Homemade ice cream: low effort, high reward

Some food items have a very low reward to effort ratio. Foods like homemade ketchup seem like a lot of work for a product that is, to most people, little to no better than the purchased version. Every person has his own effort to reward ratio that guides his cooking. But no matter what your cooking style may be, you should definitely make ice cream from scratch, says Matthew McDonald. Writing for Heated, he explains why homemade ice cream is always worth the effort

ice cream

For starters, you do not need a plethora of ingredients to make great ice cream. At the minimum you need cream and a sweetener, although a few other items (mostly pantry staples) will enhance the results. You will need an ice cream maker, but you don’t have to spend a ton of money to purchase one. A simple electric model that requires ice will set you back a mere $28 USD (just the cost of a few premium pints). 

The opportunities for flavor combinations are endless, offering another advantage of making ice cream at home. The sky’s the limit, although there are a few rules you need to follow, especially if you want to add fruit flavors to the final produce. The article provides a short guide on how to incorporate different items into your ice cream. If you want a few ideas to put you in the mood, be sure to check out the EYB Library. There are over 4,000 online ice cream recipes available for inspiration. 

Photo of Cinnamon ice cream by David Lebovitz

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4 Comments

  • Jane  on  July 20, 2019

    I love making ice cream. I'm lucky to have a self freezing machine so I never need to keep the bowl in the freezer – ice cream can be 20 minutes away. As you say, it's easy, the taste is superior and people are always so impressed. With the temps here hitting 99 F (37 C) this weekend, I made a lovely lemon yogurt ice cream with a blueberry sauce swirl (from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream) for dinner with friends. It was a perfect dessert for a hot and humid night. My fastest ice cream is the Super simple Nutella ice cream from Chocolate & Zucchini – it's just evaporated milk and Nutella.

  • averythingcooks  on  July 21, 2019

    I have a model that requires the bowl to be kept in our freezer but we have lots of space to accommodate it. I've made various traditional styles (including super rich chocolate for my ice cream loving husband) but my personal favourite thus far is a Philadelphia style vanilla with chopped Skor bar chunks added late in the churn. Homemade ice cream really is LOW effort with BIG rewards and a great way to impress guests at dessert time.

  • hillsboroks  on  July 22, 2019

    I heartily agree with Darcie, Jane and averythingcooks that homemade ice cream is the absolute best. Plus you get to decide on your favorite flavor to make. In the summer with all the fresh fruit I love to make various fruit ice creams. Right now our favorite is Apricot Ice Cream from Chez Panisse Desserts. You won't find that flavor at your grocery store!

  • Loriltx  on  July 28, 2019

    Our favorite-Honey Rosemary ice cream from Epicurious.

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