5 Tips on How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

The simplest ice cream recipe uses just three ingredients: cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. The entire process involves mixing, churning, and freezing. This basic recipe is a great place to start.

As you become more experienced, you can bring in egg yolks to enhance smoothness and create custard-style ice creams. Also, adding a splash of alcohol will help keep things scoopable and a little gelatin helps ice cream maintain its texture. And, of course, you can try out any number of flavors and preparation techniques.

If you’re concerned about fat content, vary the ratio of cream to milk. For vegan ice cream, use coconut cream and milk instead of dairy. Because coconut is rich in cream, it is better than other plant-based milks, such as soy or oat, for making ice cream.

Another great option for vegans is sorbet because it is naturally dairy-free. To make sorbet, blend fruit and sugar syrup together in a blender, straining out any seeds or fibers afterward. Then, churn the mixture, just as you would when making ice cream, and freeze. You can also make a richer version of sorbet, which includes a little cream. This is generally referred to as sherbet.

If you’re going to make homemade ice cream, you might as well make it a really good experience. This means using high-quality ingredients that lend to an exceptional taste.

The most important ingredient in ice cream, of course, is the cream. Heavy cream is the key here. Whole milk or half and half, while cheaper, both create an icier finished product. You can find many recipes that provide various ratios of milk to cream or half and half to cream, but the best ones always lean a little more on the cream side.

For sorbet, since fruit is the main ingredient, the quality of your fruit selection is the biggest factor in the flavor of your final project. Find a reliable source of fresh fruit that is ripe and rich in flavor. Try checking out the farmers market or the produce section of a trusted grocery store.

Honey, molasses, and agave syrup may seem like great natural choices for sweetening your homemade ice cream, but they affect much more than just the flavor. In fact, your choice of sweetener has a lot of impact on the texture of your ice cream because sweeteners can increase and decrease the freezing point of the liquid within the mixture.

Sweet syrups can work well in sorbet because sorbet aims for an icier texture. However, replacing sugar with liquid sweeteners in ice cream can take away from the final product’s creaminess. For the most consistent and predictable texture results, use superfine granulated sugar. You can buy this at the store or make your own using a food processor.

Have you tried sage ice cream? What about a scoop of basil ice cream with some chocolate sorbet? These are delicious flavors that aren’t found in most stores, and it isn’t likely that any major ice cream and sorbet manufacturers offer them.

Some flavor options to consider depending on your personal preferences: persimmon, carrot, matcha, saffron, rosemary, plantain, spicy peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, earl grey, and lavender. Don’t forget to try blending two tastes together. For instance, rosemary and citrus make a great sorbet combo.

However you churn your ice cream — whether using an ice cream maker or rolling a coffee can across the floor — you will want to freeze the mixture for a while after churning and before eating. At this stage, it’s crucial that you transfer your ice cream to the freezer in a container that is already ice cold.

In general, it’s best to place your ice cream container in the freezer a full 24 hours before you plan on putting the ice cream into it. Your ice cream will then reach its optimal temperature quickly and without sacrificing any consistency. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy a delicious batch of ice cream in no time!