A Fun & Simple Way to Make Homemade Ice Cream
The weather is finally starting to warm up again and that means it’s nearly ice cream season! Well my family and I couldn’t wait so we decided to try our hand at making some homemade ice cream. Admittedly, I was a little skeptical about how it would turn out but, after only a few short minutes, this quick and easy process yielded AMAZING results!
This activity is great for children and families, and the results are delicious and nearly instantaneous. Follow along and you’ll be eating your own homemade ice cream in no time!
Supplies & Ingredients
-1/2 cup Whole Milk
-1/2 cup Heavy Cream
-1/4 cup Sugar
-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
-1 cup Rock Salt
-Ice (Enough to fill a gallon-sized Ziploc bag about 1/3 full)
-Plastic Ziploc bags (2 sizes- we used a gallon-size and a quart-size)
The Ice Cream-Making Process
Step 1:
Combine whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into quart-sized Ziploc bag. (These are the four ingredients that will make up the finished ice cream)
Step 2:
Take a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and combine the ice and rock salt. (These measurements don’t need t be precise, it’s okay to guesstimate! The ice will be used to freeze the cream into ice cream during the churning process. The salt will lower the temperature of the ice to allow it to cool the cream mixture down more effectively).
The ice & salt DON’T go in the same bag as the ingredients from step 1!
Step 3:
Time to churn that ice cream! Make sure to seal the quart-sized Ziploc bag with the cream mixture, and place it inside the gallon-sized bag with the rock salt and ice, sealing the outer bag tightly. Just for extra protection from a catastrophic mess, we placed both these bags into an additional gallon-sized bag. We then wrapped the bags in a towel so we could handle everything without freezing our hands off. (If you can handle it, then no towel necessary.)
Now shake the entire set-up vigorously for 5-6 minutes. Like magic, the cream mixture in the inner bag will solidify into a wonderful ice cream!
Step 4:
Serve & Enjoy! Dish it out and eat it plain or with your favorite toppings. We were all super impressed with the finished result. It tasted just as good as the ice cream from your local ice cream shop.
Bonus Step:
Experiment with different flavors. After our initial success with the vanilla extract, we decided to make another batch with maple extract. We repeated the process described above, and it came out even better than the vanilla ice cream! So don’t be afraid to get creative, and let us know what you come up with!
Conclusion
Making homemade ice cream is a fun and creative way to spend a little quality time with the family. It’s a fun activity that allows for instant gratification, and who doesn’t love ice cream!
When doing this with children, you can even make a game out of it. Throw on some music and let them shake away until the ice cream is churned. Get creative with your music choices too. A couple songs that come to mind are, “She Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC, “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles, or even “Shake Ya Tail Feather” by P. Diddy. By the time one or two of these songs are finished, the ice cream will be too! You can really get as goofy as you want with this project so have fun and don’t be afraid to get creative!
I hope you enjoyed learning how to make your own homemade ice cream! If you liked this little tutorial and want to learn more fun projects and activities to do with your family, make sure to subscribe to our blog below! We are always doing something fun on Thistle Downs Farm and we want you to be part of it!
Take Care & Enjoy your Homemade Ice Cream!
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