After remarking about the various "gums" used in commercial ice cream making, I started looking into home made varieties. Several things came to light: they like sweetened condensed milk, raw eggs, sugar, and several other things I don't think should be necessary. My wife frowns on the whole idea, claiming to have tried in the past with poor results. So, I copied a few recipes. Today I am trying one. Three ingredients: condensed sweetened milk (low fat used), whipping cream, and vanilla. The brew is in the freezer; I'll reveal the result tomorrow. Frank
Are you using a traditional maker with dry ice, or just a Mix 'n Freeze version? I've done that once (Mix 'n Freeze) when making a Baked Alaska. It was a mint chocolate chip ice cream, and had sweetened condensed milk in it. As I'm sure you know, it is not the same product you get using a maker. Here's the ingredient list for Vanilla that is made in an electric ice cream maker: 2 quarts half-and-half cream ½ pint heavy cream 1 ½ cups white sugar 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 pinch salt This recipe has no eggs. You can't avoid the sugar without using questionable substitutes.
I grew up with a hand-crank ice cream freezer. We used goat milk. I made it for a few years after I left home and finally gave up because I could never control myself and suffered brain freeze frequently. I was invited to a homemade ice cream social a few days ago and I told an old man there that had never had homemade he better slow down or else. He didn't listen and got a brain freeze. Before I could say, "I told you so you stubborn old coot," I got one and it was a doozy.
@Faye Fox Here's the "scoop" on my witches' brew ice cream. It did thicken, but not quite as hard (at 0 degrees) as store-bought. My wife ways it tastes too "greasy". No surprise, it's 3/4 fat. My technical intuition has always questioned the need for "churning"; what difference can that possibly make? And why? Frank
My parents didn't make ice cream but I had aunts, and other people in the church, who did, and I very much liked homemade ice cream. Those who made it, I think, had an ice cream maker that had to be hand-cranked.
Having never made ice cream, or even seen it done except for glimpses, I am not an expert but my guess would be that it wouldn't take very long at all to make one batch of ice cream, but usually when someone decides to make ice cream with a hand-cranked ice cream maker, once they have everything together that they need, they make several batches, with different flavors, and that sort of thing. People don't usually make ice cream because they want an ice cream cone. They do that usually when they are planning a family get-together, a church event, or something that requires a lot of ice cream.
The churn adds air to the mix and the ice in the hand-crank machine freezes it. Churning (by hand or in a machine) prevents large ice crystals from forming in the ice cream and produces the smooth texture that makes ice cream feel so rich and luxurious when you eat it. Ice cream churned in a machine will generally have more air whipped into the mixture than hand-churning can achieve.
I have a small (1.5 qt) electric Cuisinart ice cream maker. I keep the mixing bowl in my freezer so when we want to make ice cream I just take it out, add the ingredients and turn it on.
It's probably been 40 years since I've had old fashioned hand cranked ice cream. Last time was at a party where little kids were running around with handsful of potato chips, which inevitably got dropped in the churn which for some reason didn't have a lid. A new taste sensation was born. It's possible one of those kids grew up to be Ben. Or Jerry.
The last time I had homemade ice cream was easily 55 years ago. We had neighbors who would mess with it every once in a while. I cannot recall if it was a hand crank or an electric crank. In my adult years, I have had hand made ice cream created by small businesses. There really is nothing quite so good.
We had one that made a quart. When ready, it was placed in the freezer (it had a flat cord") with the door closed, and ran til it stopped. (about 20-30 minutes) E-Z Peasy! We liked the pistachio chocolate chip the best. This one is similar to Beth's for $139.99 https://www.amazon.com/Electric-1-5-Quart-Insulated-Freezer-Eliminates/dp/B091GV6DQ1
We had a crank ice cream maker when I was a kid. I liked the home made ice cream because I got to turn the handle until it was made. We never bought any, so it was homemade or nothing. After my family was up and growing I bought an electric ice cream maker. I think we used it twice amd I gave it to a cousin. I never cared for our homemade and when we'd visit someone and they made homemade, I didn't care for it either. I still don't and haven't tasted any homemade ice cream since in my thirties. I have for years bought Breyer's ice cream and have probably tasted all brands sold in Texas and Oklahoma. But if you like the home made that's the way to go. It is not worth the trouble to me.
I've never tried it. Someone on a goat forum once posted how she made it in a plastic bag. She used raw milk from her goats. I think like this.
The churning is supposed to help it firm up evenly and make it smooth and less icy. It keeps the ice crystals smaller because it doesn't give them time to attach and freeze as a big clump.