Make Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream at Home

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Make Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream at Home"

Episode Details

• Title: Make Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream at Home
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Guest: Nicholas Morgenstern, Founder of Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream
• Release Date: June 30, 2025
• Duration: Approximately 22 minutes

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Introduction to Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream

Alison Stewart opens the episode by highlighting Nicholas Morgenstern's transition from pastry chef to ice cream connoisseur. She introduces Morgenstern's Ice Cream Parlor, established in 2014 on New York City's Lower East Side, renowned for its inventive flavors and deep respect for classic ice cream traditions.

Alison Stewart [00:29]:
"Ice cream is fun, but making it is serious business. That's the vibe of Nicholas Morgenstern's new cookbook."

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Nicholas Morgenstern’s Journey into Ice Cream Making

Morgenstern shares his background, initially working in auto mechanics before pursuing pastry in trade school. His technical inclination and the shorter education pathway led him to culinary arts in 1997.

Nicholas Morgenstern [01:32]:
"The education was shorter. It's more technical. And so it was a natural thing for me, more of a fit for me."

He recounts his early experiences with ice cream machines in various culinary roles, fostering a long-standing interest in ice cream that ultimately inspired him to open his own shop and later release a comprehensive cookbook.

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Family Roots and Ice Cream as a Marker of Success

Morgenstern delves into his family history, emphasizing how ice cream symbolized success and quality of life in his grandparents' modest Midwest household. His grandfather, who grew up during the Depression and worked in a dairy, made ice cream a staple indulgence.

Nicholas Morgenstern [03:06]:
"Grandpa Morgenstern finished every meal with a bowl of ice cream. Sometimes there was pie, but there was always ice cream in the freezer."

This familial connection influences his commitment to creating high-quality ice cream, honoring traditional flavors like butter pecan, which pays homage to his grandfather's favorite.

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Commitment to Quality and Local Sourcing

Morgenstern emphasizes the paramount importance of quality in his ice cream-making process. He details his approach to sourcing ingredients locally, avoiding preservatives, and crafting most components in-house to ensure authenticity and excellence.

Nicholas Morgenstern [04:45]:
"The quality of the product is the top priority. We make almost everything ourselves."

He highlights the absence of artificial additives, ensuring that every flavor maintains its pure and distinct character.

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Dispelling Common Ice Cream Myths: No Egg-Based Custards

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around Morgenstern's decision to exclude eggs from most of his ice cream recipes. He explains that egg-based custards impart a specific flavor and texture that can overshadow more subtle flavors.

Nicholas Morgenstern [07:58]:
"Frozen egg or custard has a flavor. Creme brulee has a specific taste... it gets in the way of subtle flavors like vanilla."

By avoiding eggs, Morgenstern allows the natural flavors of ingredients like Madagascar vanilla to shine, offering a purer tasting experience.

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Navigating New York’s Competitive Ice Cream Scene

Morgenstern reflects on New York City's dynamic ice cream landscape, characterized by fluctuating trends and varying quality standards. He criticizes some establishments for relying heavily on preservatives and distant production methods, which compromise flavor and texture.

Nicholas Morgenstern [05:48]:
"I felt offended that something so good was being made so badly."

His critique underscores his mission to elevate ice cream quality standards in the city, a mission that resonated well when he introduced his own offerings through an ice cream cart.

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Engaging with the Community: Policies and Philosophy

Addressing listener feedback, Morgenstern explains his policy against offering ice cream samples. He believes in encouraging customers to commit to their choices, trusting in the quality and consistency of his creations.

Nicholas Morgenstern [09:07]:
"If you're going to give me a French custard, I love that. I know what it is. We are obsessed with balancing quality and texture."

This policy reflects his confidence in his products and his dedication to maintaining high standards without relying on taste tests.

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Innovative Flavor Development and Seasonal Offerings

The conversation delves into Morgenstern's meticulous approach to flavor development. He describes a structured method, categorizing flavors under vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and miscellaneous, allowing for both consistency and experimentation.

Nicholas Morgenstern [10:07]:
"We make sure that the characteristics of each of the flavors have their own identity."

He highlights unique flavors like burnt honey vanilla and Vietnamese coffee, demonstrating his commitment to both tradition and innovation.

Alison Stewart [10:07]:
"Five to seven types of vanilla every day. What distinguishes them?"

