Ili Handmade Ice Cream: Traditional Uyghur Methods, Rich and Melting Milk Flavor

This article focuses on handmade ice cream from Ili, Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a delicacy embodying the wisdom of Uyghur tradition. This article details its historical origins, ingredient selection, ancient production techniques, diverse flavors, and cultural value.

By analyzing the unique aspects of each production step, we demonstrate how ancient Uyghur methods impart a rich and mellow taste to ice cream. This article allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of the craftsmanship and cultural heritage behind this delicacy, allowing them to experience the unique charm of Ili's culinary culture. The article also explores its contemporary preservation and development, highlighting its significance as a local specialty.

01. The Allure of Milky Flavor Hidden in the Streets of Ili

In the streets and alleys of Ili, Xinjiang, you'll often find small, unassuming yet bustling shops, often lined with long lines. People brave both the bitter cold and scorching heat just to sample the captivating handmade ice cream. This ice cream isn't a product of modern industrial production, but rather a traditional delicacy embodying centuries of Uyghur culinary wisdom—Ili handmade ice cream.

Leveraging the "ancient Uyghur method," its rich, inexhaustible milky aroma has captivated countless palates, becoming a shining hallmark of Ili and even Xinjiang's culinary culture.

Unlike typical ice cream on the market, Ili handmade ice cream is free of complex additives. Every bite exudes the authentic flavor of the ingredients, a perfect fusion of traditional craftsmanship and the gifts of nature.

Next, we'll delve into the world of Ili handmade ice cream and discover the stories and secrets behind it.

02. Historical Origins: A Centuries-Old Heritage

The history of Ili handmade ice cream can be traced back hundreds of years to the Uyghur people.

In those days of relative scarcity, the Uyghur people, driven by their passion for food and their ingenuity, utilized the abundant local dairy resources to develop a unique method for making ice cream.

Initially, this craft was limited to a small community, a cherished delicacy enjoyed at family gatherings and festive celebrations.

Over time, Ili, a key hub on the northern route of the ancient Silk Road, has seen a vibrant blend of diverse cultures, injecting new vitality into the development of Ili's handmade ice cream.

While preserving the core of traditional craftsmanship, the Uygur people continuously borrowed and absorbed culinary elements from other cultures, gradually perfecting the art of ice cream making.

In the past, making ice cream was a time-consuming and laborious task, often requiring the collaboration of family members.

In the absence of modern refrigeration, people relied on natural ice and snow and unique insulation methods to control the temperature and ensure the ice cream solidified smoothly.

Through centuries of tradition, the art of Ili's handmade ice cream has never been forgotten.

Today, many ice cream artisans adhere to the ancient methods passed down from their ancestors, passing this unique delicacy down through the generations. These artisans are not only inheritors of their skills, but also guardians of Ili's culinary culture. With their hands, they preserve the flavor of history to this day, allowing more people to experience the centuries-old milky aroma.

03. Raw Material Selection: High-Quality Ingredients Gifted by Nature

The key to Ili handmade ice cream's rich, milky aroma lies in the meticulous selection of ingredients.

Each ingredient is sourced from high-quality local resources in Ili, a precious gift from nature, guaranteeing the ice cream's quality and taste from the source.

1) Milk: The Soul of Ice Cream

Milk is the core ingredient in Ili handmade ice cream, and its quality directly determines the rich, milky flavor. Located at the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, Ili boasts a unique natural environment, boasting vast grasslands and abundant water and grass, making it a nationally renowned source of high-quality milk.

Local dairy cows feed on natural pastures and drink water melted from the Tianshan Mountains, producing high-quality milk rich in nutrients such as protein and fat, with a mellow and sweet taste.

Ili handmade ice cream typically uses freshly squeezed raw milk, rather than heavily processed dairy products. Artisans carefully screen the raw milk, removing substandard milk to ensure every drop is pure and uncontaminated.

Fresh raw milk, after a simple heat-pasteurization process, becomes the base for ice cream, preserving its natural flavor and nutrients to the greatest extent possible, laying a solid foundation for the ice cream's rich, creamy aroma.

2) Eggs: The Secret Weapon for a Taste Enhancement

Eggs play a crucial role in the production of Yili handmade ice cream. They not only enhance the ice cream's nutritional value but also significantly improve its taste and texture.

Free-range eggs from local farmers are often used for ice cream making. These eggs have larger, darker yolks, are richer in nutrients like lecithin, and offer a richer flavor.

The artisan thoroughly mixes the egg yolks and sugar in a specific ratio to create an egg yolk liquid. The stirring process requires careful control of force and speed to ensure the yolks and sugar are fully incorporated, creating a smooth and creamy liquid.

