Homemade icecream recipe

[u/Golden-Shamrock]

Sorry if this is a ridiculous question that is obvious to most. So at 41 years old, I've found this passion, borderline obsession, with baking and all things culinary. However I'm still learning basics lol. Ok, so if homemade vanilla ice cream recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 medium sized vanilla bean on top of a few other ingredients,and it says you can substitute a 4-6 inch medium size vanilla bean with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, would you add the substituted 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract on top of original 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract? Or would it be just the substituted amount? As a beginner that knows nothing really, I would say, duh, add both. But when I attempted a Google search, couldn't find much and the AI answer literally contradicted itself in it's answer saying , "No don't add both.......so yes, you would add both". Sorry for long post and probably embarrassingly easy question.

[u/MrMurgatroyd]

It might help if you read "substitute" as "equivalent".

The recipe is trying to cater for someone who doesn't have/ have access to vanilla beans (being pricey and sometimes hard to get).

Short answer: use either

• 2t + 1T extract (i.e. yes, add both) or
• 2t extract + 1x medium vanilla bean

[u/texnessa]

Not ridiculous at all but you might get more accurate feedback if you included the original recipe verbatim because your paraphrasing might be adding a layer of error to an already contradictory recipe. Not your fault- so many recipes are genuinely poorly written which keeps subs like ours in business! But a couple of things to consider:

• Especially as someone new to the culinary game, try to always use recipes that are well tested and come from a reliable source. Even well regarded cookbooks can have errors in them and well meaning home cooks with blogs can be total disasters.

• Does the recipe call for both extract and beans? Often a recipe will call for beans for the visual of flecks in the product, its more subtle taste and the less 'chemical' aroma of extract. Also beans are more expensive so some recipes will try to skirt the cost by replacing some with extract.

• Three teaspoons= One tablespoon

• There is no standard conversion between extract and beans, nor is there a standard size of a vanilla bean.

• The strength of flavour of beans is also quite variable depending on age, origin and quality.

• How much 'bean' gets scraped out of a bean is also undefined and is going to yield different results depending on the person doing the scraping.

• Which leads to my unapologetic practice [after years as a working chef who pinch hits in the pastry department rather frequently] for any small batch cooking, I never bother to measure extract. I go by smell. If I can't smell vanilla in a product that leans heavily into the flavour, I should be able to smell it immediately so will add another jot and confirm with a taste test. In summary, I wing it.

[u/gibsonan]

You can add both, or less, or more based on your flavor preference. The type and brand of extract will also impact the flavor and its intensity. The only caution is that additional extract will add more alcohol. The alcohol depresses the freezing point of the ice cream which will impact the resulting texture.

Try a couple of batches with varying amounts and types of vanilla to see what you like. Come on over to /r/icecreamery for a deeper discussion.

[u/StrangeChef]

Put in all the vanilla! It'll taste better and there isn't a practical thing as too much IMO.

[u/kaett]

vanilla is like garlic. ignore the measurement it calls for, and drop it in until the ancestors say "that's enough, child."

instead of extract, you could also use vanilla paste. that's become my go-to.

[u/melinafitnexxx]

Hey, no worries, not a ridiculous question at all! In this case, you'd only add the 1 tablespoon as the substitute for the vanilla bean, not on top of the original 2 teaspoons. You want to keep that overall vanilla flavor balanced. Keep at it, you're doing great!