Ice cream texture (mine is too hard)

[Mikey]

I'm not sure if it's my freezer or the way I make it. I have an ice cream maker, have made ice cream and frozen yogurt. The flavor in most cases is very nice. However, instead of a relatively creamy texture like what I'd get from the frozen food section when buying Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's, it comes out very hard, almost solid.

My standup freezer is presently -10F. Is that the reason why? I'm considering storing the frozen desserts in the freezer portion of my refrigerator-freezer instead, since that's right at 0F.

Primarily, I'm using the standard ingredients, such as milk (I substitute skim for whole milk), heavy cream, vanilla, sugar, etc. Is there any whipping, beating or anything used to make these creamier and less hard when taken straight from the fridge?

Thanks.

[Mikey]

Is this thread in the right place? I notice that there's a "desserts" subforum, so I'm unsure if it's better here or there. Can a mod please advise?

Thanks.

[meliz]

I think this is a fine place for your post (can't icecream be a main course too?)... I am sorry I can't really help... I've made icecream once in my life...

Things that you might try:

Does your machine have a place for rock salt in the ice compartment? (ours is very old fashioned). I think this makes the ice "less cold" and might help to keep the final prduct pliable (ie to use more salt)

Do you cook the milk mixture into a custard first? If so, maybe you are cooking it too long and this is making it hard?

You might try taking it out of the DF too -- I know ours is very cold.

In the past I have noticed that homemade IC is best when it's just made... after that I think it does tend to get harder than store bought types which probably have a chemical to keep them softer for scoopability. Maybe?

All I know for sure is I want homemade icecream RIGHT NOW!