The heated milk is then slowly poured into the egg yolk liquid, stirring constantly to prevent the yolks from curdling due to the high temperature. This step not only thoroughly mixes the egg yolk and milk but also evenly distributes the lecithin throughout the mixture, making the ice cream smoother and more delicate.

It also increases the ice cream's stability, preventing ice crystals and enhancing its richness.

3) White Sugar: A Sweet Balancing Flavor

White sugar is an essential sweetener in Yili handmade ice cream. It balances the fishy flavors of milk and eggs, imparting just the right sweetness.

When making ice cream, high-quality white sugar is used, not other sweeteners. Artisans precisely control the amount of white sugar added based on the amount of milk and eggs used, ensuring the sweetness isn't overpowering and doesn't mask the natural milky aroma.

When adding white sugar, it's important to add it in multiple portions, stirring constantly to ensure it dissolves fully in the milk and egg yolk mixture and avoid a grainy texture.

The perfect amount of sugar not only enhances the ice cream's taste but also lowers its freezing point, preventing it from completely solidifying during the freezing process. This helps maintain a soft and smooth texture, resulting in a perfect blend of sweetness and milky aroma in every bite.

4) Other Ingredients: Unique Flavor Enhancers

In addition to the three core ingredients of milk, eggs, and sugar, some Ili handmade ice creams also add local specialty ingredients to further enrich the flavor.

For example, some incorporate nuts such as raisins, walnuts, and almonds, which are abundant in Ili. These nuts are carefully selected and processed, resulting in plump, crispy nuts that create a striking contrast with the smoothness of the ice cream. Every bite offers a fusion of nutty and milky notes. Others incorporate fresh fruits such as strawberries and apricots, sourced from local orchards. These fruits are fresh, juicy, and sweet and sour, adding a refreshing fruity aroma to the ice cream, enriching its taste.

The addition of these ingredients doesn't mask the core milky aroma of Yili handmade ice cream; instead, it enhances it with layers of flavor, making each flavor unique and satisfying for every palate.

04. Ancient Craftsmanship: A Delicious Journey Crafted with Ingenuity

The production process of Yili handmade ice cream is complex and meticulous, each step embodying the ingenuity and experience of the artisans. From raw material processing to final shaping, every step is subject to stringent requirements. It is these unique, ancient techniques that give the ice cream its rich, mellow taste.

1) Mixing Ingredients: A Fundamental Step for Precise Proportions

First, the artisans combine the screened and processed milk, egg yolk liquid, and granulated sugar in a fixed ratio.

During the mixing process, the heated milk is slowly poured into the egg yolk liquid while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. The direction and speed of stirring are crucial to ensure a consistent and even mixture to prevent lumps from forming due to uneven heating of the egg yolk liquid.

This step requires great patience and meticulousness. Only by ensuring the ingredients are thoroughly mixed can a good foundation be laid for subsequent production. The mixed liquid needs to be reheated, and temperature control during the heating process is crucial.

Craftsmen, drawing on years of experience, judge the temperature by observing the liquid's state, typically maintaining it between 70 and 80°C. This temperature kills harmful bacteria in the ingredients while preserving their nutrients and enhancing their texture.

During the heating process, constant stirring is required to prevent the liquid from sticking to the bottom of the pan, affecting the taste.

2) Cooling and Resting: A Key Step to Locking in Flavor

After heating, the liquid cannot be immediately used for the next step; it must be cooled and rested. The craftsman will pour the liquid into a clean container and then place it in cold water to cool it down.

Constant stirring is required during the cooling process to ensure a uniform temperature drop and avoid any hot spots that could affect the flavor.

Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, it needs to be refrigerated for resting, typically for 4 to 6 hours, though some may even refrigerate it overnight.

The purpose of resting is to allow the various ingredients in the base liquid to fully blend, intensifying the flavor. It also stabilizes the texture and prepares the ice cream for subsequent churning and whipping.

During the refrigeration process, artisans strictly control the refrigerator temperature, ensuring it remains between 0 and 4°C to prevent deterioration and the formation of ice crystals.

3) Churning and Whipping: The Key Step in Imparting a Silky-Smooth Texture to the Ice Cream

After the refrigeration rest period, the core step in making Yili handmade ice cream begins—churning and whipping. In the past, without modern electric churning equipment, artisans relied entirely on manual churning, a task requiring both physical effort and skill.

To churn, the artisan pours the base liquid into a special metal container and uses a long wooden spoon to stir rapidly in a clockwise motion, maintaining consistent force and speed without slacking off.

Manual churning not only incorporates a large amount of air into the base liquid, increasing the volume of the ice cream and making it lighter, but also evenly distributes the fat particles in the base liquid, forming a fine emulsion that gives the ice cream its silky, delicate texture.

