Homemade ice cream makes the heat bearable

With the extreme hot temperatures recently, it seemed like a good time to make some ice cream.

Ice cream usually starts with a custard base which is cooked until slightly thickened, then chilled, and then frozen in an ice cream freezer along with appropriate flavorings and garnishes. Some recipes skip the cooking process or don’t need it, but don’t produce an ice cream as tasty as the cooked varieties.

Modern ice cream freezers either have an insert that is chilled to temperatures below 32 degrees, or freeze on their own. Both have a paddle that churns the custard as it freezes. This action incorporates air, preventing the custard from freezing into a solid mass. So unless you want to keep opening your freezer for a couple of hours just to give your ice cream a few stirs, you should probably use an ice cream freezer for these recipes. If interested, you can easily find alternative freezing methods online. I always wanted to try freezing my custard with liquid nitrogen.

If you go the old school freezing method, the kind that calls for ice, salt, and elbow grease, use ice that is finely crushed. Use about one part rock salt to three parts ice. This will quickly drop the temperature of the ice.

Make sure that all the parts of your ice cream freezer are cleaned before using. Never fill freezing can more than three quarters full as the mixture increases in bulk during freezing. When mixture is very firm, wipe off cover, open can and remove the dasher. Scrape ice cream from dasher and sides of can and pack down solidly. Repack ice with four parts ice to one part salt or place in a freezer to allow ice cream time to ripen. This will improve the flavor and the texture.

The following recipes will give the basic preparations with the freezing done as outlined above.

QUICK VANILLA ICE CREAM

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Scald 2 cups of the cream. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool and add remainder of cream, along with the vanilla and salt. Freeze.

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

• 1 cup milk
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 quart cream

Scald the milk and add it to the egg yolks. Then add the sugar, salt, vanilla. Whip the cream until soft peaks appear and stir it in. Freeze.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

• 1 quart strawberries
• 1 cup sugar

Wash and crush strawberries and sweeten with sugar. Add to vanilla ice cream above when mixture is half frozen.

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat butter in saucepan. Add pecans and stir until pecans turn golden. Stir in salt. Mix into vanilla ice cream above before freezing.

PEACH ICE CREAM

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 large tree ripe peaches, peeled, pits removed, pureed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large tree ripe peach, peeled, pit removed, chopped fine
• 1 cup heavy cream

Combine 1/2 cup cream, milk, and almond. Stir and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and the yolks. Mix into the almond mixture. Place in a saucepan and heat over moderate heat, stirring, until thickened. Stir in peach puree, lemon juice, and salt. Let cool slightly before covering and placing in refrigerator until chilled. Add chopped peach, remaining sugar, and 1 cup heavy cream to puree mixture. Freeze.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

• 1 quart cream
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Scant pinch of salt

In a double boiler, heat half of the cream to near boiling. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Freeze.

NO-SUGAR VANILLA ICE CREAM

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 2 1/4 cup cold skim milk
• 1 cup nonfat dry milk
• 4 oz egg substitute
• 5 teaspoons Splenda
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkle gelatin over skim milk in a small saucepan and allow gelatin to soften for a few minutes. Stir mixture over low heat until gelatin completely dissolves. Remove from heat and place saucepan in another bowl of cold or ice water to cool to room temperature. Combine remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until well combined. Add milk-gelatin mixture and blend for a few more seconds. Chill in refrigerator until ready to freeze. Blend for a few seconds before pouring mixture through a strainer into the ice cream maker. Freeze.

VANILLA FROZEN YOGURT

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 envelope gelatin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup corn syrup

Combine the milk, sugar, gelatin, and salt. Let stand 1 minute. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until the gelatin dissolves. Let the mixture cool completely. Stir in the vanilla extract, yogurt, and corn syrup. Pour into a bowl; cover and chill for 8 hours. Freeze.