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Good Question: Alcohol in Frozen Desserts

Dear Kitchen,

Has anyone figured out how to incorporate booze into [frozen desserts]? I know it's a problem because the alcohol doesn't freeze but seems to me that I read a recipe once upon a time.

- Shoshana

(To All Good Questions)

Dear Shoshana,

It depends on how much booze you want to add. In this recipe for example (Blueberry Peach Tequila Popsicles, Food & Wine), only 3 tablespoons of tequila are used. The freezing process takes a while, because of the layers.

Alcohol freezes at -173 F (water's freezing point is 32 F), and there's no way your freezer will go that low. So, you have to do something else to get the booze to freeze. I have two suggestions:

The less you use, the closer your mixture will get to being more like water, and thus freezing more easily, so you can try just using a few tablespoons of alcohol in your recipe, instead of, say, half a cup.

You can also try cooking out the alcohol. So if you're going to use rum, for example, simmer the rum over medium-low heat for a few minutes. This will remove the alcohol, but preserve the taste of the rum. If you're making popsicles with booze for the boozing effects, this second solution is probably not what you're looking for.

Good luck!

Comments (7)

Giolitti's gelato in Rome has a Champagne sorbetto. Don't know what's in it, but it sure tastes like fizzy alcohol, and it's not very sweet... Of course it's probably Prosecco, but who's quibbling. Anyway, it's definitely frozen, so there must be a way.
Maybe there is a similar recipe online somewhere... a Sangria or a Glüwein sorbet recipe might be out there also.

posted by paul on 2006-07-18 10:30:14

Jello Shots!!! With whip cream!!!

posted by Al Kowholic on 2006-07-18 11:48:51

I feel a little goofy posting on so many threads, but I have to pipe up on this one. It's a common and incorrect assumption that alcohol can be "cooked out".

See
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/msg/fb5d127f43c234ff?hl=en&rnum=16

I like the taste of ice cream made without too many egg yolks better, so I add booze into my mix all the time to keep it from getting icy if we don't eat it in a day or two. I use about 3 T/ pint of fluid, but my freezer is very cold.

regards,
trillium

posted by trillium on 2006-07-18 13:20:54

Just to be picky, water freezes at 0 degrees Celcius, not Fahrenheit.

posted by Laura on 2006-07-18 14:33:30

A big "yay" for the Patsy Stone pic! Stoli Bolli anyone?

posted by Enrique on 2006-07-18 22:21:26

get your hands on some liquid nitrogen. easy breezy freezy!

posted by tony on 2006-07-19 09:38:48

alcohol can freeze. check out www.lusciousliqs.com alcoholic ice cream will be available in new york soon. I just need to do jump through some business hoops but alcohol can freeze now that i have discovered the secret

posted by larry on 2006-08-04 16:24:57