Summer ices

Ice alternatives

We may think of ice cream as inherently modern, but by the 18th century recipes for frozen sweet concoctions were rapidly spreading from one fashionable kitchen to another all around the world. As a result, there's a wonderful repertoire of recipes, ranging from Indian kulfi to Italian sorbettos - all perfectly designed to pamper and cool the eater.

Sorbets, water ices and granitas

Sorbet is the French equivalent of the British water ice. It's a sugar syrup that can be flavoured with fruit juice (or purée) or other infusions such as mint, jasmine, tea or coffee. Sorbets first appeared in Europe in the latter part of the 17th century. At that time in France, a sorbet could be served as an iced drink, just like a Middle Eastern sherbet, or as an ice suitable for drinking. The French, Italians and Spanish immediately fell in love with their respective sorbets, sorbettos and sorbetes.

The best sorbets have a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture that comes from tiny ice crystals. The tiny crystals are achieved by the getting just the right balance of sugar syrup to fruit juice or fruit purée and then constantly churning the mixture as it freezes. Fruit pulp, such as raspberry or blackcurrant purée, enhances this softness, as does alcohol, which inhibits freezing. Allow about two tablespoons of alcohol to 565ml/1 pint liquid sorbet for a soft-set style.

You don't need an ice cream maker to make sorbet, but the texture of the finished sorbet will not be as smooth without one. If you don't have one, you can mix the sorbet regularly with a fork as it freezes, or process it in a food processor once frozen. Many recipes suggest beating in one tablespoon of egg white to 565ml/1 pint partially frozen sorbet to improve the texture of an unchurned sorbet, but this adds an unnecessary health risk (egg white may contain salmonella).

For an easier option, serve a granita. Granita is an Italian style of sorbet that has not been churned. It's roughly mixed with a fork as it freezes so that it forms larger, more granular ice crystals.

Ice creams

The simplest recipes are based on cream, sugar and crushed or puréed fruit. If you allow for about 30 per cent sugar to 70 per cent double cream and fruit purée, it doesn’t even have to be churned in an ice cream maker (although the texture is better if it is churned).

Whisking the cream into soft peaks before folding in the fruit purée helps to add volume, while adding alcohol will help to give the finished ice cream a softer texture. Allow about 50ml/1¾fl oz alcohol to 500ml/17½fl oz liquid ice cream.

Custard-based ice creams have a more unctuous texture than those made from pure cream. Nineteenth-century recipes called for a rich custard ice cream with four egg yolks to 285ml/10¼fl oz double cream and 115g/4¼ oz caster sugar. The cream can be infused with a flavouring, such as vanilla or cinnamon, or mixed with a fruit purée before it's churned and frozen.

Parfaits

Parfaits are a form of 'mousse' ice cream, and don't need churning. Instead, a hot (120C/248F) sugar syrup is whisked into egg yolks to form a billowing, light but stable mousse. Whipped cream and a strong flavoured fruit purée are then folded in and the mixture is frozen until set.

An alternative version is made with a 'cooked' meringue base. The hot (120C/248F) sugar syrup is whisked into egg whites before the whipped cream and a fruit purée is folded in and frozen. This is also the technique usually used to make Italian-style semifreddo.

Watch Sophie Grigson's Get Cooking video recipe for Maple praline semifreddo, which is made using the 'cooked meringue' method.

Yoghurt 'ice cream' and kulfi

This is a modern variation, with Greek yoghurt used instead of the double cream. It has a more icy texture and is best made in an ice cream machine. Serve soon after making for a softer texture.

Unlike Western ice creams, kulfi is made by simmering milk with cardamom or other flavourings until it has reduced in volume by two-thirds, and then mixing in sugar and chopped nuts or fruit purée (such as mango) before freezing.

Ice cream machines

There's a wide variety of ice cream machines. Some freeze and churn outside the freezer, while others need to be placed in the freezer for up to 48 hours before use. The former is best as you can make ice cream at the flick of a switch with minimum effort and no pre-planning. The latter tend to be used once or twice and then left in the cupboard.

Food safety

Don't serve ice cream made with eggs (even if they're partially cooked as in custard or parfait) to anyone who might be particularly vulnerable to salmonella, such as the elderly, babies, toddlers and pregnant women. Freezing doesn't kill salmonella bacteria; it merely makes them dormant.

Home-made ice cream can be stored in the 3***-rated (-18C/0F) section of the freezer for a week. To soften it slightly before serving, leave in the fridge rather than at room temperature to avoid exposing it to food poisoning bacteria, such as staphylococci.

To avoid any risk of food poisoning, don’t re-freeze ice cream that has melted.

Mastering ices

Once you've mastered the basic techniques, home-made ices allow for endless experimentation. Freezing tends to blunt flavours, so the mixture will taste less sweet and less sour after it's frozen. Adding a dew drops of lemon juice to a recipe can help sharpen up the flavour.

Recipes

Here are some recipes for a variety of frozen treats to get you started:

Granitas and sorbets

• Apple sorbet by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Raspberry and redcurrant sorbet by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Classic summer berry sorbet by Angela Boggiano
• Hibiscus sorbet cocktail by Neneh Cherry and Andi Oliver
• Fresh mango sorbet by James Martin
• Ruby grapefruit and juniper granita by Jeanne Rankin
• Lemonade granita by Silvana Franco
• Sour lime and lemongrass granita by Silvana Franco

Ice creams and parfaits

• Maple praline semifreddo (video recipe) by Sophie Grigson from Get Cooking
• Real vanilla ice cream by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Honeycomb ice cream by Simon Rimmer
• Instant banana ice cream by James Martin
• Super-rich chocolate ice cream by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Coconut ice cream by Neneh Cherry and Andi Oliver
• Chestnut and chocolate ice cream with apricot sauce by The Vegetarian Society
• Ginger and butternut squash ice cream by James Martin
• Basil ice cream by Simon Rimmer
• Gooseberry and elderflower parfait by Burrastow House Hotel

Vegan ice cream

• Chocolate chip and walnut ice cream by Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop
• Christmas pudding ice cream by the Vegan Society

Kulfi

• Guava kulfi with tropical fruit salad by Sejal Sukhadwala
• Cardamom kulfi by Manju Malhi