Eggs and Cream and Ice Cream
Turns out, they matter.
First things first, try to stay away from "Omega-3" eggs - the supplements fed to the chickens are fish meal, or in vegetarian cases, algae or flaxseed. Flaxseed is more expensive and less effective in raising Omega 3 levels, apparently, so algae and fish meal are the most common (In store-bought eggs, mind you.). Sadly this also means buying eggs from vegetarian fed hens might not keep you safe - algae could still be added to their feed.
Ever had an egg that smelled fishy? You crack it into the pan and wonder, why does it suddenly smell like fish in here? Fish meal and algae. In theory you shouldn't be able to smell or taste it, but...you can, every now and then. It doesn't make them bad to eat, the smell will just persist into the ice cream. If you're having scrambled eggs, it's not a problem really, the eggs aren't bad, you just know what the hens have been eating lately. In some dishes, it could even be an interesting additional taste.
I can't tell you how many fishy eggs it takes to get a fishy ice cream, but I can tell you it is possible to get a fishy ice cream. Tragically, I ended up tossing half the green tea ice cream, after a day in the freezer the fish smell and taste became pronounced enough we could not bring ourselves to eat the rest.
Organic eggs on the other hand, are delightful. As are organic cream and milk. I tried an all-organic batch once, it was fantastic. We compared it to vanilla ice cream with regular ingredients - the verdict was the organic one tasted more like custard than the regular one, which had a stronger vanilla flavour. (The same vanilla extract was used for both.) My hypothesis is that as the organic ingredients (eggs, milk, cream, sugar) all had stronger flavours of their own, causing a stronger custard flavour, where the blander by comparison conventional ingredients let more of the vanilla come through. Both were good - it just depends on what you are looking for, and of course, how much you ultimately want to pay for a pint of ice cream.
First things first, try to stay away from "Omega-3" eggs - the supplements fed to the chickens are fish meal, or in vegetarian cases, algae or flaxseed. Flaxseed is more expensive and less effective in raising Omega 3 levels, apparently, so algae and fish meal are the most common (In store-bought eggs, mind you.). Sadly this also means buying eggs from vegetarian fed hens might not keep you safe - algae could still be added to their feed.
Ever had an egg that smelled fishy? You crack it into the pan and wonder, why does it suddenly smell like fish in here? Fish meal and algae. In theory you shouldn't be able to smell or taste it, but...you can, every now and then. It doesn't make them bad to eat, the smell will just persist into the ice cream. If you're having scrambled eggs, it's not a problem really, the eggs aren't bad, you just know what the hens have been eating lately. In some dishes, it could even be an interesting additional taste.
I can't tell you how many fishy eggs it takes to get a fishy ice cream, but I can tell you it is possible to get a fishy ice cream. Tragically, I ended up tossing half the green tea ice cream, after a day in the freezer the fish smell and taste became pronounced enough we could not bring ourselves to eat the rest.
Not even strawberry reduction can fix this...
Looks so pretty. Tastes so odd.
It happens every now and then with any eggs, I imagine, but the easiest way to reduce the risk is not to get the eggs labelled "extra omega -3!"Organic eggs on the other hand, are delightful. As are organic cream and milk. I tried an all-organic batch once, it was fantastic. We compared it to vanilla ice cream with regular ingredients - the verdict was the organic one tasted more like custard than the regular one, which had a stronger vanilla flavour. (The same vanilla extract was used for both.) My hypothesis is that as the organic ingredients (eggs, milk, cream, sugar) all had stronger flavours of their own, causing a stronger custard flavour, where the blander by comparison conventional ingredients let more of the vanilla come through. Both were good - it just depends on what you are looking for, and of course, how much you ultimately want to pay for a pint of ice cream.
Either way, still good on a blondie.
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