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I was exploring a variety of online sources and I stumbled into the emulsifier Glycerol Monostearate (GMS). According to Wikipedia it is commonly used in ice cream to make its texture creamier. I also noticed that it's commonly used with Carboxylmethyl Cellulose (CMC).

I have a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker accessory and one of common problems I have is that I feel like the overrun is very high and the ice cream is crunchy. I wanted to try to address these issues with these additives. Unfortunately, they're not mentioned in the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream book. ;) Information on the internet is relatively sparse as well.

Does anyone know the appropriate proportions for these ingredients in a French-style ice cream (with eggs)?

Corez
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  • It might well be possible to fix these problems without additives. Are you really set on that? – Cascabel May 12 '16 at 18:32
  • In this case I am. I'm trying to learn where these additives fit into ice cream. – Corez May 12 '16 at 18:35
  • I have a kitchen aid ice cream maker and I've had great success with it. If you are getting poor results I'd say it's with your recipe or method. I would not recommend trying to use those ingredients - you don't need them. – GdD May 13 '16 at 08:43
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    I am very surprised at the answers and comments posted here. The OP asked a very concrete detail about a method they want to use, and everybody wrote that they shouldn't use it, because there are other ones. Note that the question wasn't "how to prevent crystals" and the OP wants to know about their chosen method. This is like asking people "What time does the train to Munich leave" and hearing in response "You shouldn't go by train, because there is a bus". – rumtscho May 13 '16 at 09:15
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    (cont.) We have problems getting new users to understand that our model is to answer the question straightforwardly instead of discussing all possible related questions and rehashing the same few tips one hears over and over once a keyword is mentioned. And then a new user appears and we start posting somewhat related information, asserting that they should use that instead of what they (obviously after some research) want to use - that's quite counterproductive. – rumtscho May 13 '16 at 09:17

7 Answers7

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After some more research, I stumbled onto this post. The "standard ice cream" recipe linked from there uses 0.4% of a "stabilizer blend" (8g out of 1950g of ingredients).

GMS and CMC would fall into the stabilizers and emulsifiers category. I used 7g of GMS and 1g of CMC, which seems to be a fairly common ratio in recipes using these ingredients.

The post itself says "standard" ice cream has 0 to 1% stabilizers and emulsifiers, which at least provides an upper bound:

One can very generally place ice cream formulas and their constituent components within the following ranges:

Milk Fat: 10–16%

Egg Yolk Solids: 0–2%

Nonfat Milk Solids: 9–12%

Sweeteners: 12–16%

Stabilizers and Emulsifiers: 0–1%

Water: 55–64%

The challenge is calculating the amounts of various components in the ingredients that are added. I can say that I made delicious French Vanilla Ice Cream (with GMS and CMC) using that basic recipe and the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream accessory.

Community
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Corez
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  • How did you actually find out how much of each to use based on that page? Presumably different stabilizers and emulsifiers have different strengths, and knowing that you might use at most 1% of them is hardly any information at all! The recipe linked from there just says "8g stabilizer blend" which is perhaps a bit better but without knowing what was in that blend I'm not sure how much it helps, either. – Cascabel May 17 '16 at 17:56
  • Good point. I used 7g of GMS and 1g of CMC. As seems to be the general consensus online regarding ratios of these additives. Updated answer to that effect. – Corez May 17 '16 at 18:03
  • So... it sounds like the important things are actually the recipes that you found using that ratio of GMS and CMC, and the recipe with the 8g of "stabilizer blend". (What is that 8g as a weight percentage?) The basic formula part and the rest of that post don't really provide much information about the stabilizer/emulsifier ratio question. – Cascabel May 17 '16 at 18:26
  • First off, the 8g is from the standard recipe that's referenced in the url that is in the answer. In that recipe the 8g of stabilizer would be .4%. In my answer, based on the original formula, it says 0-1% Stabilizers and Emulsifiers. This would be a ratio. Regarding GMS and CMC, I haven't seen exact ratios but I provided mine. If there's more specific information available then I'd be happy to upvote a more thorough answer. – Corez May 17 '16 at 19:04
  • So, people should be able to understand the most important parts of your answer easily from reading just the answer. Links should be used to provide support and a place to read more, not relied on for important information. (Links break.) So if 8g is 0.4%, that should be in the answer; links directly to the recipes supporting this (the one with 8g of blend and the ones with 7:1 ratio) would be a nice supplement. I'd edit for you but I don't know all the links and don't want to rewrite your answer too much. – Cascabel May 17 '16 at 19:08
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    Are you kidding me? You can see Stabilizers and Emulsifiers: 0-1% in the answer. Should I clarify that these are GMS and CMC? Oh wait - I did. – Corez May 17 '16 at 19:09
  • I said 0-1% doesn't provide much information, not that it's not a ratio. What if with a given stabilizer or emulsifier you only need 0.1%? Then using 1% would be way, way too much. Or if you need 1%, then 0.1% might have very little effect. And that's all in the 0-1% range. Sure, it provides an upper bound, but it's hard to use it to actually pick a number, unless you interpret it instead as "around 0.5%" and are perhaps prepared to experiment. And I went ahead and edited your answer to include the additional information you provided in the comments. – Cascabel May 17 '16 at 19:16
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Use 0.3% of Glycerol Monostearate, it is plenty to stabilise the emulsion. CMC is generaly used in quantity ranging from 0.05 to 0.15% in the ice cream industry.

