You know what’s nuts? When I woke up today, the temperature reading on my Amazon Echo showed -21 degrees. That’s, like, planet Hoth cold (Empire Strikes Back reference, anyone?). Yet, here I am, writing an article about ice cream. You wanna get nuts?! Come on, let’s get nuts (Batman)!
Really? Another movie reference? Come on, man!
Alright, alright, enough references for now. But yeah, I’m writing about ice cream. Why? Because I’m seriously considering making some today. It’s actually not as crazy as it sounds. My oldest is a little older than two-and-a-half. This means he’s in…let’s call it “a stage.” This stage involves sporadic crankiness, picky eating, and dreadful bouts of cabin fever.
You might be wondering, “What’s that have to do with ice cream?” Well, he loves the stuff. Actually, he loves most junk foods, sweet and salty. Chips, candy, and ice cream are among his favorites. We really gotta get him to eat a vegetable, but we pick our battles, and that’s one for another day.
Second, it’s a fun little activity that doesn’t take a whole lot of work or time. So, on a day like today, when we’re confined to our 1250 square foot apartment, we are in desperate need of activity. Otherwise, he’ll go bonkers. And if he goes bonkers, that spells trouble for old mom and dad. This is why I’m thinking about making ice cream. Yeah. That’s why we’re making it. It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that my wife and I love the stuff too, and I have all the ingredients, and we’re cooped up with two kids, and have nothing else to do but load up on sugary, carby foods. It’s for the kids! Oh, man, homemade ice cream is so good. It’s so rich, and decadent.
Snap out of it!
Okay, sorry. Now, unless you’re going to make it the old-fashioned way, there are a few pieces of equipment you’ll likely need to pull this off. And I’m not talking about your refrigerator and freezer (even though you’ll need those too).
Note: The products featured here were selected by me. If you click on a link and buy something, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I call that a win-win.
My wife, Claire, asked for an ice cream maker for Christmas. I got her one. Since then, I’ve made a few batches of ice cream, and it’s phenomenal. There are a bunch of models you can choose from, but the one I settled on is this one from Cuisinart. It looks nice, and makes about two quarts of ice cream in about 30 minutes (note: the ice block will need about 2 hours to freeze before use, so I just keep it in the freezer). It even comes with a recipe book!
Prior to pouring the ingredients into the ice cream maker, you need to combine them. To do that well, and quickly, you’re going to need a hand-mixer. You don’t need anything fancy, just something to get all that sugar dissolved in the milk and cream. This model from Kitchen-Aid looks up to the task and not too expensive.
If you’re mixing ingredients, you’re going to need mixing bowls. For plain vanilla ice cream, I get by with using just one. For strawberry, I use two. So, why not get a set? Like this one here!
Look, you’re an adult, so I’m guessing you have measuring spoons and cups. They’re important to make sure you have the right amount of each ingredient. Just in case you need them, try these here.
Unless you plan to eat two quarts of ice cream immediately upon making it (can we be friends?), you’ll need a way to store it. I use these, and, so far, have found them to be great.
How To Make It
I use recipes as if they are general ideas. So, even if I have a recipe in front of me, I’ll typically tinker with it to match the ingredients I have at home, or the flavor profiles I prefer. For example, the recipe book that comes with the ice cream maker, above, calls for lemon juice to make strawberry ice cream. I don’t keep a whole lot of lemon juice in the house, but I do have apple juice. For some reason, my kid prefers that! Still, if you’re looking for a recipe to guide you that looks pretty solid, check this out here.
You now have everything you need to make ice cream at home. Is it the healthiest? No. It’s ice cream. But, when you make it at home, you have control of the ingredients (so, it’s healthier, maybe?), and you have an activity for a day when you and the kids have to stay inside. Plus, it’s mind-bogglingly good.
Update: Turns out there might be an even more kid-friendly way to turn making ice cream into an activity. One of my friends alerted me to an ice cream making ball that’s great for kids. I haven’t tried it, but it’s probably more fun. Check it out here. For now, I’ll stick with my way. A bit less mess, and a lot higher yield. Which means more ice cream for mom and dad!
Worth noting again: The products featured here were selected by me. If you click on a link and buy something, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I call that a win-win.
And another thing: Header image courtesy of Pixabay
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