to just below the fill line. Attach the motor or crank mechanism, depending on whether your freezer is the electric or hand-cranked style, and latch down securely. Plug in the motor or start turning the crank. Immediately begin adding crushed ice around the can sprinkling it generously with salt. Try to add the salt and ice in the same one to ten proportion to get the proper brine temperature. After the bucket is filled with ice to the overflow hole, pour a little water over the ice to aid in the melting process.
Freeze the mix for 20 to 30 minutes. If the electric motor stalls, immediately unplug it. Remove the motor or crank and take the dasher out of the ice cream. The ice cream will be softly frozen. Scrape the ice cream from the dasher and either scoop into suitable containers or pack in the freezer can. Immediately place the ice cream in the deep freeze to harden.
If freezer facilities are not available, the ice cream can be left in the can, the lid plugged with a cork and placed back into the bucket. Repack the freezer with more ice and salt, cover with a heavy towel and set in a cool place to harden until serving time. This will require further addition of ice and salt depending on the length of time the ice cream is being held. The yield from the recipes listed below should be three to four litres.
Regular Vanilla Ice Cream
Table cream 2 litres (2 US quarts)
Instant skim-milk powder 350 ml (1.5 cups)
Sugar 450 ml (2 cups)
Gelatin one 7 g (1/4 oz.) pkg.
Egg one med or large
Vanilla 10 ml (2 teaspons)
Calories per 100 g 230
Low Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
Whole milk 2 litres (2 US quarts)
Instant skim-milk powder 500 ml (2 cups)
Sugar 350 ml (1.5 cups)
Gelatin one 7 g (1/4 oz.) pkg.
Egg one med or large
Vanilla 10 ml (2 teaspons)
Calories per 100 g 125
Milk Substitute Vanilla Ice Cream
Coffee whitener 2 litres (2 US quarts)
Instant skim-milk powder 350 ml (1.5 cups)
Sugar 500 ml (2 cups)
Gelatin one 7 g (1/4 oz.) pkg.
Egg one med or large
Vanilla 10 ml (2 teaspons)
Calories per 100 g 210
Hints for Making Good Ice Cream
1. If the ice cream is very soft, the brine is not cold enough. More salt should be added to reduce the brine temperature.
2. If the ice cream is coarse and ice in less than 20 minutes, the brine has become to too cold too quickly. Too much salt has been used.
3. Make the ice cream mix the day before it is frozen to get a smoother product and a higher yield.
4. Electric freezing takes longer than hand operated.
5. Use crushed ice for freezing.
6. Freeze at least 3 hours before the ice cream is to be served.
7. Be sure dasher is properly centred in the freezer can.
8. Add liquid flavours before freezing but if you want to add fruits or nuts, add them after freezing and before hardening.
9. Use a wire whip to blend ingredients for best results.
10. Clean the salt off all the metal parts of the freezer to prevent corrosion.
For additional recipe suggestions, please see www.ice-cream-recipes.com. Examples of homemade ice cream freezers can be found at country-freezer.com.
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