Home made ice cream help. It's just too hard...

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

As per title. I got an ice cream maker which is fab. The only problem is getting the stuff out once it's done.
The last batch I made (rhubarb, ginger and crumble) set like a rock. It was out of the freezer last night for two hours before I could even make a dent in it.
Anyone have a magic softening ingredient I can add please?

That's what happens to proper ice-cream. It probably wan't rock-like when it came out of the ice-cream maker. You have to take it out some time in advance of serving. The commercial soft-scoop stuff is mostly nasties.

. I was hoping for a quick fix along the lines of liquid glucose or half alka seltzer and a teaspoon of colgate.
Back to the drawing board and I'll be getting it out three hours in advance!

A tablespoon of liquid glucose does actually work in my experience!
Also, what are you making the ice cream out of? Anything thin and runny will set harder, conversely a thick custard just seems to turn back into custard in your mouth- I find a 95% custard, 5% semi skimmed milk, and a tablespoon of liquid glucose (plus other ingredients obvs) makes for a good consistency.

It will still need to be removed from the freezer before you need it, but only for a few minutes.

Aha. There's the answer. The two I've made so far have been with gold top milk, cream and either chocolate chunks and, peppermint essence the last one was rhubarb, ginger and broken biscuits.
Guess who's going to Tesco . Thank you.

I'm probably telling
something you already know but just in case... it's much easier if you take it out of the machine as soon as it's churned and put it in another container. Even if it's still hard straight from the freezer it will soften more quickly.

No, you weren't telling me something I didn't know. It's off to a plastic box seller once they open.
Many thanks. My next creation is to be christmas pudding ice cream.

A little bit of booze also makes for a softer ice cream.

If you haven't got it, can I recommend The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz? The recipes are great but also the techniques section - I realised I was cooking my custard too long, get a thermometer and there's no need to get it to the point of curdling.

Now you've got me thinking about it i will have to go out and get cream when the shops open.

Thanks for that, I'll see whether our library can get me a copy.
I was thinking of an advocat ice cream too...

Yum, happy to test the Christmas pudding ice cream and, er, provide more advice

Nigel slater does an amazing marmalade and dark chocolate ice cream - the sugar content in the marmalade keeps it soft.

Who thinks these things up? marmalade and choc sounds like a jaffa cake to me.

Jaffa cake ice cream? Now there's an idea...
Not seasonal or festive but my favourite is strawberry pavlova ice cream- custard/milk/glucose, squished up strawberries with sugar and bashed up meringue all mixed together and put in the machine. Delicious.
For mint choc chip I use bashed up mint aeros- then you get a green colour too!