This process typically takes over 30 minutes, often leaving artisans with exhausted arms and aching, but to ensure the quality of their ice cream, they never cut corners.

While some artisans now use electric churners to improve efficiency, many still adhere to traditional methods and churn by hand. They believe that hand churning allows for better control over the degree of churning, resulting in a more unique ice cream texture and a true reflection of the ingenuity of traditional craftsmanship.

4) Freezing and Forming: A Perfect Combination of Nature and Artisanship

After churning and whipping, the raw liquid becomes a light, smooth, and creamy ice cream base, which then needs to be frozen and formed. In traditional production methods, the freezing step is also ingenious.

The artisan pours the ice cream base into a specially crafted ceramic or metal mold, then places the mold in a pre-prepared mixture of ice and salt.

The ice and salt mixture creates a temperature below 0°C, causing the ice cream base to solidify quickly. During the freezing process, artisans periodically remove the molds and stir the ice cream mixture with a wooden spoon to prevent large ice crystals from forming, which could affect the taste.

This process is repeated several times until the ice cream is completely solidified and has a firm yet elastic texture.

Today, with the advancement of refrigeration technology, many shops use freezers for freezing, but they still adhere to the traditional stirring frequency and time to ensure the ice cream's taste is not affected. Whether using traditional ice cube freezing or modern freezer freezing, artisans always adhere to the core principles of ancient craftsmanship, meticulously crafting each piece of ice cream.

05. Taste and Mouthfeel: A Unique Charm That Conquers the Taste Buds

Yili handmade ice cream, with its rich and diverse flavors and uniquely rich texture, has become a beloved favorite among countless people. Each flavor boasts a distinct flavor, and every bite delivers an ultimate indulgence, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

1) Classic Flavors: A Century of Classic Flavors

Within the Yili handmade ice cream flavor portfolio, several classic flavors have been passed down for centuries, remaining beloved by consumers and becoming iconic flavors of the brand.

A. Original Ice Cream

Original ice cream best embodies the core flavor of Yili handmade ice cream. Made without any added ingredients, it relies solely on the perfect blend of milk, eggs, and sugar to create the purest milky aroma.

The first thing you notice when tasting Original ice cream is the rich milky aroma. This aroma is neither pungent nor overly sweet, but rather naturally rich and mellow, as if a whole cup of fresh milk has been condensed into one. Upon sipping, the smooth, creamy ice cream instantly envelops the mouth, without a trace of graininess. As the ice cream slowly melts, the delicate fragrance of egg and the rich aroma of milk intertwine, creating a perfect sweetness. A subtle milky aroma lingers in the mouth, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

B. Nut Flavored Ice Cream

Nut flavored ice cream is made by incorporating various nuts abundant in Yili into the original ice cream, including walnut, almond, and raisin. This flavor not only retains the rich milky aroma of the original ice cream, but also adds the crunchy texture and unique flavor of nuts.

Every bite reveals the succulent nut crunch, creating a striking contrast with the smoothness of the ice cream, creating a rich and complex taste. The mellow aroma of the nuts blends seamlessly with the milky aroma, neither overshadowing it nor overpowering it, providing a constant source of surprises throughout the tasting.

2) Specialty Flavors: A Collision of Innovation and Tradition

In addition to classic flavors, with the passage of time, many artisans have begun to innovate based on traditional techniques, launching a series of unique ice cream flavors. These flavors retain the core characteristics of Yili handmade ice cream while incorporating new elements to meet the needs of diverse consumers.

A. Fruit-Flavored Ice Cream

Fruit-flavored ice cream is made by thoroughly blending fresh fruit with ice cream base. Common flavors include strawberry, apricot, and mulberry. To make this type of ice cream, artisans select fresh, ripe fruit that's in season, peel and pit it, and blend it into a puree before mixing it evenly with the ice cream base.

This ice cream not only has a rich milky aroma but also exudes a refreshing fruity fragrance. Upon tasting, the sweet and sour taste of the fruit is balanced with the richness of the milk, resulting in a refreshing and non-greasy taste, perfect for hot summer days. Every bite reveals the freshness and juiciness of the fruit, as if the sweetness of an entire orchard has been infused into the ice cream.

B. Yogurt Flavored Ice Cream

Yogurt-flavored ice cream is made with Ili's local specialty yogurt, perfectly blending the tart aroma of yogurt with the smoothness of ice cream to create a unique flavor. Artisans use yogurt made using traditional local techniques, which boasts a moderate acidity, a thick texture, and a unique fermented aroma.