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Home Ice Cream Making: Tools and Tips

Listeners' questions prompt Morgenstern to discuss home ice cream-making tools. He critiques devices like the Ninja Creamy, advocating instead for traditional methods involving rock salt and ice machines or professional-grade equipment like the Paco Jet.

Nicholas Morgenstern [12:53]:
"I strongly recommend that you use a rock salt and ice machine for making your ice cream at home. In my professional opinion."

He underscores the importance of using stabilizers and specific techniques to achieve the desired texture and consistency.

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The Journey to Publishing a Cookbook

Morgenstern explains his initial reluctance to publish a cookbook, viewing his recipes as coveted trade secrets. However, celebrating a decade in the business inspired him to share his knowledge and experiences.

Nicholas Morgenstern [18:08]:
"I wanted to document what we have been doing at Morgan's for the last 10 years."

The cookbook, "Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream," offers detailed recipes and insights into his artisanal ice cream-making processes, bridging the gap between professional craftsmanship and home enthusiasts.

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Interacting with Callers: Community Feedback

Throughout the episode, listeners call in to share their experiences and ask questions, showcasing the strong community around Morgenstern's ice cream:

1. Reid from Brooklyn [11:46]:
   Discusses the challenges of long lines and inquires about home ice cream devices like Ninja Creamy.

   Morgenstern [12:53]:
   Reiterates his preference for traditional methods over modern gadgets.

2. Alec from Rockaway [14:45]:
   Expresses love for Morgenstern's chocolate sorbet.

   Morgenstern [15:24]:
   Elaborates on the simplicity and richness of the chocolate sorbet, highlighting his favorite ice cream shops globally.

3. Barbara from the Upper West Side [16:37]:
   Praises Morgenstern's coffee ice cream.

   Morgenstern [17:02]:
   Introduces his Vietnamese coffee flavor, balancing condensed milk for sweetness with strong coffee notes.

4. Patty from Brooklyn [19:27]:
   As a former Dairy Queen employee, questions about soft serve quality.

   Morgenstern [19:35]:
   Praises his own shop's soft serve while acknowledging Dairy Queen's consistency.

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Final Thoughts and Recommendations

As the episode concludes, Morgenstern offers practical advice for aspiring home ice cream makers, emphasizing essential tools and ingredients. He encourages experimenting with flavors while maintaining a commitment to quality and authenticity.

Nicholas Morgenstern [20:49]:
"You need a pot, a mixing bowl... and some milk powder."

He underscores the importance of investing in proper equipment to replicate the artisanal quality of his ice cream at home.

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Conclusion

In this episode of All Of It, Alison Stewart engages in a comprehensive discussion with Nicholas Morgenstern, delving into his passion for high-quality ice cream, the philosophy behind his unique flavors, and the journey to sharing his craft through a dedicated cookbook. Listeners gain valuable insights into artisanal ice cream making, the importance of tradition fused with innovation, and the commitment required to excel in a competitive culinary landscape.

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For more episodes and insights into culture and its consumers, tune into All Of It with Alison Stewart, weekdays from 12:00 - 2:00 PM on WNYC.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Ice cream is fun, but making it is serious business. That's the vibe of Nicholas Morgenstern's new cookbook. You may be familiar with Morgenstern's Ice Cream Parlor, which opened in its inaugural spot in 2014 on the lower east side. It quickly became known for its complexities and inventiveness of its flavors. The ice cream shop goes deep on the classics. Any given day, it serves five to seven types of vanilla ice cream, but there are surprises to be found and flavors like cinnamon, raisin toast, banana curry, french fry. Recipes like that and dozens more can be found in the new cookbook, Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream. Nicholas Morgenstern joins me now to discuss. Welcome to all of it. Thanks for having me and congratulations on the book. The pictures are really beautiful. Of course, the ice cream making. You brought me ice cream.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I did.

[Alison Stewart]

We're gonna get to that in a minute.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I've made the mistake of not bringing ice cream before people are out.

[Alison Stewart]

Out you go.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

You originally were a pastry chef, correct?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

That's right.

[Alison Stewart]

Why did you choose pastry?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

The education was shorter.

[Alison Stewart]

That's it.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

It's more technical. And so it was a natural thing for me, more of a fit for me. I was doing auto mechanics before I went to trade school for pastry. So there's like some technical elements to doing pastry. And it was a different time. I went to culinary school in 1997. So the vibe of the industry and all of that was a different thing. So for me, it was about learning a. Learning how to do something well and figuring out something to support myself with.

