I actually have an ice cream maker somewhere. I bought it when I lived in L.A. and never used it. In December I will have been up here 11 years. But the stand mixer is at-hand, and the bowl seems easy enough. Just freeze it overnight and put the stuff in and mix it up.
I haven’t made ice cream. When I was a kid – like, single digits – I had to crank a bucket a couple of times; but I’ve never actually made it. I’ve decided that my first attempt will be zabaglione gelato. I don’t know if I’ll use the linked recipe, but that’s what I’m shooting for. In the early-'80s there was a gelato place in Lancaster (where I lived) that had zabaglione gelato. One of the best ice creams ever. So I’ll give it a try.
BB&B was OOS, so I ordered the bowl (free shipping) and it should be here Wednesday.
Homemade ice cream is great. I want one of those Kitchen Aid attachments, but I currently have a Cuisinart I found for $10 at a thrift store and use it every month or two. Great for making rich, weird flavors you can’t easily buy. I love making booze-based ice creams; Guiness and whiskey have worked VERY well. Keep intending to try using a red wine reduction…
The only trick with homemade stuff is that it doesn’t keep in the freezer as well as store-bought. It gets icy quickly; doesn’t last more than a week or so.
We have this exact one, and it has worked very well for us. The one thing we’ve found is that you have to freeze the bowl for longer than you’d think, or else the ice cream wont turn out.
Rather than putting in the freezer for 15 hours (or the night before), I’ve found it’s just easier to let it live in the freezer, as long as you have the space. Then, whenever you decide you want to make ice cream, it’s usually just a matter of grabbing cream or whatever other ingredients you need from the store and you can make it that night after work/dinner instead of thinking about what you’ll want tomorrow*.
The other thing I found is that on mine (a stand alone maker), it only made about half of what the recipe made. Luckily, the bowl was still cold enough that it refroze in about 4 hours and I made the rest that night after my daughter went to bed.
*Then after it’s been sitting there for 10 years taking up space you can throw it away or put it in the basement next to the other ice cream maker you forgot about.
The REALLY cool trick I saw was at a party where one of the guests who had access to a physics lab & equipment and he brought in a thermos full of liquid nitrogen. He poured it over a bowl full of milk+instant ice cream flavors (pre-measured & pre-mixed in packages for those kitchenaid attachments) while someone else stirred quickly with a spoon. In less than a minute, we had a gallon of instant – really instant – ice cream!
Coincidentally, here’s a recipe from the NYT today about making the basic custard:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
⅔ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
Your choice of flavoring
In a small pot, simmer cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.
The bowl arrived. I’ve washed it, and I put it into the freezer about 7:00 (two hours ago). According to the directions, I should be able to use it noon tomorrow. I may as well try the recipe I linked in the OP.
WE have exactly that set up. Don’t use it a lot. I thought we would use it a lot more. Kids like making ice cream with rock salt in a Ziploc bag more. Go figure
we have chickens, so I really need to figure out how to make custard. My previous attempts have been lackluster.
I’d give you some tips, but I’ve never made chicken custard.
This is how I made the custard when I made chocolate tiramisu:
Never having made custard before, I had no idea what I was doing. I was amazed at how easy it was.
These are the instructions for the gelato recipe I linked at the start:
It’s different from the tiramisu procedure. In the former, the egg yolks are heated double-boiler style. Here, the yolks are heated with the scalded milk mixture and then heated on the stove. I’ll see how it works.
Looks like I have some running around to do today. I need charcoal for the steaks, probably some more cream for the ice cream, rum for the ice cream (I have marsala, which I hope is still good), and other things. I have to make ice cream, cook the steaks, and burn some yard waste. Then we have to walk down to the beach and watch fireworks. And I’m feeling lazy this morning!
Oh, I guess I should mention the best trick I’ve ever learned for making homemade ice cream.
After you make your base, put a little bit of it (maybe half a cup or so) into a ziplock bag, and let it freeze in a thin layer. When you start the ice cream maker, add your frozen slice of base. It will dissolve back into the mix within a few minutes, but it will bring the base closer to freezing. The colder you get your base before starting the mixer, the better the end result (in my experience).
The custard is made. I dribbled a little of the marsala and the rum, so it might have more flavour than it’s supposed to. It’s supposed to sit in the fridge for three hours, and it’s supposed to go into the freezer for six hours after it comes out of the ice cream maker. It will be ten o’clock before we can eat it! (So about 40 minutes after sundown.)
Maybe could’ve left out the rum that was called for in the recipe. The ice cream is good, but I think I’d just like the marsala. I’ve just put it into the freezer to harden, so we’ll try it properly later.
One thing: I should have doubled the recipe. The batch I made barely made it up to the middle paddle of the dasher.
I’ve thought about things like this, but two things usually stop me; I usually don’t have room in my freezer, and (a lesson I learned when I bought a standalone ice cream maker) it usually costs more to make it than buying whatever name brand is on sale from the store.
This is a sentiment that makes sense right until you try some really experimental flavors.
Candied Yam ice cream (with candied pecans and browned marshmallows mixed in) was delicious, but a little goes a long way. Making a full half-gallon might have been a little overconfident.
Also, homemmade orange sherbet is amazing, but I recommend avoiding recipes that call for gelatin. It sets with a really nice texture, but the gelatin really undermines the crisp, refreshing flavor.