THE LIKE-A-PRO ICE CREAM
With Chios mastic drops, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and xanthan gum.
Mastic is an exceptional ingredient of Greek origin; it is the resin of a tree that grows on Chios island, on a specific area called Mastihohoria, where its cultivation has been taking place for centuries. Mastic has a unique flavour similar to none; it is refreshing, with cooling notes and a revitalising tones. It’s a rare experience, one that you should try it at least once if you enjoy exploring different flavours.
Ice Creams made with xanthan gum are our Like-A-Pro ice creams, because which just one extra ingredient -xanthan gum-, you can make an eggless ice cream with a perfect, full-bodied mouthfeel, which churns beautifully, melts uniformly during serving, and keeps well in the freezer for a long time. Just like professionals do!
More to explore:
Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.
When making ice cream, prefer to weigh all the ingredients, even the liquid ones. We also recommend – whenever possible – to weigh the liquid ingredients directly into the bowl/pan as you proceed with the recipe instead of transferring them from one bowl to another because this transfer causes a small -but unwanted- loss of quantity.
If you do not have a kitchen scale, follow these guidelines:
• 1 cup (US) = 237 ml | 1 tablespoons = 15 ml
• sugar: measuring sugar in tablespoons is more accurate than measuring it in cups. Use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon (not a regular one); this is 13 gr of sugar. To measure correctly, each time you scoop the sugar, level it with the flat side of a knife.
• milk and heavy cream: thoroughly scrape with a rubber spatula any residues left on the sides and bottom of the cup every time you measure something and empty it.
Note that the quantities in each measuring system (grams, ounces, and cups) in our recipes may not always be accurate conversions; any deviations in conversions you may notice do not affect the outcome.
This recipe makes a 1.2 litre/quart ice cream mixture (before churning), perfect for ice cream makers with a capacity of 1.5 and up to 2 litres/quarts (like Cuisinart ice cream makers).
If you need to scale the ice cream mixture up or down, use this ratio of the ingredients (in weight only):
whole milk 48.8% | heavy cream 33.4% | sugar 16.3% | neutral-flavoured oil 1.22% | mastic drops 0.16% | xanthan gum 0.12% in desired total weight of ice cream mixture
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when you cook dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, we strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
The ice cream mixture needs to cool completely and hydrate before churning, so prepare it in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Pour 250 g of the fridge-cold milk (8.8 oz; 250 ml) into the blender jug and have the blender set up and ready to blend.
Dissolve the mastic drops: Pour the oil (1 tablespoon) into a small saucepan and add the mastic drops. Stir with a rubber spatula over low heat until the mastic drops dissolve, stirring for one minute more to ensure they fully dissolve.
Gradually add the sugar: Add a generous sprinkle of the measured (200 g; 7.1 oz) sugar into the saucepan and stir well with the rubber spatula until it is like wet sand. Add the rest of the sugar and stir to combine.
Add 350 g of the milk: pour over the sugar 350 g (12.3 oz; 350 ml) of the milk and stir to combine.
Bring to a boil: Warm over medium heat, often stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the milk is hot and steamy. Do not let the milk boil before the sugar dissolves, or it will curdle.
Increase the heat to high. As soon as the milk comes to a rolling boil (when large bubbles that pop vigorously appear on the surface / approx. 95°C / 203°F / if it starts to overflow), immediately remove it from the heat and
pour the boiling-hot milk into the blender jug with the cold milk.
Turn the blender on (medium speed). Note: By blending that much boiling hot cream with that much fridge-cold milk, the blend instantly reaches approximately 54°C/129°F. This temperature is ideal for efficiently dissolving xanthan gum.
Sprinkle in the xanthan gum: with the blender on, carefully open the cap and slowly sprinkle the xanthan gum (½ teaspoon) over the surface, taking care that it does not stick to the sides of the blender or part of it will remain there, undissolved.
Blend for 2 minutes to fully hydrate the xanthan gum; do not estimate the time; set a timer. Do not expect the blend to thicken; it will thicken as it cools.
Add the cold heavy cream (410 g; 14.5 oz) and blend, scraping off residues from the sides of the blender if needed. If the blender jug is not large enough to accommodate the heavy cream, you can transfer the blended mixture into a bowl and stir in the heavy cream. Make sure to stir thoroughly.
Strain the ice cream mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.
Cool the mixture with an ice bath: Place the bowl with the ice cream mixture inside a larger one and fill the space around it with ice cubes and cold water to create an ice bath. Make sure no water gets into the mixture. About 200 g (7 oz) of ice—roughly one standard tray—is enough to cool it down properly.
Let the mixture cool in the ice bath for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to help it cool evenly.
Chill completely: Once the mixture is no longer warm, remove the bowl from the ice bath, cover it and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days. The base should be fridge-cold before churning.
Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: 4ºC–12ºC / 39ºF-54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your index finger into it.
Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Blend before churning: briefly blitz the ice cream mixture with an immersion blender, stopping once to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. This improves consistency and ensures a smooth, even texture.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
This ice cream mixture expands and becomes airy as it churns. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks smooth, creamy, and slightly wavy—similar to soft-serve ice cream. Churning time varies depending on your machine and can take anywhere from 30 to 70 minutes.
To check the texture, lift a spoonful. It should be thick enough to stay on the spoon, but still soft. If it looks too thin or starts melting immediately, it needs more time.
If you’re unsure, let it churn for 10 more minutes. Keep in mind that it won’t look like store-bought ice cream at this point—it will still be soft. It only becomes firm and scoopable after a few hours in the freezer.
Stop the machine once the mixture is thick and creamy. If you continue churning beyond that point, the mixture can start losing the air it has built up and may seize, resulting in a dense, heavy texture.
One important note: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop automatically after a fixed time, but that doesn’t always mean the ice cream is ready. If your machine stops and the mixture still looks too soft, simply restart it and continue churning until the texture improves.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and:
· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl
· cover the ice cream bowl and place it in the freezer
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.
The setting time depends on the type of ice cream maker you’re using. Here are the general guidelines:
3–5 hours for machines with removable freezer bowls (these bowls must be pre-frozen before churning)
Under 1 hour for machines with built-in compressors and aluminum bowls
⚠️ Important: Ice cream in aluminum bowls sets quickly. Do not leave it for too long—once fully frozen, it can become extremely hard and difficult to remove without risking scratches to the bowl. Always monitor it closely.
To check if the ice cream is ready, aim for an internal temperature of –11°C (12°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, use this simple test:
Insert a round-tip knife all the way to the bottom of the ice cream:
✔ If it goes in smoothly but meets gentle resistance, it’s ready
✖ If it feels hard on top but soft underneath, it needs more time
✖ If it’s too firm to insert the knife, it’s over-frozen and likely too hard to scoop
If it’s over-frozen, don’t worry—head to the next section for how to bring it back to scoopable.
If the ice cream sits in the freezer in the removable freezer bowl for too long after it has set, it can become too hard to scoop or remove.
To make it scoopable again:
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the ice cream to soften gradually.
Here’s how long that may take:
4–10 hours for removable freezer bowls (pre-freeze models)
1–2 hours for aluminum bowls (from compressor ice cream makers)
Note: These times are approximate and may vary depending on your fridge and the amount of ice cream. Check the texture occasionally as it softens.
Once the ice cream is soft enough to scoop—or its internal temperature reads approximately –11°C (12°F)—you can:
✔ Transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer
✔ Or serve it directly from the bowl
Just be sure to avoid digging into an over-frozen bowl with hard utensils, especially if using a nonstick-coated or aluminum bowl.
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve consistency and melts almost instantly on contact. At this stage, it’s too soft to serve neatly or transfer easily—it’s simply too messy to handle.
Freezing the ice cream immediately after churning allows it to set properly. This step brings it to the right texture: scoopable, stable, and easy to portion or transfer into a storage container.
It’s the final step that turns churned ice cream into finished ice cream.
Storing: Transfer the finished ice cream to a lidded container and store it in the freezer for up to one month.
Cover it well to protect it from absorbing any unwanted freezer smells.
Scooping: Like all artisanal-style ice creams, this one freezes hard over time.
To make it scoopable again, place the container in the refrigerator for 45–60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about –11°C (12°F).
Once softened, it’ll scoop cleanly and serve beautifully.
3 Responses
Hi I tried this, following the recipe carefully but it wasn’t great. A bit icy, not a lot of flavour and didn’t have that mastic texture. Looking at other recipes they suggest grinding and blending the mastic, or maybe my mastic was old? Love your other recipes esp moscovado.
Hi! A common misconception about mastic is that it is used for texture. Mastic does not add texture to the ice cream, only flavour. Texture is given to ice cream by adding salep flour or by adding other gums, like xanthan gum. If the texture you are after is stretchy ice cream (which is associated with mastic ice cream because of kaimaki ice cream or dondurma ice cream, which both have mastic flavour and stretchy texture, but their texture comes from the salep or other gum stabilizers, and not from mastic), then you can increase the xanthan gum to one teaspoon. I think this will also fix the iciness you encounter. Icy ice cream means that there is too much free water in the ice cream which turns to ice. If all ingredients and their quantities are used as per the recipe (regular sugar, whole milk, 35% fat heavy cream and xanthan gum) one shouldn’t experience any iciness. But still, if you do, you can try substituting 75 g of the milk with 75 g of heavy cream; this should make all iciness disappear. Hope this helps. And thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Thanks appreciate the info👍