Matt R. F
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  • Any common/easily available ingredients to thicken the ice-cream? I've heard CMC helps but I'm not sure where to go about finding it... – Qasim Jun 01 '17 at 16:01
  • Yes you can use locust bean gum instead (which can be found easily) ranging from 0.1 to 0.3% it is plenty to get a thicker ice cream mix. – Matt R. F Jun 02 '17 at 16:52
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GMS will increase overrun, not decrease it. And there's really no point to using it unless you're making eggless ice cream. CMC is an effective stabilizer, but it's not the answer to your problem.

You'd have to post your recipe and procedure to give me a clue. I use the Kitchenaid machine, and can assure you that it can get as much or as little overrun as you want. It's the only consumer machine that's variable speed (this is huge). Between this, and your ability to adjust the formula, you should be able to go from very dense to very airy.

paulraphael
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In general stabilizer would be used at .1-.5% (total mix 3000 grams x .005= 15 grams) and generally are used in a combination for reasons like: cost, availability, synergistic effect, and other.

Kenny
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I have used http://www.khanakhazana.com/recipes/view.aspx?id=589. It uses 2 tbsp GMC and 1 tsp CMC for a liter of milk. This is a gelato style recipe though it has cornstarch but no egg yolk. I got excellent results with it.

It turns out better if while cooling the base you keep stirring it, do not cool under cold air or cold water.

rumtscho
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pretty
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How high is the overrun? Then, GMS wouldn't help reduce it. But if your ice cream is icy it is because your ice crystal are too large, then CMC would help stabilise your ice cream. Use maybe about 0.1-0.15% of your total weight for CMC then, 0.4-0.5% for the GMS.

If the ice cream is still icy, reduce your CMC as it also functions as a water retention agent .It would help also help if you add sweet whey powder as milk protein is known to help promote smaller ice crystals.

Ella
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You do not need those additive for home-made ice cream; just practice some more or use a different recipe.

To answer your question: Those two additives are (mostly) used by commercial ice-cream makers either as a emulsifier (GMS) and thickener (CMC), i.e. instead of properly churning the custard at the proper temperature; and that will also help the ice-cream survive less than ideal storage conditions (will not melt at higher temperature).

There are recipes that can be google with GMS and CMC, and both additives are easily available for home-use.

Edit:

For example, one recipe (http://www.khanakhazana.com/recipes/view.aspx?id=589):

  • 1 liter Milk
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 3 tbsp Cornflour
  • 2 tbsp GMS powder
  • 1/4 tsp CMC Powder
  • vanilla essence 1/2 tsp,
  • 1 cup fresh cream
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

After looking at the above recipe, it looks like the CMC and GMS more or less replaces the eggs (and custard)

Good luck with that.

Max
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  • If you can find those recipes, could you include the typical ratios used? – Cascabel May 12 '16 at 19:40
  • A French-Style ice cream is built around the custard. Are you saying that the GMS and CMC replace the need for a custard? – Corez May 12 '16 at 21:34
  • @Corez In this recipe, the corn starch is also a partial replacement. But it may also just not be the same texture as French-style ice cream. I guess the ratios could still give you a rough idea? – Cascabel May 12 '16 at 23:45