How to Make Ice Cream

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Categories: Food | Dessert | Dairy | How Tos

  • There's nothing quite like homemade ice cream on a hot summer (or blustery fall or blizzardy winter or drenching spring) day. Even if you've never even boiled water before, you'll be surprised at how easy it is to make a few basic ingredients come together into an alchemical formula for edible happiness.

    Whether you like your ice cream silky smooth or loaded with nuts, candy, and other goodies, you'll enjoy experimenting once you master the basic steps for how to make ice cream!

  • Introduction

    • Ice cream, homemade or otherwise, falls into two predominant categories: French-style (or custard-based) and Philadelphia-style. The former, which incorporates egg yolks, is richer and requires a more complicated process of tempering egg yolks, preparing a custard base, and, in some cases, working with an ice bath.
    • Philadelphia-style ice cream involves simply blending the sugar, cream, and other ingredients together and freezing them into a satisfyingly smooth and delicious ice cream. For the sake of user-friendliness, we'll get started by making a basic recipe for Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream. This will yield about 2 1/2 to 3 pints of ice cream.

  • Ingredients

    • 1 quart half-and-half, divided
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • Pinch salt
    • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 1/2 cups mix-ins (chopped candy bars, mini chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, etc.), if desired

  • Equipment

    • Medium saucepan
    • Wooden spoon
    • Sharp paring knife
    • Ice cream machine
      • Rock salt and ice if required by ice cream machine
    • Silicon spatula

  • Step 1: Prepare the Ice-Cream Mix

    • Heating at this step is essential to dissolve the sugar. If you skip this step, you may end up with a grainy final product.
    1. Pour 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan. Stir in the sugar and the salt.
    2. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into the saucepan. Add the pod to the saucepan as well.
    3. Heat the half-and-half mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the sugar is dissolved and the vanilla is fragrant. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil.
    4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the remaining half-and-half and the vanilla extract. Cover the saucepan and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled.

  • Step 2: Make the Ice Cream

    • To ensure the success of your ice cream, be sure your ice-cream mix is completely chilled. Also, chill the canister insert from your ice cream machine. If your machine is the type that does not require rock salt but relies on a pre-frozen liquid- or gel-filled insert to freeze the ice-cream mixture, be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommended freezing time. Cutting corners here is not a good idea. If the insert isn't cold enough, your ice cream may not freeze solid.
    • Have your machine set up and ready to go before you remove your ice-cream mixture from the refrigerator. Just before you are ready to pour the mix into the machine, remove the vanilla bean.
    1. Exact directions may vary with the machine you have, so be sure to read the instructions thoroughly and carefully before you get started.
    2. If you have a rock-salt-and-ice machine, fill the chilled canister, insert it into the machine, lower the dasher (mixing paddle) into the ice-cream mix, put the lid on, and fasten the motor drive. Start the motor before you start filling the machine with ice and salt. Alternate layers of ice and salt according to the instructions for your machine.
    3. If you have a frozen-gel-insert machine, set it up and start the machine to get the dasher moving before you pour in the ice-cream mix. If you do not, the ice-cream mix may freeze solid when it hits the supercold interior of the insert.
    4. Periodically check the progress of your ice cream. If necessary, add additional ice/rock salt. Prior to opening the lid, be sure to clear away all ice and salt from the opening so that nothing falls into your ice cream.

  • Step 3: Add the Mix-Ins (Optional)

    • Some prefer their ice cream to melt velvety smooth on the tongue, free from texturizing add-ins. For others, ice cream isn't worth eating unless every spoonful is so full of cookie crumbles and chopped candy bars that it has to be chewed thoroughly to be swallowed. The beauty of making your own ice cream is that the choice is all yours. Go nuts... or don't!
    1. To add smaller mix-ins, anything like chopped nuts, chocolate chips, crushed cookie bits, and so forth, pour them directly into the ice cream machine during the last minute or so of churning.
    2. Larger, sticky, or dense mix-ins, like chopped peanut butter cups, chopped peppermint patties, larger pieces of fresh fruit, or lumps of cookie dough, might sink to the bottom or clump up during churning, clinging to the dasher and causing problems for the machine's motor. It's best to add these mix-ins after churning is completed. Do so as follows:
      1. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the mix-in in the bottom of the container you'll be storing the ice cream in.
      2. Remove the dasher from the ice cream, pour in the mix-ins, and fold in gently with a flexible silicon spatula.
      3. Scoop ice-cream mix into storage container. If desired, you can layer with additional mix-ins or with a sauce like fudge, caramel, or fruit to create a ripple. To swirl sauce, drawl the silicon spatula down through the container a few times, creating a swirling pattern. Do not overmix!

