Chef Jesse Gives Some Sweet Pointers on How to Make Ice Cream

Today, Jesse Vega, chef of Golden Scoop, had a sweet treat for a visiting Girl Scout troop this morning.  The troop was attending a demonstration of how to make vanilla ice cream, preceded by a short history of our café delivered by the chef himself.  The troop listened attentively as he explained how each of Golden Scoop’s employees has unique abilities and what forms they may take.  He then expressed the desire that the upcoming demonstration would lead some of them to consider the culinary arts themselves.  If the following presentation was any indication, that desire just might be answered.  After all, who wouldn’t want to make ice cream for a living?  Then, it was time for the main event!

“Now, the most important thing to remember about making ice cream…is that the ice cream bowl is in the freezer,” the chef said with a laugh as he went to retrieve the forgotten equipment.  Once all ingredients and equipment were present on the table, Chef Vega began mixing them together, before putting the mixture and some salt into the frozen, covered bowl to set.  Here is a video of Jesse at the beginning of the demonstration!

The resulting treat was then eagerly sampled by the troop.  Afterward, it was time for more ice cream as the girls lined up by the counter for an ice cream and cookie!  Usually, a dozen-odd little girls fueled by copious amounts of sugar is a recipe for disaster, but they were surprisingly well-behaved despite the ominously oncoming sugar rush.  The parents sipped their coffees and munched on cookies and the occasional cinnamon roll as the noise level gradually increased.  All too soon, it was time for the troop to leave and we bid them goodbye with promises to return.

It was a successful day marked by a fun demonstration which captured the troop’s full attention (and appetites).  We thank the troop for visiting us today and hope they visit us again soon.  Also, thank you, Jesse, for all the hard work you do for us!  Today was a big demonstration of what you do both behind the scenes and behind the counter in keeping our café running as smoothly as it does.  And, of course, without Jesse’s delicious ice cream recipes, we wouldn’t have received a Yelp Award for “Best Ice Cream Shop in Kansas” yesterday!  That in itself is a resoundingly positive acknowledgement of everything you do for us, Jesse.

Oh, and drop by the café soon.  Nicholas is our current Scooper of the Month, so if you like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and you’re looking for your next peanut butter fix, we’ve got just the thing to delight you.

  Written by Ian Miller, marketing associate for Golden Scoop

Here is Chef Jesse Vega’s own recipe for vanilla ice cream, if you’d like to try making it yourself:

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

1 cup whole milk

¾ cup granulated sugar

A pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Additional items:

Large metal bowl with lid, frozen

Mixing bowl

Plastic spatula

Preparation:

1. Freeze bowl overnight 

2. Use cold milk and cream.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.

4. Taste the mixture and adjust salt or vanilla to personal preference.

5. Add the ice cream base mixture to the frozen ice cream bowl.

6. Put the lid and plastic blade in the bowl and begin spinning or churning the mixture.

7. The mix will need to spin about 20 to 25 minutes or until an ice consistency has been reached. 

Yield:

This recipe will yield about 5 cups or 1-1/4th quarts.

Makes about 5 Golden Scoop portions. 

For soft serve, eat immediately.

For hard serve, freeze overnight.

Mix-ins and customizing your own flavor:

• This recipe can handle about 1 cup of dry mix-ins:
• Oreo pieces, chocolate chips, cookie dough, Reese’s pieces, rainbow sprinkles, crushed cones or brownie pieces. 
• Other crazy mix-ins – Cinnamon Red Hots, chopped chocolate candy bars, chopped York Peppermint Patties, Jelly Belly jelly beans. 
• This recipe can also handle about ¼ cup of your favorite jam, peanut butter, chocolate or caramel sauce.