Loganberry and Lime Gelato and guar gum. Tuesday 21st November 2017

I have been making ice cream and less often sorbet and gelato in my ice cream maker for a while now but have always come up with the problem of how to make the mixture thick with a good texture.  I am always looking to keep the amount of fat and sugar as low as possible so never use cream and try to reduce the sugar amount or substitute with stevia. I have tried gelatine in the mix but that doesn't seem to thicken it enough to avoid ice crystals. I have tried a custard base but sometimes that tastes a bit floury.  

Last week I was watching a program on SBS TV called Food Safari Earth and a gelati expert made a lovely looking strawberry gelato using guar gum to give it a stretchy quality and to thicken the mix. I didn't know anything about guar gum so started reading up on it. It is made from a bean grown in India and according to the people in my local health food shop is used ,along with xanthum gum, to give those same qualities to gluten free breads. So yesterday I bought a little bit to experiment with. 

Here is my first try , using only 1/4 teaspoon for the mix of sugar syrup, frozen loganberries and a little bit of lime juice to give it a bit of bite. I think I am onto a winner here. Looks pretty good and tastes good too. 

Maybe next time I might try to reduce the amount of sugar in the mix as my palate is now trained to prefer a lot less sugar in ice cream. I find commercial ice creams and gelati a bit sweet for my taste these days. Guar gum is meant to be better in a dairy mix than a citrus mix so next try will be with an ice cream or rather an ice milk mix. Have to eat this lot first though. 😜. Special thanks to the visitor from Panama the other day...you know who you are. I think I need a Nicaragua flag if you are heading that way too!