[Alison Stewart]

So when did you gravitate towards ice cream?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I was interested in it for a very long time. All of the jobs that I had working in restaurants and hotels, almost all of them had an ice cream machine. And I found myself on that machine most of the times. That's not always the case. There's a lot of people working in a pastry department depending on how big the operation is. So I had made ice cream in most of the places that I worked, and I was always interested in it. And I was also really excited and inspired to make an ice cream cart and I opened a restaurant in New York in 2008 and built an ice cream cart and put the ice cream cart in front of the restaurant. And it was really, really successful and also a lot of fun.

[Alison Stewart]

You have a pa. You have a page in this book which you really, really get into your family history, and it sounds. It's kind of your ice cream origin story. You're raised in California by a single mom. She sends you and your brother to your grandparents in ohi month with a little bit of a culture shock for you. What do you remember about that time?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

The. I mean, the main takeaway for me is the difference in the food. So growing up in, like, post hippie San Francisco, pre tech pre dot com. So pretty, like, crunchy. A lot of, like, raw kale salads and things like that. Steamed chicken I don't recommend. And then going to the Midwest, where Grandpa Morgenstern was a very, like, meat and potatoes type of a guy, and so I was eating that kind of food. We didn't eat a lot of sugar at home in San Francisco with my mom and Grandpa Morgenstern finished every meal with a bowl of ice cream. And sometimes there was pie, but there was always ice cream in the freezer. And he had grown up in the Depression and had gone to the military and then came back and worked in a dairy. And so ice cream was, like, a really important thing for him. It was an important indulgence. And so having it in the house was, like a marker of success and quality of life. Even though he lived, like, a very modest and, like, conservative lifestyle, ice cream was one of those things. So butter pecan was Grandpa Morgan Stern's flavor, and I serve it at Morgan Stern's periodically. We change our menu every year. It's not as popular as I wish it was. And flavors, culturally, do weird things. We serve a lot of flavors, so we get a lot of information on what people want to eat in an ice cream flavor.

[Alison Stewart]

But you gotta have butter pecan because of Grandpa.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I do. And it's not on the menu this year. We do serve it. We're. We're pleasantly surprised that it's popular when it is on the menu.

[Alison Stewart]

So when you decided that you wanted to open your own ice cream shop, you had to have a list of things that were important to you, what.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Was important to you, the quality of the product, quality of the ice cream. So that's like the top. That's like the driving force for everything that we do and the reason that we are there doing it. So I built the store myself, which was a lot of work. I had to learn how to do a lot of things in order to do that. And all of the decisions around building the store and building the operation were guided towards making the best ice cream. So no preservatives. We buy all of our products locally except for some, like, specialty ingredients that we want for special flavors. We make all the product ourselves. We make almost everything. I don't make Junior Mints or Oreos, and those are popular flavor additions. But everything else we make in the store ourselves.

[Alison Stewart]

You write in the book Morgan Stern's Finest Ice Cream that your first experience with ice cream in New York was, quote, I felt offended, offended that something so good was being made so badly. What was wrong with the ice cream? What do people get. What do people get wrong about making ice cream?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

New York is an interesting ice cream town. It goes through waves and phases of ice cream here. I've been here for 25 years and I've seen things through, like Tasty Delight and then Pinkberry. Yeah. Do you remember Red Mango Emac and Bolios was a big thing here for a long time. There's still imac embolios kind of banging around. And when I came here, I was working as a cook. I was working in fine dining restaurants. And back then, before the interwebs, it was to read the Zagat. If you went to a city as a cook and you would read the Zagat, you know, cover to cover, to understand what people were doing. And the ice cream category was very trim and slim. In New York, there weren't a lot of places to go. I went to a place. I'm not going to say what it is, but they served pistachio ice cream. And yeah, just like a lot of, like hindsight's 20 20, but they were using a lot of preservatives. The product was probably made very far from New York City, like hundreds of miles away. So it had all kinds of stabilizers and gums and things. And then it had those, like, very lonely two pistachios in my scoop of ice cream. And I just thought, this. This can be so. I know this can be so much better. And they're not doing it. So my thesis was, if you make it better, people will like it and they'll buy it. And I was right. When I put a little cart in front of my store, people really liked the ice cream.

