You too can make perfect homemade ice cream

One thing I have found especially valuable is homemade ice cream. I got a Cuisinart machine for my sweetie's birthday at the end of March. To be precise, I didn't buy her the ice cream maker. Being the cook of the household, I gave her the gift of constant homemade ice cream to order.

I've been having a blast with the thing, and it has made me somewhat of a celebrity at Chicken Sunday, a potluck hosted by our dear friends the Toweys. Even when I can't attend in person I have to make the ice cream in advance anyway, so I can send it with Pam. Someday I will get back to making vegetable dishes, as I so enjoy having good sides to go with the chicken, but for now I am content to be the ice cream man.

You too can create homemade ice cream that will make you the hit of any potluck. It's a very teachable skill. The first thing to know is that it is more like baking than cooking in that the recipe has some unforgiving aspects, the chemistry of cooking playing a big role. But you do not have to possess scientific genius. Just pay attention and you too can easily master the art of perfect, sublime ice cream.

This is one home appliance where reading the manual is most worthwile. The main component is the barrel which is filled with some mysterious space age freezing liquid. The warnings reminded me of my favorite Saturday Night Live commercial, Happy Fun Ball, e.g., "do not taunt happy fun ball." Take them seriously. The barrel does not respond well to abrasive cleaning, must be completely dry when placed in the freezer, and only gives good performance when it is totally frozen. From room temperature that takes about 20 hours, but if you can get it back in while still somewhat cold you can reduce it to 12. Be sure to rinse out the barrel in cool water (not hot!) as soon as you have your ice cream in the freezer. I find just wiping it with my hands while holding it under running water works fine. Drying it right then is problematic, as water freezes to it before you could possibily wipe it all dry. I find leaving it on a clean dishtowel on the counter for 15-20 minutes allows it to warm up enough that you can get it dry.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Silly me, you just want to make ice cream! Here is my surefire basic recipe with all the tips you need to make whatever flavor you desire. The only recipe I use that is wildly different is for chocolate. Maybe that is a whole nother post.

There are three segments to the process: eggs and sugar, dairy and flavor. This recipe will make about a quart and a half, which can be slightly more than comfortably fits into the barrel.

1) Put two large eggs in a bowl and whip them for about two minutes until they've doubled or tripled in volume and taken on that creamy light yellow color. Then add your sugar, between one half and one cup depending on your flavoring and your sweettooth, and beat that in for another full minute. One really neat thing is that splenda works equally well in the same quantity. Yes indeed, your low carb or low sugar diet is no barrier to enjoying homemade ice cream.

2) Add two cups of heavy cream and one cup of whole milk. The chemistry is important here - you need the fat and the protein in these ingredients to make it come out best. If adding them cold to your egg mixture, you only have to beat it together enough to be fully mixed in.

There are some ingredients that require steeping in warm cream, such as ginger, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans or green tea. In that case, put your dairy mix and steeping ingredients in a pan on the stove and warm them up gently to a simmer. The ideal temperature is where it's just starting to form a skin on top, but do not let it come to a full boil. A half hour simmer is perfect. Any less and you don't get full flavor, any more and it starts to get bitter. Be sure to stir frequently to break up the skin on top and ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Let this cool completely before adding it to your egg mixture.

3) Really just about any flavor will do. This recipe can comfortably handle about a cup of anything, even juice, without losing any texture. Unless you need to steep it, just add your flavoring at the same time as the dairy.

Many flavors benefit from the addition of a teaspoon of vanilla. I've been told that soaking fruits in rum first helps bring out the flavor, but I haven't tried that yet. If you don't strain ingredients such as pureed fruit, the chunks become unequally distributed in the mixing so you should stir it back up before stashing the finished product in the freezer. If you want to add chunky stuff like nuts or chocolate chips, add them five minutes or less before completion, the smaller the pieces the better.

This recipe improves by putting the batter in the fridge for 2-12 hours to chill and let the flavors meld, but if your barrel is ready to go you can skip this part without losing much. Keep it covered in the fridge as it can easily pick up other smells you do not want. It takes about 25 minutes of mixing to get the right consistency. If you've made just a little too much batter, as I often do, if you are really quick with the trasfer you can split it in half and get both batches done without having to refreeze the barrel. Note that mixing time does decrease with batch size. A half batch takes maybe 15 minutes.

It has the consistency of soft serve when you're done, and you can have it right then if you like. Still I very highly recommend practicing deferred gratification. It takes about 4 hours minimum in the freezer for it acquire the true flavor and consistency of perfect ice cream. Overnight is even better. You wouldn't think the flavors would meld so well freezing, but patience makes a world of difference here.

I like really strong, adult flavors in my ice cream, although I find that most kids are sophisticated enough to enjoy them too. Here are some of the flavors I have made using this basic sweet cream recipe:

Raspberry: A pint of fresh raspberries pureed. I like totally liquifying and straining them or other fruits. Raspberry seeds can be a bummer.

Cinnamon: A tablespoon makes for a pretty strong flavor. You can also use a heaping teaspoon and steep it with two broken up cinnamon sticks in the dairy mix. This is a flavor helped by a teaspoon of vanilla.

Lemon: Add the zest and juice of six, yes six, fresh lemons. This results in about a cup of juice. With a full cup of sugar you can call it lemonade ice cream. This one is pure power.

Pumpkin pie: A cup of pumpkin, which is half a small can, plus a healthy teaspoon of cinnamon, half a teaspoon or a little more of nutmeg, a quarter teaspoon allspice, an eighth teaspoon cloves and a teaspoon of vanilla.

Ginger: Pam's favorite! We have a special ceramic ginger grater which is just a divine invention. Grating ginger with metal implements is a path to certain destruction. About an inch and a half to two inches of thick peeled ginger root will do, which results in about a third of a cup. Simmer all this in the cream and strain. Ginger powder is not an acceptable substitute. I haven't tried store bought grated ginger, but the cooking chemist in me says this would probably work.

Vanilla bean: Slice open and scrape the seeds out of two vanilla beans and simmer it all in the dairy. The shells become pretty much spent so you can fish them out and discard them. An extra teaspoon of vanilla extract really helps.

Cantaloupe: Puree the flesh of a medium size melon. That seemed like too much when I read the recipe but it worked just fine.

You can apply these principles to other ingredients and you too will become an ice cream diva in no time. Once you master the sweet cream base, your imagination is your only limitation.

Bon appetit!