  • Step 4: Ripen the Ice Cream

    • If you like your ice cream on the soft side and simply can't wait to devour it, you can eat it fresh from the churning canister. Just spoon it out and serve. But if you can muster up the self-restraint, ripening the ice cream will allow the flavors to deepen a bit and the consistency to become firmer and more scoopable, which is nice if you're serving your creation in cones or sundaes.
    1. Although with many machines you can ripen your ice cream directly in the churning bowl or canister, it's a good idea to transfer it to an airtight storage container (or containers) instead. This ensures maximum freshness if you're not planning to eat the whole batch at one sitting.
    2. Once you've added any mix-ins you desire and are ready to ripen your ice cream, seal the container with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the coldest part of your freezer for at least three hours.
    3. Because homemade ice cream is not as aerated as the store-bought variety, it tends to freeze harder than commercial ice creams. If this is the case with yours and scooping it proves difficult at first, simply let stand on the countertop at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

  • Storing Homemade Ice Cream

    • A good way to store ice cream is in square plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Disposable take-out containers with leak-proof lids (intended for soups and such) also make good storage containers. Whichever containers you decide to use, make sure that the lids fit securely and that the containers are freezer-safe.
    • Without preservatives to stabilize your ice cream, the quality will deteriorate more rapidly than that of commercial ice cream. Although the FDA says that ice cream will keep safely for 2 to 4 months at 0 degrees F, for best flavor, consume your ice cream within a couple of weeks. Ice cream stored for longer periods can develop ice crystals that spoil the texture and can also pick up ambient flavors from other foods stored in the freezer. If your sorbets, sherbets, and Philadelphia-style ice creams get icy, you can usually successfully melt and rechurn them to restore a pleasing texture.

  • Choosing an Ice Cream Machine

    • Things to consider when selecting an ice cream machine include price, ease of use, and how often you plan to make ice cream. On the cheaper end of the spectrum are the ice-and-rock-salt models, which can be either hand cranked or motorized. These require the purchase of rock salt but do not require that the canister be pre-freezed.
    • Machines that have a gel- or liquid-filled insert can also be economical, but although these do not require the addition or ice or rock salt, they do require advance planning, as the insert must be frozen for at least 24 hours.
    • There are higher-end machines available that are self-refrigerating, and if you plan to make a great deal of ice cream on a regular basis, this sort may be your best bet.
    • Among the three basic types of machines, the results are fairly similar in terms of ice cream consistency and quality.

  • Variations

    • Once you've mastered the basic technique for making Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream, you may want to start experimenting with the more challenging custard-style ice cream recipes. Also, have fun experimenting with some exciting new flavors, and soon you'll be wondering why you ever bought ice cream in the store in the first place!

  • Flavors

  • Tips and Warnings

    1. If you want to avoid the heating step, replace the 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed (NOT evaporated) milk. Use an electric hand mixer to blend ingredients and chill.
    2. You can reuse the empty vanilla pod. To make vanilla sugar, rinse the pod well in cool water. Allow it to air-dry completely, then place it in glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Fill the jar with enough sugar to cover the pod and let sit for a week or so in a cool, dry place. The sugar will take on the essence of vanilla, and you can reuse the pod to flavor your next batch of ice cream.
    3. With dairy prices at a premium, don't shortchange yourself or your recipe by skimping on other ingredients at the expense of the outcome. Use only pure vanilla extract, fresh eggs, and fully ripe fruit.
    4. If you have only a little bit of ice cream or sorbet left in your freezer, not enough for a complete round of servings, consider making the next batch in a complementary flavor and swirling the two together.
    5. Use organic, fair trade, and locally grown ingredients to make your own "Green" ice cream.

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