[Alison Stewart]

We're speaking with Nicholas Morgenstern, the founder of Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream has a cookbook out now. Listeners have you been to Morgenstern's finest ice cream? What do you like about it? Do you have a favorite flavor? Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You also have a question for Nick Morgenstern. He's here. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Got a text here that says butter pecan was my father's favorite too. Can't beat it.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

It's an old school flavor.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's start with a couple of things that set your ice cream apart. Especially cause New York's kind of a little bit of peak ice cream right now. You do not use eggs in your ice cream.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

That's right.

[Alison Stewart]

No eggs.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

There are flavors that have egg in them, but only when we want the flavor of eggs.

[Alison Stewart]

Why don't you use eggs?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I get this question a lot. The big reason is that frozen egg or custard has a flavor. Creme brulee has a specific taste and flavor as opposed to say a panna cotta. If you've ever had a panna cotta and the flavor is of egg and custard, that's what it is. So it already creates a base. Unctuous, rich and stick to the roof of your mouth quality. And so I find that it gets in the way. Subtle flavors. So like my favorite flavor is vanilla. I prefer vanilla sans egg. That's my preference, though. If you're going to give me a French custard, I love that. I know what it is. I understand that. And so we love to pair those two things side by side for people. When we are serving a French custard ice cream and we suggest that you get a scoop of that alongside a scoop of our Madagascar vanilla, which is essentially the same thing, but no eggs. And you will quickly realize why we don't use eggs in most of our ice cream.

[Alison Stewart]

All right. TripAdvisor reviews say that the store doesn't necessarily give samples.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

We do not give samples.

[Alison Stewart]

You have to really commit to some of these flavors.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

That's my philosophy. So I gave samples for a long time. I write in the book. And it's the way that I am. I probably stopped asking for samples of ice cream when I was like seven. Just because you go in and you go to the place and yes, you should commit. And other places can offer samples. At Morgan Sterns, I stand behind the quality of our product. If you see something on my menu and you know what it is and you like It. I hope that you trust that I'm going to do it in the best way that it can be done. And if you're curious about something, we're really obsessive about balancing the quality of our flavor, the texture, so you're not going to go wrong. It's very unusual for someone to say, I really don't like this. And if there's a flavor that's polarizing, Black licorice, french fry, pickles, and mayonnaise. Those are strange flavors that we serve. You know what you're getting into?

[Alison Stewart]

I hope we'll get to those in a minute. Five to seven types of vanilla every day. What distinguishes them?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

It depends on the season and what we're doing, but we make sure that the characteristics of each of the flavors have their own identity. In this case, like, when we opened the store in 2014, we had five vanillas on the menu. And so. So that was Madagascar, burnt honey vanilla, bourbon vanilla, probably salt and pepper. And I'll have to think about what the other one was. We've served a lot of different vanillas, and it's, like, an interesting exercise for people to see that vanilla is such a complex ingredient. There's a lot written about it in the book about the importance of vanilla and also how important it is to order vanilla ice cream at a place where they're actually using vanilla beans. Most vanilla in the world is imitation vanilla completely. Sadly, most people can't tell the difference in blind taste tests. I think I can tell the difference. We love working with fresh vanilla beans. All of our vanilla beans come from Madagascar, where I think they have the best vanilla. And it's also just an interesting side note of, like, how complex an environment Madagascar is, both for, like, growing really complex ingredients. And also the sociopolitical situation in Madagascar is always extremely unstable. So vanilla is this thing that's, like, up and down, and the best vanilla in the world comes from a place that can produce the best but has a hard time getting it to market. So I have bought a lot of vanilla beans, tens of thousands of dollars from guys that are bringing it to me in a suitcase, not from your regular distributor.

[Alison Stewart]

Sounds like you know, some organized crime. Let's take a couple calls. You ready?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Sure.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, let's talk to Reid. Hey, Reid. Thanks for calling in. You're calling in from Brooklyn.

