Popsicles, granitas and more: Chill out with alternatives to ice cream
BY KATHERINE SACKS July 12, 2011 10:50AM
Salted Caramel’s new frozen treats include chocolate mole pudding pops (left) and Thai mango yogurt pops. (Scott Stewart ~Sun-Times)
Updated: May 9, 2012 9:38AM
When Kris Swanberg started her artisanal ice cream company Nice Cream in 2008, it was a true labor of love. The labor? Hauling her heavy-duty KitchenAid mixer and three ice cream attachments to and from her Noble Square kitchen space.
The attachments, similar to many home ice cream makers, were water-filled bowls that needed 24 hours to freeze and could only be used once before re-freezing.
“With the KitchenAid, I could do about 12 pints a night,” Swanberg remembers. “And that would take me four hours, which is crazy, but I thought it was really great.”
While more expensive home models often include a small compressor, most ice cream machines operate by the freezer-bowl method. Besides the obvious problem of finding freezer (and storage) space for the equipment, there are other issues facing both home cooks and chefs.
“If you’re working on a warm summer day with the windows open, it’s not gonna work. It’s gonna be soupy,” explains Swanberg, who has since upgraded to a small, professional-grade machine with a built-in compressor.
At best, these machines produce a soft-serve consistency; more freezing is usually needed for a firmer product.
So this summer, skip the ice cream labor altogether. There are plenty of other frozen desserts that offer a sweet reprieve, sans machine.
Smooth semifreddo
“Granitas, popscisles, semifreddos are kind of my repertoire for frozen treats,” says pastry chef Amanda Rockman, who took over the sweet menu at the Bristol, 2152 N. Damen — with no ice-cream machine — last September.
For an ice cream taste, semifreddo is your best bet, says Rockman. This traditional Italian dessert means “half cold,” offering the same creaminess of ice cream without the extra step of spinning.
“It’s kind of like a merriment between a parfait and an ice cream,” says Rockman.
Rather than spin air into a cooled base using a machine, semifreddo is created using a whipped mousse of eggs and sugar folded with whipped cream. Because both the eggs and cream are whipped separately, less volume of each ingredient is needed: 2 eggs and 1 cup of cream makes enough for 10 people.
A similar dessert is frozen mousse made with only egg whites, a dish Stephanie Izard uses to highlight sweet corn at her restaurant Girl and the Goat, 809 W. Randolph. Although the restaurant receives specially made gelatos from Black Dog Gelato, “we don’t have an ice cream machine in-house, so it’s a nice alternative,” says Izard.
Because of their simple construction, both semifreddo and frozen mousse are good menu options when planning a party.
“You can make it a few days ahead and keep it in the freezer,” says Izard. “Then just pull it out and let it temper a bit before you serve.”
Flaky granita
For a dessert more reminiscent of sorbet, granita is another choice that requires no machine — just a fork. Stir and scrape the simple combination of water, sugar and flavorings as it freezes to create flaky shards.
“If you just scrape it when it’s frozen, it’s going to be like fluff,” says Rockman, who made a root beer granita for the Bristol’s root beer float. “If you do it in intervals, you get this beautiful flakiness.”
Served alone, granitas make a simple dessert. Or they can easily be spiked for a refreshing summer cooler, as Melissa Yen, creator of Jo Snow syrups, recently found out. While testing new recipes, Yen combined Santome extra dry prosecco with her Fig Vanilla Black Pepper syrup for a surprisingly easy treat.
“Because the prosecco doesn’t freeze all the way, you don’t have to watch it that closely,” says Yen. “It sort of semi-froze. I ended up adding a little bit of soda water and a dash of bitters for a really nice, refreshing cocktail.”
Fruity popsicles
With summer produce at its peak, why buy popsicles when it’s easy to whip up a batch of fun-flavored ones at home. Yen uses her syrups in a number of ice pops, including a combination of sparkling water and Hibiscus Basil Orange Blossom syrup that she compares to an Italian soda, “nice and light.”
While you can use almost any liquid or fruit puree to make popsicles, it’s a good idea to do some recipe research. If the sugar or alcohol balance is too high, the liquid won’t freeze.
“Have a template recipe,” says Ginna Haravon, who recently added popsicles in flavors such as Chocolate Mole to her Salted Caramel line of sweet treats. “Then you can infuse any flavor, like basil or black peppercorns.”
All of these frozen desserts are sure to satisfy a sweet tooth and the need for something cool. And they are a great way to use up fruit that’s past its prime — fruit purees make wonderful additions to creamy semifreddos and add bright flavor to granitas — or to showcase unique teas, spices and herbs.
So forget about the machine and the ice cream. Just freeze.
Katherine Sacks is a Chicago free-lance writer.
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