Nomad Inspired | Montana Born
While the Nomadic cooking fad seems to be focused on baking, more specifically Sourdough baking,
I have always been obsessed with the cooler art of crafting frozen desserts. Before nomad life, I would make ice cream quite often, always experimenting with new flavors, tweaking recipes & improving techniques to produce the finest product I could make.
But producing ice cream on the road? Is that a realistic process? Well, after contemplating that very question, I discovered that yes- with a new machine, some redesigned recipes & incorporating ingredients that I find in my travels, it could once again become my passion hobby.
Hand crafted Ice cream
FLAVORS 2024
Mexican Espresso Coffee
Montana Huckleberry
Vermont Maple Walnut
Mexican Espresso Coffee Heath Bar
Madagascar Vanilla
Peanut Butter Cup Squared
Pistachio Nut
Columbia Basin Dark Cherry Chocolate Chip
Vermont Maple Walnut Bacon Crunch
Belgian Chocolate
Chocolate Hazelnut Heath Bar Crunch
HOW I MAKE MY MICRO BATCHES
Step One: The Base
Three staple ingredients;
Milk & Cream
Organic Eggs
Pure Cane Sugar
That’s it. This is the part where I have to mention, unlike those mainstream brands, there are no stabilizers, preservatives or fillers.
Step TWO: Local & Nomadic Sourced Flavors
These may include;
Coffees
Nuts
Fruits
Cookies
Crumbles
Often selected from the region I am in or far away places that I have traveled to.
Step Three: The Cooking, Brewing, Baking & Boiling Process
This is the part where the ingredients come together. Ultimately, most of my recipes involve making a custard base. Sometimes added flavors need to be baked, coffee brewed or nuts roasted. This is the stage where the kitchen becomes a mess!
Step FOUR: The Churn
The custard base is slowly cold churned in my ice cream compressor machine to build consistency and incorporate ingredients. As the internal temperature drops the ice cream thickens. Additional ingredients are now folded-in right before the churning process concludes.
Step FIVE: Cool down
The ice cream is packaged and put in the freezer to complete the hardening process.
Step SIX: ENJOY!
It is time to eat! Remember- what sets really good ice cream apart from all the other stuff out there are these four rules;
1. SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2. USING ORGANIC EGGS as an emulsifier rather than gums, starches or other chemicals
3. MILKFAT CONTENT = creaminess; Premium ice creams generally contain 13-15% milkfat. My base recipes aim to exceed 20+% milkfat.
4. LESS AIR. Slow cold churning to minimize the amount of air (“overrun”) whipped into the base. Most premium ice creams are 40+% air! I aim for around 10%.