[Caller]

Hey, Allison. Long time. Long time. So I have to say, I appreciate, Nick, the no tasting rule, because, like, if I'm standing in line waiting to get a cone, and there's someone in front of Me at another ice cream shop. And they're just. It's like three, four of them. And just please make up your mind. There's like six people behind us. 95 degrees. Like, can we get moving? But I love ice cream. But as everyone knows, it's. It doesn't always love us back. So I got this thing recently called Ninja Creamy, which is basically like a home Paco jet. And you can like, freeze whatever stuff into, like, an ice block. And it's like this blender that will then, like, shred and puree it into, like, a pretty well emulsified mixture. I was wondering if you had any experience with those. And I know you guys stress in shops that you guys don't use any, like, stabilizers or preservatives. And a lot of people on this device kind of recommend using a way to kind of get around to that and still maintain that texture for this, like, very specific product, which I'm not sure if you heard of.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Reed, you're preaching to the choir on no samples. Number one, the line at Morgan's turns is a big problem. So I'm with you on keeping the line moving. Thank you for supporting us. A lot of people get really upset about the no samples rule. Ninja Creamy, interesting tool, technically not making ice cream because you are not aerating or forcing air overrun into your ice cream while you are freezing it. So you are making a very, very, very smooth smoothie. So you can freeze any of the bases. In our book, I'm thinking about this. I have a Paco jet. I have a lot of experience working with Paco jets and the Ninja Creamy brilliant invention for them to basically take the Paco jet and make it accessible for the home. And in the book, I strongly recommend that you use a rock salt and ice machine for making your ice cream at home. In my professional opinion. I own two of these machines. We tested every single recipe rigorously blindly on these machines. I think that's the best quality ice cream that you can make at home. Unless you're going to spend several thousand dollars on an ice cream machine with a compressor. So the Ninja Creamy makes something cool. I think the challenge that you're going to find with that is that if you don't add some kind of a stabilizer, a gum, or some kind of, like, modified starch, you're going to find that you spin it, you freeze your block, you spin it, and then when you go to freeze it again to get serving consistency, which is what you're supposed to do, it's going to be hard Generally, I'm going to say generally, it's going to be hard. Potentially, it's going to be icy. And so the stabilizers are going to help give you, like, a little bit more give to your product. And that's why I don't. I'm not. I. I'm not going to do it. I don't recommend the Ninja Creamy.

[Alison Stewart]

Talk to Alec from Rockaway. Hi, Alec, you're on the air.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Allison.

[Caller]

Hey, Nick. Thanks for taking my call. I just wanted to give a quick aside and just say that me and my friends, we love Morgenstern so much. We. We make the pilgrimage from Rockaway for. For Morgenstern, sit in the park afterwards or just, like, walk around downtown. And we especially love coming in the winter when the ice cream, like, kind of stays not, you know, doesn't melt. You can walk down the street.

[Alison Stewart]

And.

[Caller]

I wanted to say that I really dig the chocolate sorbet. It's, like, refreshing simultaneously, like, super rich. I don't know. It's like, it's great. It's all great. So thanks.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Thanks, Alec. I appreciate that. And the chocolate sorbet is a very serious subject for us. So why it's vegan and making. So chocolate sorbet is just water, sugar, and chocolate that's ours has cocoa powder as well as salt in it, and it can be like a pinnacle of frozen chocolate is sorbet. I give my list of my three favorite ice cream shops in the world. Number one on the Ile St. Louis, of course. And so they do their chocolate a Mer, which is their chocolate sorbet, which is like, for me, is like one Bertillon. Sorry, didn't give the name Bertillon. The. Their chocolate a mere. Their chocolate sorbet is, like, one of the best chocolate things I've ever eaten in my life. Their fruit sorbet is apricot raspberry, a pairing with the chocolate. If you go in the off season fall, you get the pear sorbet with the chocolate Delicious giliti in Rome for your authentic Italian disaster gelato experience, where there's people cutting you in line and screaming and yelling and throwing whipped cream over the counter. Outstanding. And then my third favorite is Dairy Queen, which people are really surprised by.

[Alison Stewart]

Dq.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I love dq. Um, I eat a lot of dq, actually, like, as far as on an annual basis. It's probably like my most consumed frozen dessert outside of my own. I think you can't beat their soft serve. And. And who doesn't love a Peanut buster parfait?

[Alison Stewart]

Barbara from the Upper west side is calling In. Hey, Barbara, you're on with Nicholas Morgenstern, the owner of Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream.

[Caller]

Hi. My question, coffee ice cream. Coffee ice cream is my very favorite. And I'm a New Yorker, but I think I don't find it outside of New York very much. And the best that I found is Aratusa Farm. Deeply coffee, not sweet. Really good. Deeply and creamy. Really good.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Have you tried our Vietnamese coffee?

[Caller]

I have not.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

So if you like that, if you like that profile of very rich coffee. I take coffee ice cream very seriously. I did bring some Vietnamese coffee.

