Less Bitter Banana "Ice Cream"

[Rawmney]

Made some great "soft serve" from frozen banana today. Although the banana was fairly ripe, the soft serve seemed to have a slightly bitter aftertaste, even when sweetemed with agave.

I know some folks are more sensitive to bitter than others. Given that this is my 3rd post on bitter foods, maybe it's just me. But if anyone has ideas on how to perfect my soft serve, I'd be very grateful.

I ate it with some strawberries with agave, sliced bananas and walnuts. Sundae, yum!

Best,
Rawmney

[hypnocmt]

do you add vanilla? This makes all the difference for me. :)

[Rawmney]

Actually I did. Vanilla extract and a little almond (I know, not 100% raw). Are you using vanilla bean? Thanks for the suggestion.

[jaurequi]

Did you add anything else to it?

I would use some coconut to contribute creaminess and cover any bitterness. You could also try a creamy nut, such as cashew, to offset the bitterness, if coconut is unavailable to you.

Next time it comes out bitter, you can turn it into a chocolate softserve (0r carob) which will work better with bitter tones. You will most likely need a bit more sweetener if you use cocoa or cacao; whereas carob is naturally sweet.
Alternatively, turn it into a fruity (like berries, etc.) icecream.

Best,

[andypdx]

I tried 10 batches of banana "ice cream", and each one was bitter...even after dumping obscene amounts of agave into the mixture.

Then I ditched the idea of using bananas (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=26719), and never looked back.

[Rawmney]

Jaurequi, I did have almond butter in it and like your suggestion of cashews and coconut. Thanks. I assume we'd be talking fresh coconut, not the cocunut oil. Yum. Was going to try the carob and today got some fresh mint which may be overpowering in a good way.

Andypdx, thanks also for making me feel better that maybe it isn't me on this. Your ice cream looks super! Will have to give that a try.

I appreciate the help from both of you. I'd love to come up with something that my non-raw husband would eat too.

Best,
Rawmney

[Rawkinlocs]

The only time I ever get bitter-tasting banana ice cream is if the bananas end up kinda thawing in the freezer and not staying firmly frozen or if they really, REALLY overripe and bruised. But what I do (until I get one of those nifty ice cream makers like Andy's) is I blend a handful of cashews with almost equal parts water (just a tad bit more water) and make a cashew cream. Then I add that to the bananas along with a little vanilla extract (or vanilla bean), a dash or two of sea salt and I process this in the processor. If it gets too soft, I'll refreeze it in an ice tray and then once frozen, process again. I've also found that the process of freezing, processing, re-freezing and processing again renders a nice consistency that is scoopable. I know it's more work but it works! :)

But yeah, I had this one ice cream maker and it SUCKED, so I'm gonna look into that Cuisinart model that Andy recommended in his chocolate chip ice cream thread! :D

[Damzlfly]

I have never had bitter banana ice cream! Mind you I mix mine with frozen berries that are sour so maybe thats why? I don't add anything else to it either, I just run them thru my juicer twice and thats it..voila!