If you want to follow up the history of Ice Houses and Ice Cream then a visit to the London Canal Museum (a couple of blocks behind Kings Cross on the Battlebridge Canal Basin) may be worthwhile. Being located in an old Ice House, it's as much about the ice trade as about canals. It features the entrepreneurial Swiss-Italian Gatti family and their ice house business.
more: (oops, too slow off the mark to tidy up the first posting)
the Gatti family imported ice from Norway by ship and supplied the icemen who delivered locally around the city by small cart. Hence the canal location for the giant underground ice-store.
During the More4 transmission the 'penny-licks' from the street-sellers were mentioned. These are a bit like glass egg-cups with a smaller depression. A smear of ice-cream was spread on the 'lick' for sale for a penny; hygiene by the street vendors was not exactly very high!!
Originally posted by Eileen: No, I've had the book as long as I can remember - it's probably older than Chris!
Just checked the publishing date - it's the same age as Chris.
I have 2lt of ice cream in the freezer made from strawberries from the back garden. The chocolate recipe is particularly good, although technically not an ice cream as it doen't have eggs in it. Tea ice cream was quite disapointing though. Don't think I've tried any of the alcohol ones yet, they tend to need types of alcohol I don't usually have. May give the Champagne ice cream or Liqueur Parfait a go next time there's space in the freezer.
Sauternes Sweet Champagne Marsala wine Benedictine "Liqueur" - what sort? peach? butterscotch? melon? Amaretto? Don't know, that's why I've not tried it before. Might try it with the Amaretto, now I've mentioned it, the loccal Italian restaurant do a really good Amaretto ice cream... May also double the liqueur content in the recipe too...
Originally posted by Eileen: Sauternes, Sweet Champagne Marsala wine Benedictine "Liqueur" - what sort? peach? butterscotch? melon? Amaretto? ... May also double the liqueur content in the recipe too...
For Sauternes, any sweet white desert wine will do the trick - it doesn't need a posh expensive one. Marsala: I always keep a bottle handy for cooking (e.g. deglaze the frying pan after doing a chop), so I'll lend you a taste in exchange for a scoop of the final product. Benedictine: don't think I've any of that in stock but I always keep some Drambuie handy which would substitute. I nearly bought some duty free Southern Comfort in JFK last month but couldn't really be bothered as my other bags were so heavy - that could be good in anything citrussy. Or perhaps try some Calvados experimenting with the new seasons apples.
BUT - don't double the alco quantities in your recipes without testing the original mix first. If you use too much alco it'll never freezer!! Not much point tyring to make ice-lollies out of anti-freeze!
I rarely buy wine & no-one ever gives me sweet wine or brings it to my partys, it's always the dry stuff (which I don't really like!) that I end up with. I nearly bought some Marsala a while back, until I saw the price... I don't really go for brown spirits, so I never get them. I was given some Calvados a few years ago - it tasted like old socks!
Who cares if it freezes solid? So long as it goes a bit slushy...
