Flavors...

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Folks? Why are different and experimental flavors a bad thing? Why are they a sign of a moral failing?

I like them. I encourage them.

I think that our recent move towards shrinking the batch size is a good thing, but I think that creativity in frozen dessert making is good.

Comments

[cutieperson]

i am emphatically With You.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

me too ...

not to mention the fact that ... it's y(our) party and we'll encourage interesting and multiple flavors if we want to ... :)

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Don't make too much of anything but the flavors that are well known and loved. Otherwise, just experiment a lot! Isn't that what this event is all about? (Speaking of which, I really need to start hunting for a good source for honeysuckle.) Hell, I'm still trying to perfect cucumber sorbet after 5 years of tinkering both at baitcon and home. On the other hand, Ceviche Sorbet is calling my name this year as a challenge because Sunspiral threw down the gauntlet of odd flavordom last year with that liver ice cream.

Any suggestions on flavors to try making with some prickley pear cactus concentrate??? I'm thinking there's a tequila margarita prickley pear surprise in there maybe...

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

well, yer native honeysuckle as i'm told by my plant grrl, doesn't have a scent, or i imagine, much flavor. the invasive kinds do. a lot. go figure.

i wonder, how about sweet clover with some sorrel? both good to knosh on. sweet and citrus. maybe a touch of nasturtium, or other edible flowers... tulips?

mmm, oh trader joe's has cape gooseberries now, and candied hibiscus flowers too. woot.

#

[much-ado.livejournal.com]

Why are they a sign of a moral failing?

heh... the only moral failings i've ever had at a Baitcon had nothing to do with ice cream... :)

(but i'm much better now, thanks! :)

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I see nothing wrong with different and experimental flavors, heck, I have even tried a few experiments myself, but not if it means the loss of some of the more traditional flavors. I have tended toward making the more traditional flavors lately and because they are few and far between and favorites I rarely get any, they are gone before I can get to them. There are some flavors that most people agree are just too weird and only a couple of people go near them, I'm not saying they shouldn't be made.

I'm saying we should make larger batches of the traditional ones, and make sure we put enough out at one time that everyone can get some.

[istemi.livejournal.com]

I'm saying we should make larger batches of the traditional ones, and make sure we put enough out at one time that everyone can get some.

That's very reasonable. I don't think you were among those casting aspersions on experiments.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Here's a really scary concoction: Start with a green colored ice cream. Oh, Avocado will do. Separately, moosh up a banana into little blobs (not into a cream, but more of a chunky lumpy mess). Also, separately, overcook some rice until the rice is very soft. After the avocado ice cream is made, and before it's packed away, mix in the mooshed up banana and overcooked rice. Mix in, and pack away.

Eat later.

Name this after the ingredients: Banana Avocado Rice Fantasy!
But to be short, just use the initials (grin)

[istemi.livejournal.com]

You forgot the carrots.

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

Done. Look for it at this year's event.

[cutieperson]

there's actually a mock ice cream made with cooked rice that is beyond fabulous.

[istemi.livejournal.com]

Yep. Don't like it? Don't eat it. But you said it so much more nicely.

I support making larger batches of the proven popular flavors, like pineapple sour cream. There's usually leftovers of the popular and tamer flavors on Sunday, so I deduce everyone who wants to eat them is able to. Experimental flavors aren't being made at the expense of standard flavors. Where's the problem?

[larksdream]

I've only been once, last year, but there were no leftovers of anything plain and non-threatening to the boring eaters among us. I would have loved some vanilla. *G*

[sunspiral.livejournal.com]

If different and experimental flavors are a sign of a moral failing, then I'm shooting for total degeneracy this year.

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

Worse than the Chicken Liver????

What are you planning....?

[tikvah.livejournal.com]

I'm all for creativity.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

well, since I seem to be the Bad Guy here... (though to be honest, it may be a personal thing rather than anything substantive; one of the people sniping at me really hates me for some unknown reason...)

I'm not against different and experimental flavors... so long as they have a chance of working well, and aren't just someone's attempt to see what is the weirdest thing they could put into a mixture of milk and sugar, run through the LN2, and get some sort of frozen, edible substance at the end.

I'm completely aware that there are potentially good things out there, like cucumber sorbet, that just haven't been perfected yet. If one is trying something that is a little iffy, I think it's a good idea to practice it at home before Baitcon, as whuffle is doing...

[donnad.livejournal.com]

You are not the bad guy, I'm the one that started this discussion.
And I'm with you, if we use up all the ingredients making funky flavors that only a half dozen people are willing to try, then there is nothing left for those people with less adventurous tastes.

Experimentation is one thing, but when you want to have something for all 120 (+/-) people, there has to be a limit to how many weird flavors one makes. Perhaps making sure we have enough ordinary flavors, or putting aside a specific amount of ingredients for the non-funky stuff or the funky stuff, is a possibility.

PS

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Hey, since that malted chocolate hazelnut ice cream I made a few years ago was so well-received... I'll make it again, but this time I'll add some combination of the following, because it will not be "ordinary ice cream" anymore (and who wants that? Only the plebes, not us High Cuisine Foodies..)

-- dried cockroaches
-- hard-boiled eggs
-- wasabi
-- blood
-- liver sausage
-- red bell peppers

Re: PS

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Well, lets see...

cockroaches -nah, been done, no big deal.
HB eggs - I get enough grief from the vegans when I use eggs in my ice creams and sorbets already...
wasabi - been done, multiple times.
blood - now theres a new one.
liver sausage - been done, or at least liver has been done.
red bell peppers - I have actually been thinking about a red bell pepper sorbet, I think someone tried it once and it was deemed a failure, but I have a recipe for a roasted red pepper sorbet that actually sounds quite reasonable. - maybe it's not weird enough...

Come on Ann, you can come up with weirder more original stuff! :)


PS. Malted chocolate hazelnut ice cream... yum!
similar to my chocolate hazelnut nutella swirl?

Can I get a volunteer?

[istemi.livejournal.com]

Why don't a couple people who would like to see more simple flavors volunteer to make simple flavors? Someone take vanilla and chocolate, someone else take strawberry and.. is there a fourth simple flavor?

The Champions of Plain are responsible for picking a recipe and bringing ingredients, like anyone else. If it's made on Friday or Saturday morning, it will be ready for the first feeding, and it will get mixed long before supplies run out. The Champions of Plain will have at least two flavors they want to eat, plus the warm glow from doing a good deed for the community.

The other flavors happen because somebody says "You're right, there OUGHTTA be a _______ (http://www.baitcon.org/flavors.html). Then they do it.

Re: Can I get a volunteer?

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Why don't a couple people who would like to see more simple flavors volunteer to make simple flavors? Someone take vanilla and chocolate, someone else take strawberry and.. is there a fourth simple flavor?

I'll assume that you are not being snarky here, though I have the feeling that I am wrong.

I don't think anyone is saying that there is a strong need for simple vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, although a good vanilla ice cream is, in fact, delightful. I often start with the vanilla the first time I visit an ice cream place, and have found that a good vanilla correlated highly with good ice cream in general. It's just that if more and more people focus on weird flavors, then the stuff that is interesting but not weird gets crowded out.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Quantity vs quality? Well, "bad" is a kind of quality, which appears to be a major point of the controversy. However, that assessment is highly relative, so I'm all for tons of smaller batches.

More batches mean more opportunities for people to contribute and participate, and more chances that anyone can discover something they like.

My take on it (your mileage may vary, external use only, offer null where void) is that the goal isn't to stuff oneself with ice cream, it's to try out flavors you never would have taken the effort to experi ment with at home. If you find some you like, you can make bigger batches of it for yourself at home later; the recipes aren't kept secret. People grabbing large bowlsful instead of little tastes, now *that* is a problem. I remember a few years ago when the enameled camping spoons on lanyards were handed out expressing surprise that it wasn't used as an exercise in portion control by using tasting spoons or teaspoons instead and being met with at best bemusement, so this is probably a minority opinion. At least now it's a documented minority opinion.

By the way, speaking of portion control, at one point (I have no idea which year, it all blurs after a while), I saw someone using one of those camping gear egg protector plastic things as an ice cream 'palette'. It looked like a great idea and of course I'd forget to bring one in the following years, but maybe by mentioning it I'll both remember next time and inspire others to try the same.
An ice cube tray could also work.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

i like small batches. yay variety. on the other hand, not every flavor needs to be uber-leet-freaky-worm-cricket-pepperspray-surprise, either. i'm fond of a good basic vanilla or sweet cream. i'd love to be able to taste-test different versions of vanilla, for example. or how does adjusting the ratios of ingredients improve a sweet cream flavor.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

I'm all for trying your different versions of vanilla! What versions are you going to make?

Has anyone yet tried "Tandoori Ice Cream"

[fixx.livejournal.com]

I'm imagining just the seasoning, not the Chicken. I spent much of last year perfecting a Chicken (and vegetarian) Korma recipe, one which I had hoped to bring to Baitcon to share, but was unable to due to a car accident that nearly prevented me from attending. This year I'm developing an authentic Tandoori Chicken recipe, basing the standards of texture or quality on what I experienced in London and not the sort I mostly find in this country, but I digress.

Curry ice creams have been done I believe, but Tandoori might be enough different to qualify as new. Anyway, I have a Gelato machine and I'll probably make a test batch here before suggesting anyone try it up there.

It appears the recipes for the Korma Sauce and the Tandoori Marinade are very similar with the minor differences that the Tandoori lacks Turmeric and instead contains Black Pepper. Tandoori also tends to contain red dye. There are some other differences. Both are high in garlic too, but I suppose it ought probably be reduced a bit in ice cream format. Similarities include Cumin, Coriander, Cardamom, Cloves and Cayenne Pepper. As the Tandoori is a marinade and not a sauce I'd have to back way off on the intensity, so there is some practice to be done at my end before even considering doing this at Baitcon.

On a side note... I cannot recall if I saw a gas grill at Baitcon or not. My new Tandoori recipe is coming along nicely and I'm gearing up for a party at which I expect to have 48 boneless chicken breasts pre-marinated for grilling at the party. Assuming I survive that it occurs to me I could do the same again, freeze the raw chicken in the marinade and cart them up to Baitcon for grilling there... assuming of course I'm not the only one who likes Tandoori Chicken. If it is not practical I'll probably just bring a couple gallons of precooked and frozen Chicken Korma.