How can I make my icecream soft as it is too hard to carve straight from the fridge?

Question

I have made my recipe with many changes and the most successful effort was the addition of a Instant Pudding mix. All others were much too hard to carve and serious effort was needed to just get the spoon or scoop into the frozen delight help please. All recipes made were made dairy free using soy and tofu bases.

The responses to this question have been very helpful and have given me new directions to explore. I believe now the product I want to create is achievable. Thank you everyone.

Answer

Well, that's basically where ice machines come into the game. Often ice recipes tell you to stir the ice during the freezing process every 5 to 10 minutes or so, so the ice will stay softer. That's what ice machines are taking care of: While freezing the ice they constantly stir the mass, so in the end you will get the perfect soft ice. Anyway if you then place this ice in the freezer, it will become hard nevertheless, since finally it's all a question of temperature.

So you might either go invest in an ice machine or get the ice out of the freezer (and into the fridge) some 15 to 30 minutes before serving it.

There's definitely no other way around it.

Check more discussion of this question.

How to include soy milk in bechamel

Question

A visitor has left a nearly full bottle of soy milk in our fridge. Personally, I hate the taste of soy milk, I find it too sweet and nutty for me, yet I feel compelled to use it up somehow.

I am going to make a bechamel sauce for a lasagne, and wondered whether I could use 1/3 soy milk and 2/3 regular milk in an effort not to waste the soy.

Will this still taste like soy?? Should I reduce (or increase) the ratio of soy? Will it affect the thickening of my bechamel, or the general texture of the sauce? I will be adding a bit of grated grana padano to the sauce at the end of the cooking process.

I did a bit of searching online, but everything was about a 1:1 substitution rather than the EFFECT of incorporating soy. Advice appreciated.

Answer

If the soy is "sweetened", I would not suggest using it in a savory sauce. However, if it is unsweetened, it should be ok. I personally like soy, but it all depends on the brand, and whether full fat, sweetened, plain or vanilla as to how I would use it. You might try baking with it, perhaps muffins, cake or biscuits - and substituting the soy for whatever liquid you would otherwise use.

Check more discussion of this question.