475135 Tue Jan 01 17:40:18 -0800 2008 6 31 Home Cooking 0 3252100 I've made lots of ice cream in the past year and for some reason tonight, my custard base will not thicken and there's tiny these yellow chunks (egg?) in the base. yuck! I finally added 1tbs of cornstarch which made it thick but the gross yellow chunks are still there. 1. what happened? 2. should i still chill it and make the ice cream tomorrow, or will it not turn out right? one guess i have is maybe i beat the egg yolk and sugar too much? custard base recipe: 1 cup milk 1/2 cup sugar 3 egg yolks Tue Jan 01 17:40:18 -0800 2008 127438 kweesee 1 3252175 I've done this, and my guess is the milk was too hot when you added it to the egg base, thus "scrambling" the eggs a bit. Straining the mixture through cheesecloth helps, but it won't get you a truly creamy custard. I just added some crushed cookies to the mix to cover the texture which worked since the texture is not going to get 100% smooth, but it still tasted pretty good. Tue Jan 01 18:12:21 -0800 2008 3252100 112494 corgette 2 3252189 thank you. will the ice cream still come out creamy enough? Tue Jan 01 18:19:13 -0800 2008 3252175 127438 kweesee 3 3252468 It will still freeze into ice cream just fine, but it will have a grainy texture and a *slightly* off mouthfeel to it. I liked it fine, but I would probably not have served it if I were doing a dinner party thing. For me though, it was still tasty. Tue Jan 01 20:40:25 -0800 2008 3252189 112494 corgette 1 3252541 Many times you can get "chunks" when you combine the egg yolks and sugar, but do not mix them right away. This might also be the reason behind the custard not coagulating as it normally would. You should be able to get most of the chunks out with a fine strainer. As far as that "scrambled egg" consistency, an immersion blender should do the trick. Have you tried adding some heavy cream to your recipe (replace half of the milk) to get a creamier taste? Tue Jan 01 21:25:33 -0800 2008 3252100 137522 wildrnss 1 3259031 i did add 1.5 cups of heavy cream to the non-thick "custard" at the end, as well as the red bean paste i made. when i put it in the ice cream maker, it became really thick to a point where the ice cream was not moving and was a chunk. very thick. it seemed edible at that point, but after i froze it for 1 day, it was ROCK HARD even after thawing for 25 mins! Thu Jan 03 18:27:24 -0800 2008 3252100 127438 kweesee 2 3594639 Yikes! Yes that has happened to me before too. I guess I meant to tell you to substitute half of your milk with cream. Adding other stuff to ice cream high in fat and solids can make it hard after freezing as well - that happens a lot with chocolate and pumpkin ice creams. It usually takes a little microwaving to soften it but will stay frozen a little while longer after scooping. Ice cream base does not have to be thick to make a good ice cream, just make sure it's cooked long enough to pasteurize the egg yolks (185F). Be sure to chill it quickly and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours so the flavors can meld better. Mon Apr 14 19:58:35 -0700 2008 3259031 137522 wildrnss