If you’ve never made ice cream from scratch before and you’re wondering if it’s really that much better than store-bought, let us assure you: it is.
But there are a few things you can do to ensure that if you’re going to go to the effort, it’ll turn out silky smooth, rich, and far superior to anything you’ll find in the grocery store freezer aisle.
Invest in a decent ice cream maker. There are lots of ice cream recipes that don’t require one (we’ve included one such recipe below), but we’ve found that to get a smooth consistency, it’s hard to beat the churn of a machine. The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot on one – many can be had for $50-$100.
Use quality ingredients. Ice creams often don’t have a lot of ingredients, so make sure you’re buying good ones, whether that means ripe, in-season fruit, high-quality chocolate, and vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract (not artificial vanilla flavouring). Make sure your eggs and cream are as fresh as can be, too.
Gather a few pro tips. Whether you pick up an ice cream recipe book for inspiration, or simply check out a few cooking blogs to see how others have done it, it never hurts to learn from the pros. Our favourite ice cream reference books include David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop (considered by many to be THE ice cream bible), Jeni Britton Bauer’s Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home (filled with incredible flavours such as Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk and Salty Caramel), and Sweet Scoops by Shelly Kaldunski. Our favourite online references include Serious Eats, David Lebovitz’s blog, and, for sheer inspiration, Tastespotting.
Experiment with different styles. There are two main styles of ice cream: the egg-free American style, which does not require cooking, and French-style custard, which contains eggs and needs to be cooked. American-style is light and creamy, while French-style is richer. Custard-based ice cream involves adding hot cream or milk to egg yolks and sugar – once thickened, the custard will need at least an hour to cool before it’s added to the ice cream maker so be sure to build in time for that. There’s also sorbet and gelato: gelato typically uses less cream and fewer if any eggs in order to make the flavour really stand out, while sorbet is dairy- and egg-free. Try a few different styles, and see which you prefer!
Store your finished product properly. When your ice cream reaches the desired consistency – it’ll be akin to soft-serve, and will finish freezing in the freezer – spoon it into a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, rap it a couple times on the counter to help remove air bubbles, and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream before adding the container lid. This extra step will help prevent odours from penetrating your frozen concoction.
Enjoy with family and friends. Because you want everyone in your life to know that you’re the culinary whiz who made homemade ice cream, obviously!
Ice cream treats on Cityline.ca: