Tips for Making Ice Cream the Old Fashioned Way

Nowadays, making ice cream at home is easier than ever with machines that take the grind out of the tedious work of the old-fashioned hand cranking wooden churns of decades past. Machines that combine both systems of a hand crank and a high speed motor are available, so you can literally have the best of both worlds. Follow the tips below when making hand cranked ice cream because using an electric ice cream maker simply means following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Recipe

Follow your favorite recipe for the ice cream mixture, and allow time for it to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Ice and Salt

Ice and rock salt are two indispensable items for making ice cream in the old fashioned way. The rock salt combined with the ice quickens the process of freezing by lowering the temperature down to 28 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the necessary temperature for the mixture to freeze. You can buy ice blocks and the rock salt from most convenience stores, or you can freeze a large quantity of ice cubes in your home freezer.

Cover the ice block or cubes with a heavy large cloth, and hit them repeatedly with a hammer or ice pick till they break up in small enough pieces. Put them in a wooden container, and mix in the salt using a non metal item such as a wooden spoon. Use an effective amount of salt, about 1/3 of the amount of ice.

The Machine

Use the wooden spoon to pack the ice tightly between the canister and the tub, and let it sit for about 5 minutes until the canister becomes really cold. Put in the ice cream mixture in the frozen canister, but never fill it fully or the mixture won’t have room to expand. Make sure that the ice is slightly above the level of the mixture. Put in the handle, and seal the lid thoroughly.

Let the mixture stand for some minutes. Then you can start cranking, slowly at first, and then at a regular pace until the mixture starts to stiffen. When the handle becomes too hard to turn, this means that your soft ice cream is ready, and it is the time to put in your favorite ingredients, such as nuts, chocolate chips and flavoring, making sure that the solid items are finely chopped.

Storing Your Ice Cream

You can store your ice cream in two ways: either by packing it in a plastic recipient and putting it in your freezer until it is time to use it or pack it again in the freezing canister. Make sure there are no salt residue on the lid, and seal it tightly. Put more ice and salt into the bucket. Cover with a heavy blanket, and leave it for an hour or so. This will ensure that the mixture will absorb all the delicious flavorings you put in. This will also guarantee that you will become a homemade ice cream addict for life.