By mixing the yogurt with ice cream stock in a precise ratio, the resulting ice cream combines the tart aroma of yogurt with the rich aroma of milk, with a hint of sweetness and a tart, making it very appetizing. Upon entering the mouth, the smoothness of ice cream and the richness of yogurt intertwine to create a rich, refreshing, and satisfying taste.

3) Unique Taste: An Inimitable Taste Experience

The taste of Ili handmade ice cream is its most unique charm, setting it apart from the common industrial ice cream on the market.

Industrial ice cream, in pursuit of production volume and shelf life, often contains a high number of additives, resulting in a relatively rough texture and the formation of ice crystals.

Ili handmade ice cream, however, is made entirely using traditional techniques, without any additives, resulting in a smooth and delicate texture that flows like silk in the mouth.

Because it's thoroughly churned and whipped during the production process, Yili handmade ice cream has a remarkably light texture that melts in your mouth without weighing it down.

Additionally, due to repeated churning during the freezing process, the ice cream contains virtually no visible ice crystals, maintaining a soft and smooth texture even when stored at low temperatures.

As you savor it, the ice cream slowly melts in your mouth, its rich, milky aroma gradually spreading throughout your mouth. Every taste bud experiences this unique delicacy, transporting you to the Yili grasslands, experiencing nature's gifts.

06. Cultural Value and Heritage and Development: A Cultural Symbol on the Tip of Your Tongue

Yili handmade ice cream is more than just a delicacy; it is a vital carrier of the Uyghur culture of the Yili region. It embodies the wisdom, aesthetic taste, and cultural memories of the Uyghur people, and holds significant cultural value.

At the same time, in contemporary society, Yili handmade ice cream faces both opportunities and challenges in its inheritance and development.

1) Cultural Value: A Treasure in Culinary Culture

Yili handmade ice cream is an integral part of Uyghur culinary culture, reflecting the lifestyle and dietary habits of the Uyghur people. Ili handmade ice cream is often an indispensable delicacy at traditional Uyghur festivals and family gatherings. It symbolizes reunion, happiness, and sweetness, and serves as an important medium for expressing emotions.

Every process of making and tasting ice cream is a cultural legacy and an emotional exchange.

Furthermore, the craftsmanship of Ili handmade ice cream embodies a wealth of scientific wisdom and craftsmanship. From the selection of ingredients to every step of the production process, it reflects the Uyghur people's pursuit of culinary excellence and their reverence for nature.

This craft is not only a skill but also a cultural heritage, documenting the experience and wisdom accumulated by the Uyghur people over a long period of production and life, and is a vital component of the diverse cultural treasures of the Chinese nation.

2) Inheritance and Development: Forging Ahead with Preservation and Innovation

Today, with the accelerating pace of modernization and the impact of foreign cultures, the preservation of Ili handmade ice cream faces certain challenges.

Modern industrial ice cream, with its convenience, affordability, and diverse flavors, has captured a significant market share, impacting the survival of traditional handmade ice cream.

Because handmade ice cream is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the income is relatively unstable, many young people are reluctant to pursue this profession, leaving traditional skills facing a critical juncture.

To preserve and pass on the unique cultural heritage of Yili handmade ice cream, the local government and individuals of insight have implemented a series of measures.

The government has introduced policies to support and encourage traditional artisans, providing them with financial and technical support to help them expand their operations. It has also promoted Yili handmade ice cream through events such as food festivals and cultural exhibitions, raising its profile and influence.

Many artisans are also actively innovating while adhering to tradition.

While preserving the core of their ancient craftsmanship, they continuously refine their methods and increase production efficiency. At the same time, they are also introducing new flavors and product formats, such as ice cream cakes and ice cream scoops, to attract more consumers based on market demand.

In addition, some artisans have begun leveraging online platforms to sell Ili handmade ice cream nationwide, allowing more people to experience this unique delicacy.

07. Summary

Ili handmade ice cream, a delicacy nurtured by ancient Uyghur methods, boasts a rich, mellow milky aroma, a smooth, delicate texture, a rich and diverse flavor profile, and a profound cultural heritage, making it a shining pearl in the culinary culture of the Ili region and even the nation.

From a folk craft dating back centuries to a beloved local delicacy today, Ili handmade ice cream not only embodies the wisdom and passion of the Uyghur people but also bears witness to the development and evolution of Ili's culinary culture.

Its success stems from the rigorous selection of ingredients: every high-quality milk and egg comes from Ili's unique natural environment; from the adherence to ancient craftsmanship: every step is embodied with the ingenuity and dedication of the artisans; and from the continuous innovation of flavors: meeting the needs of diverse consumers through the fusion of tradition and modernity.

As a cultural symbol, Yili handmade ice cream not only brings people a taste enjoyment, but also allows people to feel the unique charm of Uygur culture and promotes the exchange between different cultures.