Making ice cream at home is actually pretty easy to do, and you don’t need any fancy equipment if you’re just making small batches for fun. This is a great Saturday afternoon activity. You’ll be surprised at how good it tastes. Just keep in mind this is not low-fat or low-calorie.In fact, you’d be better off calling this the full-fat, high-cal, high-taste version. This recipe is enough for one person to make one dish, but you can always scale it up a bit so you can share with friends as well.
Don’t worry too much if you don’t have whole milk or heavy cream. Nearly any milk will work, and you can substitute half-and-half for the cream. Ideally you want ingredients with a high fat content because these will create a creamy texture when cooled. Remember that we’re just experimenting here, so try what you have on hand!
Ingredients you need to make your own Ice Cream
- 1 part milk (Whole or 2% work best)
- 2 parts heavy cream (optional)
- a dash of vanilla
- 1 part sugar
- 4 cups crushed ice
- 4 tbsp. salt
- 2 quart-size plastic bags
- 1 gallon-size plastic freezer bag
- hand towel or gloves to keep fingers from freezing as well
Basic Directions
Begin by mixing the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the quart-size bags. If you want, you can mix this in a bowl first so that you get all the sugar dissolved. Seal the bag tightly; you want to try to get as much of the air out of the bag as you can. Too much air left inside might force the bag open during the mixing stage.
Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized.
Put the two bags inside the gallon-size bag, fill the gallon-size bag with ice and then sprinkle a generous amount of salt on top. Again, squeeze out as much air as possible and then seal the bag. Wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on, and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the creamy mixture. Five to eight minutes should be enough time to allow the mixture to freeze into ice cream.
When you are all done, carefully open the bags and extract your ice cream. Enjoy!
If you’d like to experiment a bit more, you can try substituting a mixture of heavy cream and your choice of milk. Mix up a few different batches, and compare the texture of ice cream. Which do you think will have a smoother texture?
We suggest using freezer bags because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular plastic bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging. If you plan to do this indoors, we strongly recommend using gallon-size freezer bags.
Advanced flavors
If you are really adventurous you can try mixing in some special flavor ingredients after the plain vanilla ice cream is made. It’s generally best to add these items after all the squishing in the bag is done, so you don’t crush the flavor additions. So give some of these combinations try, and let us know what flavor combinations you come up with by posting on ourFacebook page!
- Chunks of chocolate bars or chocolate chips
- Oreo cookie chunks
- Broken pieces of peppermint candies
- Mango and Kiwi (use fresh fruit with out the skin)
- Pineapple and pomegranate seeds
- Chocolate chips and peppermint chunks
What does the salt do?
Salt forces the ice surrounding the bag of ingredients to melt. This “brine” solution or liquid that forms in the gallon-size bag absorbs the heat from the ice cream mix and gradually lowers the temperature of the mix until it begins to freeze.
If there were no salt added to the ice, it would melt at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and eventually the ice water and mix would come to equilibrium at 32 degrees. The ice cream mix, however, does not begin to freeze until its temperature falls below 27 degrees. Therefore, in order to freeze the mix, we need to add salt to the ice to lower the freezing temperature.
With 4 tbsp. of salt mixed with our ice, the brine temperature should remain constant at around 8 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. This will give the rapid cooling and freezing that is essential to making smooth, creamy ice cream.
FAQs
If you have ever made ice cream, you already know what goes into it, ingredients such as milk, cream, and sugar. But there is one main ingredient that you may not have thought about, probably because you can't see it—air.
How to make ice cream at home 5 minutes? ›
directions
- Pour the milk, sugar and vanilla into the smaller, quart sized bag.
- Fill the larger, gallon sized bag 3/4 full of ice, then add the salt to the ice.
- Place the smaller bag inside the larger bag and close the seal. ...
- Now shake the bag good and hard for 5 minutes.
Eggs add rich flavor and color, prevent ice crystallization and help create smooth and creamy ice cream.
What ingredient keeps homemade ice cream soft? ›
Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.
What is the secret to good ice cream? ›
When it comes to great ice cream, cold temperatures and speed are your friends: the faster you bring your base from liquid to solid, the creamier it'll be. In a 2-quart unit, a typical batch of ice cream will take between 18 and 25 minutes to churn.
How often should I stir homemade ice cream? ›
Freeze your ice cream mixture in a plastic container in the freezer. Cover with a layer of cling film. 3. Mix the ice cream every hour or so until completely frozen in order to aerate the mixture and minimise ice crystals forming.
How long do I churn homemade ice cream? ›
Start the motor, and churn until the ice cream is done, approximately 30 minutes to one hour, or even longer at times. You will know when it's done because the ice cream will start to expand and rise to the top, and the motor will slow down. You will hear the motor change. Store the ice cream.
How to make ice cream in the old days? ›
Almost 70 years ago, ice cream was made in a hand-cranked maker that was a wooden bucket, a metal container, paddles inside the container and a hand crank and gear piece on top. Ice and rock salt was poured around the metal container inside the wooden bucket.
How to make ice cream in 10 minutes? ›
Steps
- Fill a gallon-size resealable plastic bag halfway with ice. Add the coarse salt. ...
- To a quart-size resealable plastic bag, add the cream, sugar, vanilla, and table salt. ...
- Continue shaking vigorously for 10 min., until cream mixture has thickened and is frozen.
Ice cream's creaminess depends on the size of the ice crystals that form during freezing-the smaller the crystals, the creamier the texture. Rapid chilling and constant churning encourage the water in the ice cream mixture to form lots of minuscule “seed” crystals; this process is known as propagation.
You can still enjoy homemade ice cream without the risk of Salmonella infection by substituting a pasteurized egg product, egg substitute, or pasteurized shell eggs for the raw eggs in your favorite recipe. Egg products are eggs that have been removed from their shells and pasteurized.
What happens if you don't put eggs in ice cream? ›
Egg yolks also improve the stability of an ice cream, reducing its tendency to melt before you can get it from freezer to cone to mouth. This also means that egg yolks prolong the shelf life of ice cream in a freezer, since they inhibit the thaw-re-freeze cycle that ruins ice cream's creamy texture.
Is it worth it to make your own ice cream? ›
It's all about the flavor. Homemade ice cream, without artificial ingredients, fake thickeners, or unnatural stabilizers to keep it "fresh" for weeks (or months!) in the grocery store freezer, is amazingly flavorful and actually fresh tasting. It's true.
How to make ice cream at home in 10 minutes? ›
Step 1In a small resealable plastic bag, combine half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal. Step 2Into a large resealable plastic bag, combine ice and salt. Place small bag inside the bigger bag and shake vigorously, 7 to 10 minutes, until ice cream has hardened.
Is it expensive to make homemade ice cream? ›
But it's important to remember that you're getting enough ingredients to make several batches of ice cream. If you can get 5 gallons out of these ingredients, then you've spent only $3.00 per gallon. That is less expensive than the average store-bought gallon. It can help you stay on track with your grocery budget.
What ingredient makes homemade ice cream soft? ›
Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.
