How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

Ice cream is a staple summer treat, though honestly, we enjoy this frozen confection year-round. For true ice cream aficionados, the desire may arise to try your hand at making your own ice cream. Depending on the method you choose, this can be an invigorating and relatively easy process or a messy and possibly anticlimactic endeavor.

There are a number of (supposedly) “easy” ways to make homemade ice cream; these existing techniques require ice cream-making ingredients, a healthy dose of muscle, and some patience.

If, like us, you’re interested in the science behind ice cream making, a new culinary experience, and/or a (potentially) delicious homemade creation, why not give it a go?

“Easy” Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

How do you make homemade ice cream? There are several ways to whip up this frozen treat in your kitchen. Here are a few methods you can try:

Ice Cream in a Bag

How do you make ice cream without a machine? All you need are a couple of plastic resealable bags and classic ice cream ingredients. This recipe from Delish explains how to make ice cream with ice cubes and salt (along with half and half, sugar, and pure vanilla extract).

Combine the half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla in a small resealable plastic bag, making sure to push out any excess air. Then, in a larger resealable bag, combine the ice and salt. Place the smaller bag inside the larger bag and shake vigorously until the ice cream has hardened (typically 7-10 minutes). Alternatively, you can place the smaller bag of ingredients in a container (i.e. coffee can) with ice and salt and have the kids roll it down hills or toss it around for some added fun!

The science behind this method is that the salt effectively lowers the temperature at which water freezes. So the salt ice will melt even when the temperature is below the normal freezing point of water, resulting in creamy ice cream to be enjoyed with your favorite ice cream toppings.

This homemade ice cream-making method is great for teaching kids about science and allowing them to have a hand in the process, however, it does have its drawbacks. Successfully making ice cream using this method requires some trial and error and can take a lot of time. Additionally, there is a concern that the bags will rupture, resulting in a messy kitchen or worse, salty ice cream. Finally, and not surprisingly, this labor-intensive style of making ice cream can be, well…a bit exhausting.

Classic Ice Cream

Ice cream is traditionally made in three distinct steps that you can also complete at home. This method is much more time-consuming and requires a watchful eye and the right timing – otherwise you risk curdling or burning your base! It begins by heating milk, cream, and sugar until the sugar dissolves and then allowing the mix to cool. For a richer-tasting ice cream (French-style), the hot cream-sugar mixture can be whisked into egg yolks.

Once the liquid cools and flavors are added, it’s time to freeze. If you’re looking to make a large batch, an ice cream machine is ideal. You can also use a freezer and hand mixer to whip up a fluffy ice cream over the course of a few hours. Just make sure you warm up your muscles because it’ll get progressively more tedious to mix! After the hardening process, you will have ice cream that is ready to scoop and enjoy – a well-deserved treat after all that work!

Ice Cream Maker

Making homemade ice cream is undoubtedly much easier when you have an ice cream maker on hand. With this method, all you need to do is combine heavy whipping cream, half and half, sugar, and vanilla extract and let the machine go to work.

The downside of the ice cream maker method is that you’ll end up with a large batch of one flavor. You’ll also need to plan in advance by freezing the bowl and equipment, plus be prepared to clean up a sticky mess at the end of it all. Not exactly ideal for a quick and easy homemade ice cream recipe.

Freshly Frozen ColdSnap® Ice Cream

One of the main advantages of homemade ice cream is that freshly-frozen taste. You just can’t get it from store-bought ice cream that’s been in deep freeze. While the above methods are tried and true, they have their drawbacks (prepping ingredients, waiting for hours, messy clean-ups, and physically tiresome).

With ColdSnap, you can get that creamy, fresh frozen taste, without any of the drawbacks of making ice cream yourself. Using the ColdSnap system, you can make single servings of your favorite frozen confections in approximately two minutes – with no preparation, ingredients, or clean-up required! It’s certainly the fastest and easiest homemade ice cream method of them all, complete with the added benefit of variety.

While standard ice cream machines are a one-trick pony, our soon-to-be-released instant ice cream machine produces a variety of frozen confections and frozen beverages so you can feed all of your frozen treat cravings in no time. Whether your idea of dessert perfection requires a bowl of chocolate ice cream or a boozy frozen cocktail, the ColdSnap machine can churn out a selection of frozen goodies all night long.

Contact us today to learn more about ColdSnap or get inspired with more creative ways to eat ice cream to change up your dessert routine.