How To Make Homemade Ice Cream
Methods
There are different ways you can make homemade ice cream, both in the method
you use and the ingredients you select.
Method 1 - By Hand
The oldest established method is of course by hand using a bowl and
your freezer. See my web page with full details: Without An Ice Cream Maker
Method 2 - Rolling Technique + Rock Salt
Then there’s the ‘fun’ method using rock salt and ice which
is popular as a summer activity for children – and you have to do this
outside! Using 2 plastic, zippable bags, one larger than the other OR 2 empty,
cleaned food tins (again one larger than the other) with separate and re-sealable
lids, make up your ice cream mixture and put into the smallest bag/tin. Seal/zip
this and insert inside the larger bag/tin. Put rock salt and ice between
the two bags/tins and zip/seal the largest one. You must make sure the bags/tins
are well sealed - put extra tape over the largest tin if necessary.
Roll the bags/tins around for about 20 minutes (this is the fun part
for children) and hopefully you’ll see some smiling faces when the
ice cream is revealed!
Method 3 - Ice Cream Maker (photo above)
The most popular method is to use an ice cream maker. There are bascially 2 types of electric ice cream maker: one that you just plug in and it starts freezing as it churns and one with a bowl that has to be frozen for 24 hours in advance. I'm luck in that I have both, although my preference has to be the "plug in and go" machine. Expensive it might be but mine is now 10 years old and still going strong - a great investment!
Ice Cream Ingredients
There are several key ingredients to delicious homemade ice cream and they are well worth reading about before you start making your own. Understanding the importance of these ingredients will help you to make the best ice cream possible. Just follow the links to the pages to read about each one: Cream ~ Milk ~ Sugar~ Eggs ~ Flavoring ~ Air ~ Other Sweeteners
You also need to understand the difference between custard
or cream base recipes (using
cream, milk, eggs and sugar) and simpler recipes (no eggs)
such as gelato (italian ice cream) and sorbets (water ices).
Adding Extras
To make your ice cream a little more exciting you can add extra, more unusual ingredients into the mix - read my page of ideas and tips to get you started. Another great idea is to ripple your ice cream with a fruit coulis or syrup - here's my page on rippling ice cream. If you've ever been fascinated by how they make raspberry ripple, now you can get to try your own!
Measuring Guide
Here is my measuring guide to help you when making ice cream. When I first started I found this invaluable and am happy to share that experience with my readers.
Once you have read about the essentials, then you will need to start testing recipes for different flavors and textures. On this site you will find a wide range of recipes including the most popular flavors, unusual flavors, gelato and sorbets. Good luck and I hope that you will return for more free advice, hints, tips, recipes and special features.
Author: Shelagh Caudle