[Alison Stewart]

You did.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

So that's. That has a little bit of condensed milk, which does make it sweet. But if you eat around the condensed milk, you're gonna get a very, very strong coffee ice cream flavor.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest is Nicholas Morgenstern. His new book is called Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream, a cookbook. If you have a question or you just want to shout out Morgenstern, your favorite, favorite flavor, Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You brought in two flavors. So I'll ask you this question while I eat some. What made you want to write an ice cream cookbook?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I did not want to write an ice cream cookbook.

[Alison Stewart]

Got to talk longer than that so.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

I can eat the ice cream. So we just crossed our 10 year anniversary last year and it. I felt like we finally had enough. Enough in the catalog to put it down. Okay, good. I'm good. What are you tasting? The honey or the coffee?

[Alison Stewart]

This is the coffee.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Oh, the Vietnamese coffee.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, yeah, keep going.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

It's a lot of work to write a cookbook. It's a lot of work. So. But I wanted to document what we have been doing at Morgan Cerns for the last 10 years and we've never, we've never published a recipe before. So it's kind of like coveted trade secrets.

[Alison Stewart]

Was that hard for you to let go?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

There was a time when it was very hard. And then once I decided that I was going to let go, it was really easy for me to just. It's. It's great to share. It's great to share. Yeah. So sharing the information, we get a lot of questions. I get a lot of questions on my Instagram about how to take care of things and people having questions about problems.

[Alison Stewart]

Now we're going to share the burnt vanilla.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Okay. Yeah. That combination, by the way, is like a. Is kind of like a culture favorite for a lot of people is those two Flavors together, which is the burnt honey, vanilla and the Vietnamese coffee.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, I'll just have to try them separately and then together. Hey, you talked to Patty from Brooklyn. Hi, Patty. Thanks for calling all of it.

[Caller]

Hi, I'm a former Dairy Queen employee and I'm very curious about where you think the best soft serve is.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

In New York, I think we serve excellent soft serve at our Morgan Stearns Bananas location where we make all of our soft serve with the same integrity that we make all of our ice cream. So that's my top pick. After that, I still go to Long island for Dairy Queen. Like, really, truly. That's my. I hate to say that. That's my answer. Making soft serve is really tricky. The machinery is really tricky. And Dairy Queen has figured it out. They understand how important it is to get that product to be super consistent. So I find that places in the city the product is inconsistent.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, I'm going for the double dip.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

There you go. See, that's a big bite.

[Alison Stewart]

All right.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Oh, good combo, right? Unexpected. So the burnt honey is made by cooking the honey, burning the honey with the vanilla beans together. And so you get a very rich, unctuous honey flavor.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, good. Good use of the word unctuous. If someone get your cookbook wants to start the bare minimum at home, their amateur hour, what do they need?

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

You need a pot, a mixing bowl. I'd say you need a whisk that you could get away without. A rubber spatula is ideal, but you can do it with a wooden spoon. You're going to need some ingredients. The only ingredient that you might not necessarily find in your cabinet is going to be milk powder. And then you need that rock salt and ice machine that I was describing earlier, which are readily available online. You can get them new on all of the usual places that I'm not going to name here you can find. I do really recommend looking for one of the older machines on ebay.

[Alison Stewart]

And how do you decide your combinations? Like two flavors and charred eggplant as it is, it just try them and see what works.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

There's some of that. The book, like the store is organized by the categories of ice cream. So vanilla, chocolate, coffee. And then within each of those categories, there's several flavors. So in the vanilla you mentioned, there's like five to seven vanilla flavors. And in the coffee flavor category, there will be three or four. And so that structure allows us to like, figure out which direction we're going to go. So we know that we're always going to make three or four coffee flavors and then we're just deciding which ones we're going to do. The flavors that you're talking about, you're asking the questions about the pickles and mayo. That's in the miscellaneous category. I think you need to have a miscellaneous category and that is kind of like throwing stuff at the wall and just seeing like what is going to be exciting and interesting. A lot of times it's about food trends. What's happening now? Pickles and mayo surprisingly very, very popular.

[Alison Stewart]

Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream, A cookbook, it is by Nicholas Morgenstern. Thank you so much for the ice cream and thanks for coming by.

[Nicholas Morgenstern]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

There'll be more, all of it after the break and more. Ice Cream.

[Progressive Insurance]

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