ice cream making in the Donvier
A favorite treat to make on our farm is goat’s milk ice cream made with custard and the Donvier. The creaminess of goat milk makes it a delicious choice.
The butterfat content of goat’s milk is 4.2%. It is naturally homogenized so the cream does not rise up to the top like cow’s milk which is 3.8% butterfat.
Because it is easily digested, it is a good food for kids and people who have a hard time digesting cow milk.
Whenever I think, I could live without my goats, I remember that goat’s milk is my prefered ice cream and Feta and Chevre are my favorite cheeses. The intense flavor and sweetness of goat milk makes for some delicious recipes that can’t be made with cow milk.
The Donvier
Living off-the-grid, we sometimes have to come up with alternative ways of doing things that don’t involve a lot of electricity. I discovered this ice cream maker called the Donvier that has an insert that you must freeze ahead of time and a hand-crank. It involves no salt or electricity to churn (except for the freezing of the insert).
To make goat’s milk ice cream you will need:
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 cups of goat’s milk
- fruit puree or fresh fruit
- vanilla bean
Mix half the sugar with the milk in a pot and scald (bring almost to boiling or 180 degrees F) over medium heat. Stir the milk as it heats.
Eggs make ribbons
In a separate bowl whisk the 3 eggs and the remaining sugar until the mixture is light yellow and makes ribbons as you lift the whisk up out of the bowl.
Temper (increase temperature of the eggs gradually to that of the milk) the eggs and sugar mixture by slowly adding a small amount of milk to the eggs while whisking very fast. You do this so the eggs wont cook and look like scrambled eggs.
Nappe
At this point you can add your flavorings. A good choice is fresh vanilla seeds and some fresh fruit. In the photos we added vanilla and fresh mulberries which we crushed a little with a potato masher. I have also made a fruit puree and heated it before adding to the custard.
Custard with berries before mashing
custard ready to go into refrigerator