Ice Cream Experts: What Did I Do Wrong?

[NotQuiteCockney]

Yesterday, in a fit of whimsy, I decided to make banana custard ice cream. I made custard, added bananas, and froze it. I stirred it a bunch of times, but it wasn't freezing, and then it really froze overnight (I did stir it at 3 am or so), and was really quite icy this morning.

Are lots of ice crystals inevitable if you make ice cream this way? Or maybe is there not enough fat in this "ice cream" anyway (full-fat milk, but no cream)?

Anyone?

I left it out before serving, it was still quite crystally. Reasonably tasty, just bad texture. (And crystally ice cream normally means it's been allowed to thaw and refreeze since being made, so bad associations, too.)

The thing was, there was a big container, I stirred it every half hour for a while, then went to bed. Maybe smaller containers, more stirring, more fat?

Yeah, or several smaller containers?

The custard was warm when it went in the fridge, which can't help.

Can I add butter to milk to make double cream? I guess it'd have to be unsalted butter, at the least ...

I think I used to beat it befor eit finally set

(But I oculd be misremembering)

I was just stirring, not beating per se.

I made semi-freddo before, which was a more interesting technique, as you beat it all and whisk it up and then just freeze it, and it comes out fluffy because it's beaten.

That had uncooked egg, and lots of double cream.

NQC - that's what I used to make

It was so good (the uncooked egg will be why I don't make it now....edwina curry spoilt everything)

Uncooked egg is fine now though, at least if it's Lionmark or whatever it is. I might not have it while pg, or feed it to a baby under one, but otherwise, nothing wrong with uncooked egg.

After all, if you avoid uncooked egg, you can't lick clean the cake mixing bowl. And what sort of a world would that be, where we couldn't lick clean the cake mixing bowl?

Oh I have uncooked egg & DH & DD have uncooked egg

But most of the time I have 9 of other peoples children...so no uncooked egg

Oh, yes, other people's children are a different deal.

DH refuses to have uncooked egg, thanks to Edwina Curry. Amusingly, when I made praline semi-freddo, he went through all sorts of mental contortions, saying, oh, it was frozen, and that would get rid of the salmonella etc etc.

I'm sure it does

Anyway - it just means DD & I get to lick the bowl