By SARAH BRASHEARS
Features Editor
As a lover of ice cream, I am constantly craving a creamy, homemade bowl. However, not having a machine seemed to be the end of this wish. I continued to buy ice cream and accepted the fact that my craving would have to wait until family reunion this summer. Then, as social media tends to do, a blog with four different recipes for ice cream without a machine came across my feed, leading me here. Let’s make some ice cream!
Method #1:
The first method is a 2-ingredient recipe, keeping the making process simple! Start by wiping 2 cups of heavy cream until small peaks form. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer. Next, drizzle in a cooled can of sweetened condensed milk.
For flavoring, add in whatever flavors or syrups desired. Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze! It really is that simple.
Method #2:
The second method is known as the plastic bag method. To start, make the same ice cream mixture as described in method one, using heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. However, instead of placing it in an airtight container, move the mixture to a quart-sized resealable bag. When closing the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible.
Then, place this bag containing the mixture inside a different quart bag. Again, be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible and seal tightly. Place both bags into a gallon sized, resealable bag. Fill this gallon bag with about 4 cups of crushed ice, sprinkling around 4 tablespoons of salt on the ice in layers. Squeeze all air out of the bag and seal tightly. Wrap all the bags in a towel and shake while massaging the bag. Be sure the ice is surrounding the cream mixture continuously. After shaking for 5 to 10 minutes, you should have a frozen mixture, resulting in homemade ice cream!
Method #3
The third method is slightly time consuming, but results in a smoother ice cream! To start, place your ice cream mixture in a large stainless-steel dish. Place the full bowl in the freezer for 45 minutes. As it begins to freeze, you will see the mixture harden from the edges first. Once this happens, remove it from the freezer and stir vigorously using a spatula. After stirring, return the bowl to the freezer. Every 30 minutes, take the bowl out and repeat the stirring process. For better results, use a mixer or hand blender. After roughly 2 or 3 hours, your mixture should be frozen into an ice cream form!
Method #4
This method is my personal favorite! I make this recipe at least twice a month. To start, make any ice cream base according to the directions of the recipe. However, instead of churning in an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a zip able bag squeezing out all the air. Freeze the bag, lying flat, until the mixture is solid.
Once frozen, remove the bag from the freezer and break into chunks that will fit into a food processor or high-powered blender. Place the chunks in the blender and pulse until smooth. If you choose to add mix-ins, fold them in or pulse again until you reach your desired consistency. Once mixture is smooth, place in an airtight container. Cover the ice cream and place in the freezer until ready to serve!
Ice cream has always been one of my favorite snacks. As the weather is beginning to warm up, I am most excited about utilizing these four methods to make sweet, creamy, cold ice cream! The flavors are endless, from making plain vanilla, adding chocolate syr-up, or mixing in your favorite candies! Homemade ice cream is truly the best! What kind of ice cream will you make?
