# Tell me about making ice cream at home **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802 "2008-01-16T23:15:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/21 "2008-01-18T04:24:56Z")
One more piece of advice: never jokingly suggest to your friend that if he likes jalapenos so much he should try making ice cream out of them. Because jalapeno ice cream is even worse than you’d imagine. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/22 "2008-01-18T05:33:53Z")
Also, if you’re adding solid particulates like oreos or cookie dough, pre-freeze and add them towards the end of the mixing process. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/23 "2008-01-18T14:32:27Z")
My favorite recipe is the one that makes my mother nervous because of the raw eggs. It’s uncooked and calls for only milk, half-n-half, eggs, sugar and vanilla. It makes very soft ice cream and pretty much has to be eaten immediately, but it’s wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/24 "2008-01-18T15:03:03Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] My favorite recipe is the one that makes my mother nervous because of the raw eggs. It’s uncooked and calls for only milk, half-n-half, eggs, sugar and vanilla. It makes very soft ice cream and pretty much has to be eaten immediately, but it’s wonderful. [/QUOTE] Sounds delicious, but what dangers do raw eggs impose? I’ve forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/25 "2008-01-18T15:06:35Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] I have a low-end Cuisinart ice cream maker (the kind with the tub you freeze). Its very easy to use and I’ve had great results (I also use the ben & Jerry’s ice cream book). A couple comments. 1. It takes 12-24 hours to freeze the bowl, so its not really an impulsive act unless you have the space to keep the bowl frozen at all times. 2. Chocolate takes longer to make than vanilla because melted chocolate gets the mix warm and then you have to get the mixture cold again. [/QUOTE] We have a chest freezer, so I just store the thing in there, we’re always ready for ice cream! Anyone ever used good dutch cocoa to make ice cream, rather than melted chocolate? In three years of ice cream making, I’ve never made chocolate! ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/26 "2008-01-18T15:14:34Z")
My husband makes Philadelphia style ice cream, which has no eggs. It’s not quite as rich in texture, but he uses extremely high quality chocolate, and that adds richness. No eggs, no cooking required. He uses a hand-cranked Donvier that we inherited from someone who bought a fancier one to replace it, but–there’s a KitchenAid mixer attachment? I must check this out! ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/27 "2008-01-18T15:18:30Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Sounds delicious, but what dangers do raw eggs impose? I’ve forgotten. [/QUOTE] Eggs can be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. It’s supposed to be rare, but salmonella poisoning is pretty yucky and can be dangerous to infants, the elderly, etc. I always warn people that my ice cream contains raw eggs before I serve it, and I didn’t give it to my kids when they were little. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/28 "2008-01-18T15:53:28Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] Eggs can be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. It’s supposed to be rare, but salmonella poisoning is pretty yucky and can be dangerous to infants, the elderly, etc. I always warn people that my ice cream contains raw eggs before I serve it, and I didn’t give it to my kids when they were little. [/QUOTE] Ta! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/29 "2008-01-18T15:55:12Z")
I’m a big ice cream maker. I love any chocolate recipe, but the flavor that is far-and-away better than anything you can get in the store is **strawberry**! Homemade strawberry, made with fresh berries, is nothing like the artificially flavored dreck that you get in the supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/30 "2008-01-19T12:43:06Z")
I got an ice-cream maker for Christmas, the kind with the cylinder that has to be pre-frozen. Tonight for our Saturday night treat I’m making mint chocolate chip ice cream. I’ll let yinz know how it turned out if I don’t die of the Happies 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/31 "2008-01-19T16:20:37Z")
Just as a warning, don’t ever imagine it might be a good idea to try to make fresh mint ice cream by using actual mint leaves. Tastes fine, but awfully… vegetative. Stick to the extract. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/32 "2008-01-19T17:25:51Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] Eggs can be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. It’s supposed to be rare, but salmonella poisoning is pretty yucky and can be dangerous to infants, the elderly, etc. I always warn people that my ice cream contains raw eggs before I serve it, and I didn’t give it to my kids when they were little. [/QUOTE] In my area, Harris Teeter stores carry [Davidson’s pasteurized eggs](http://www.safeeggs.com/). They’re great for recipes calling for uncooked eggs and take the worry out of eating uncooked cookie dough. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/33 "2008-01-19T19:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] I got an ice-cream maker for Christmas, the kind with the cylinder that has to be pre-frozen. Tonight for our Saturday night treat I’m making mint chocolate chip ice cream. I’ll let yinz know how it turned out if I don’t die of the Happies 🆒 [/QUOTE] Don’t forget, flodnak!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/34 "2008-01-19T19:48:44Z")
Oh. My. Ghod. The mint chocolate chip ice cream was _amazing._ Creamy and soft and just perfect. Even my husband, who can usually take or leave mint flavored things, happily helped polish it off. Yum. I didn’t have a recipe, so I used the basic recipe that came with the ice cream maker and added a few drops of green food coloring and about nine drops of mint essence to the milk before starting to mix the ice cream. That worked fine (for one liter). About half-way through the freezing time, I added a generous handful of chocolate chips and let the ice cream maker stir them in. One thing, though: next time I make it, I’ll remember to buy the miniature chocolate chips. The regular ones are a little bit too big. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/35 "2008-01-19T20:30:01Z")
[QUOTE=YWalker] In my area, Harris Teeter stores carry [Davidson’s pasteurized eggs](http://www.safeeggs.com/). They’re great for recipes calling for uncooked eggs and take the worry out of eating uncooked cookie dough. [/QUOTE] Thanks, I’ll look for those. Because right now I risk the raw eggs on a regular basis. I love cookie dough and brownie batter far more than the finished product. ---
**Author:** ![Emeria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Emeria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emeria)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/36 "2008-01-19T23:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] I use the low-end Cuisinart ice cream maker, too. I bought a second bowl so I can make two flavors within the hour. I have to limit my sugar and the older I get the more some of the fake sugars (like isomalt) give me gastric trouble. Homemade icecream lets me adjust the proportions. I haven’t used any sugar at all–just berries, stevia, and sometimes a little Splenda with milk and half and half. I have a new jar of cardamom powder and I’d like to make a cardamom and fruit recipe soon. [/QUOTE] I’m on a short term no-sugar diet but I LOVE ice cream. Any way you could share your hard-earned knowledge about what proportions work? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/37 "2008-01-20T00:12:08Z")
I have done low-carb ice cream. The best sweetener is Diabetisweet, which is made of sugar alcohols. If you are feeling frisky it can be caramelized for “butter pecan” ice cream. (Splenda _does not_ caramelize) Sugar has an important role in keeping icecream semisolid, so low sugar ice cream made at home doesn’t store well – it gets rock hard in the freezer. I experimented a lot and the results were only so-so. “CarbSmart” ice cream bars are good enough for the short term, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802/38 "2008-01-20T00:45:27Z")
[Here](http://www.recipezaar.com/133715)is a procedure that is supposed to pasturize eggs. I can’t get Davidson’s where I live. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-making-ice-cream-at-home/433802.md?page=1)