How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

Summer is upon us, and one of the all time great summer treats is ice cream. Ice cream has long been a favorite of people the word round.

Iced treats have been around for centuries, dating back to a time when the Romans would eat snow mixed with fruit and honey. Of course this was not truly ice cream, but is does speak to the fact that people love their ice cold goodies.

Ice cream as we know it probably developed in the 1600's. But it was Nancy Johnson of New England who invented the first hand cranked home ice cream maker in 1847. After that, what summer barbecue was complete without some homemade ice cream!

In order to make good homemade ice cream you need some basic ingredients. You can certainly use a hand cranked ice cream maker, but I have found the electric variety to be a lot easier. We have a four quart ice cream maker made by Rival. The company has two available, a 4 quart, and a six quart.

The electric ice cream makers all use the same basic setup. Some may have a wooden bucket, while others have a plastic bucket. The one I have is plastic. There is a metal ice cream can that sits inside the bucket. Inside the ice cream can, you insert a dasher (A paddle that churns the ice cream mixture.)The stem of the dasher fits through a lid, and then into the motor. When all is in readiness this is what causes the ice cream mixture to mix.

But what makes the ice cream cold? Ice, of course!

Here is how this all works together. The first thing you need to do is to wash all of the parts which will come in contact with the ice cream.

Next you make your ice cream mixture. Rival sells packets of the powdered mix which has the flavor, and is mixed with milk. This becomes ice cream. If you want to do this entirely from scratch, there will be a recipe at the bottom of this article. Personally, I have found the ready made powdered mixes to be quite tasty, but it's a matter of preference.

Once you have your mixture made, pour it into the metal ice cream can. Place the can inside the plastic bucket. (Make sure the bucket is in the sink to drain away excess water. The bucket has a drain hole for that purpose.)

Next, insert the dasher into the bottom of the motor, and then place the dasher into the mixture. The motor and the bucket of the Rival ice cream maker are made with a latch at the top of the bucket which corresponds with tabs on the motor housing. The tabs lock on to the latch to lock the motor housing into place. Plug in the motor, and away we go.

Now place about two inches of ice in the bucket around the metal can. Crushed ice is best, but if you have small enough cubes you can make that work. Sprinkle approximately ¼ cup of rock salt on top of the ice, and then alternate ice, and rock salt until you have reached the top of the metal can.

The ice cream will churn for about 20 to 40 minutes, and from time to time you will need to replenish the ice, and rock salt.

When the motor stops, carefully remove the dasher from the motor, and using a spatula, remove the ice cream from the dasher. Pack the ice cream down into the can, and place the lid on top. The Rival ice cream maker has a cork which is placed into the hole in the top of the lid.

There are two methods to hardening the ice cream. You can leave the can inside the bucket, and place more ice on top, or you can place the can into your freezer.

I always place the can into the freezer, and serve my homemade ice cream the following day.

Here is the promised recipe to make your ice cream mixture from scratch:

TO make four quarts of vanilla ice cream:

2 ½ Cups sugar

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

5 cups milk

4 eggs, beaten

4 cups whipping cream

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Combine sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat approx. 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Gradually stir about one cup of hot mixture into the beaten eggs. Add egg mixture to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat. Refrigerate 2 hours. Combine whipping cream and vanilla in large bowl; add chilled mixture, stirring with wire whisk to combine. Freeze as directed. ( Using your ice cream maker.)

You may also add fruit, nuts, or any other flavoring you wish to make your ice cream with unique flavors. Experiment. Have fun. After all, it's ice cream!