# My home made ice cream keeps coming out crumbly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 23, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441 "2022-07-23T16:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andrew1010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@Andrew1010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew1010)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/1 "2022-07-23T16:22:59Z")
I have been making ice cream lately and made a few batches each time I make it comes out crumbly and not able to really eat it in a cone I made a cooked custard ice cream and cooked it to 175 degrees I don’t think i let it over turn very much once it starts to harden up in the machine I let it go for a few more minutes then take it out but it’s very hard and even after sitting it likes to stay harder in the middle and some what crumbly 2 1/2 cups cream 1 1/2 cups whole milk 8 egg Yolks Pinch of salt 2 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 cups sugar And I wiped the eggs with half the sugar till color turns paler yellow and let cool down in ice bath and let sit in refrigerator to cool down more or over night ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/2 "2022-07-23T18:01:43Z")
Not an ice cream expert, but a coarse texture (in my experience) comes from insufficient churn, allowing ice crystals to grow too large. I’ll defer to the actual skilled cooks we have here to comment on the recipe, since I don’t have any experience with frozen custard recipes. (Other than loving them when they’re well made). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/3 "2022-07-23T18:08:56Z")
“Crumbly” is not a texture I associate with ice cream - to me, that word refers to a dry product, like a crisp cookie or stale bread, that easily dissolves into crumbs when you cut, break, or bite into it. Your ice cream isn’t shedding crumbs, is it? I’m wondering if what you mean is that there are dryish lumps in the ice cream. If that is the case, I can’t diagnose it for sure without hearing your full methodology, but it sounds like you might be heating your custard too hot for too long (perhaps without sufficiently blending it) and this is causing cooked bits of hardened yolk to form in the custard. Once that happens, no amount of whipping or cooling is going to get rid of those yolk lumps. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/4 "2022-07-23T18:48:00Z")
Back when I was younger people used to add Junket to home made ice cream to make it smoother. I didn’t know until just now that that was now an “obscure product”. > **[What the Heck is Junket, Anyway? — Jessie Unicorn Moore](http://www.unicornlove.com/blog/2015/5/29/what-the-heck-is-junket-anyway)** > > Junket. You've probably seen it at the supermarket. It's usually in a weird place on a high shelf in the baking aisle; I typically happen upon it when looking for Odense marzipan or Bird's Custard powder, which are also often in odd spots on the... [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-is-this-junket-anyway-75292240/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-is-this-junket-anyway-75292240/) ---
**Author:** ![Andrew1010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@Andrew1010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew1010)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/5 "2022-07-23T19:18:21Z")
I hear a lot of people on line refer to the problem I have is crumbly (falling apart) and not staying together it’s tastes great no ice crystals I can’t find or taste, it’s just the texture I’m getting that needs some work. When I cook the custard I make sure I temper it and stain after it’s done might be to low if a heat on the first step when I heat my milk and cream with half the sugar till just about boiling then temper and mix in the eggs I make sure my eggs are mixed well till there pale in color. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/6 "2022-07-23T21:31:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Back when I was younger people used to add Junket to home made ice cream to make it smoother. I wasn’t aware of Junket, but I suspect it contains guar gum or one of the other substances used in ice cream stabilizers. Junket may not be available, but you can buy ice cream stabilizer and use it at home - I do, as it means that a big batch of homemade ice cream will stay smooth and delicious in the freezer, instead of becoming grainy with giant ice crystals. I have never been able to buy the stuff in small quantities, however - you can get it on Amazon but it tends to be sold in volumes of at least 4-6 cups, which may not seem like much but considering that you only need a couple of teaspoons or so for one batch of homemade ice cream, it is way too much. I find it to be worth it, however, even though I end up throwing out most of it after 3-4 years and buying a new supply because I’m not sure it will still be good after all that time. (I do use it way past the stated expiration date, though.) Having said all that, I’m not sure that stabilizer will solve the OP’s problem, as he says it’s “crumbly” not full of ice crystals. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/7 "2022-07-23T21:35:20Z")
Junket is rennet. It used to be used to make milk pudding. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew1010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@Andrew1010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew1010)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/8 "2022-07-24T00:20:29Z")
Just found out that the machine I’m using puts in the lowest amount of air content around 8 percent unlike other machines that have 15-30 the machine is called Whyner 220 ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/9 "2022-07-24T01:08:01Z")
Higher quality commercial ice cream is usually denser (ie, less air content) - that’s an important reason why a hand-scooped ice cream cone from a high-end creamery is usually much superior in taste and texture to a grocery-store brand of ice cream. So I’m not sure less air content is a bad thing, though SOME air is needed. [Here’s some info on the topic.](https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/air-in-ice-cream/) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/10 "2022-07-26T00:52:06Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Junket is rennet Rennet enzymatically curdles milk. You were making cheese ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/11 "2022-07-26T00:59:09Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > You were making cheese ice cream. Who was? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/12 "2022-07-26T01:01:16Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Who was? I guess “people” was. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Back when I was younger people used to add Junket to home made ice cream to make it smoother. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/13 "2022-07-26T02:43:55Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I guess “people” was. [People still is](https://www.foodservicedirect.com/junket-rennet-tablet-kit-0-23-ounce-12-per-case-23046464.html), and [have been more than 100 years](https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1906-ad-junket-hansen-fairy-dessert-ice-cream-tablet-original-advertising-085893-gh3-367). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/14 "2022-07-26T03:38:46Z")
Funny thing is junket custard doesn’t taste at all cheesy. It’s still a ways from cheese. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/15 "2022-07-26T03:52:52Z")
Yeah, rennet is used to curdle milk to make cheese, but it’s still pretty far from cheese right after it’s been cuddled. My mother used to make us junket when i was a kid. I loved it. Anyway, i, also, think that the only way those ingredients can get “crumbly” is if the egg is over heated and coagulates. @Andrew1010 , are you sure the bottom of the mixture, where it’s touching the pot, doesn’t over heat? ---
**Author:** ![Andrew1010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@Andrew1010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew1010)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/16 "2022-07-26T20:31:57Z")
Custard is just the method of cooking the base to thicken it up my recipe I wrote only has Vanilla in it ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/17 "2022-08-03T15:18:54Z")
I’d try some Philadelphia-style ice cream, so you can rule out any weirdness with the custard, since Philly-style ice cream is uncooked and doesn’t involve eggs. [Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream Base Recipe - NYT Cooking (nytimes.com)](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018788-philadelphia-style-ice-cream-base) ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/18 "2022-08-03T15:42:27Z")
It sounds to me like the ice cream is overchurned. You even said you let the churn run a few minutes longer than recommended. If you overchurn cream, or if you buy whipping cream and try to whip it with a mixer, and you keep whipping it trying to get those big, fluffy peaks, you end up with butter. You’ll get a bowlful of little dots and a bunch of watery stuff, and whipping it more will not give you those high, fluffy peaks. Cream can only handle so much whipping/churning. And what is ice cream but cream, egg, and sugar? Try underchurning it, instead. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/19 "2022-08-04T23:22:46Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > You were making cheese ice cream. Maybe he was making bleu cheese ice cream, it is crumbly after all. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441/20 "2022-08-05T20:14:38Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Junket is rennet. No. Junket is milk curdled with rennet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-home-made-ice-cream-keeps-coming-out-crumbly/968441.md?page=2)