would you ever bother making your own ice cream? (with an ice cream machine of course!)?

Question

I remember coming across a recipe book in Borders produced by Ben & Jerry's and thought it would be nice to make your own ice cream that is like Ben & Jerry's! Thing is, I'm a bit skeptical. Is it really possible to produce very good quality, creamy, tasty ice cream by yourself using an ice cream maker? Or is it always never going to match up to the professional stuff? I had a breadmaking machine for over 2 years now, and have tried different recipes with it, but the bread it churns out is never as good as the real thing (I like Burgens bread and Warburton's)

And if you're really happy making your own ice cream with an ice cream machine, would you recommend a particular model of machine, or would any ice cream machine sold in big stores like Argos or Amazon do the same trick?

Savannah > the trouble is, I've never ever seen Ben & Jerry's ice cream on offer. I shop regularly at Asda and Tesco.

Answer 1

Ice cream machines are cheap and can be bought on Ebay or Amazon. Most of the brands on here are "good" ones. And yes I make homemade ice cream on a regular basis. They joy is that you can have any flavor you want........add alittle bit of jalapeno juice to some and watch it enhance the flavor of the chocolate or cinnamon. Your ice cream world is endless when you make your own. The youngest one enjoy peanut butter in his!!! Add a bit of jelly to it and he will behave all day waiting for his treat!!

Answer 2

I think home made ice cream is loads better than the shop bought stuff, But the real fun of making it at home is creating flavours you don't normally see, ginger for example which is lovely, and you can create your own ideas. like chocolate chip with caramel veins. It's really lovely and great fun to do. The only down side is you can't eat it straight away because it takes 24 hours to freeze down.

Having said that, we have a bread maker which we use regularly and personally I much prefer home made bread and certainly wouldn't even contemplate buying Warburtons (which is sliced bread I believe,) I've never even heard of Burgens but I live in Spain so we probably can't get it over here.

We have a demarle ice cream maker, but I can't see that it makes much difference what you buy they just mix and chill the ingredients at the same time. The thing to look for is relative ease of cleaning. Also to make really nice ice cream you need to add a stabliser. We get that from demarle as well but I'm sure it's available from other places.

A hint with the bread maker too. Instead of letting it cook the loaf for you take it out at the dough stage, make rolls and cook them with a tray of hot water in the bottom of the oven to crisp them up. You may find you get more satisfactory results.

Answer 3

There are ways to make ice cream without an ice cream maker! I haven't done it before but I was looking at ways to do it on google and I found a recipe, maybe you'll want to try it! Vanilla ice cream: 2 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup milk 1 pint heavy whipping cream pinch of salt 2 teaspoons vanilla Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs for several minutes until thick and lemon colored. Add 1 cup of milk and blend into the eggs. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Add egg/milk mixture to the sugar and cornstarch. Cook until thick (about 5 minutes) stirring constantly. Allow the custard mixture to cool to room temperature. When the custard is cool, put into a freezer-safe bowl. Blend in cream and salt. Freeze for 2 hours or until slushy. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla. Whip for 5 to 10 minutes with an electric mixer. Return to freezer and finish freezing (several hours or overnight).

Answer 4

In an ideal world i would make my own. None of the synthetic additives in it- i saw a recipe for brown bread icecream- no joke and it looked lovely- i suppose summer fruit pudding is made out of bread so same sort of idea. I make my own ice lollies- much easier though- just need the moulds and a freezer- best flavour so far is the natural juice from tinned pears frozen- yummy!

But Ben and Jerrys Chocolate Garcia- is fab!

Answer 5

I love making homemade ice cream. as I find the storebought contains too many artificial ingredients. I like knowing what is in my food. I make it with fresh raw milk and cream, straght from the cow. Lovely. I add raw cocoa powder or vanilla extract, and can add whatever nuts or berries, or things that I want. I cannot recommend a brand, as I live in the US, and being from England know that the brands available here are not the same. I regularly see them in thrift shops for just a few dollars

Answer 6

I grew up in the south, so it was a tradition and joy to make homemade ice cream, it also tasted better and rarely lasted 1 day because it was so good! I have two ice cream makers, the old motor/ice salt brine type and the newer yogurt/ice cream maker for more modern day concoctions. Rival and Cuisinart are two good brands.

Answer 7

Most machines should do the trick, though make sure it's one which does the churning for you. They can be much nicer than shop bought ice creams and you have free reign with the flavours you can make - i love coffee and whisky which you can't find in the shops! They can be great for special occasions which is when my mother tends to use it most. If you don't intend to use it much then a relatively cheap one may be better for you.

Answer 8

I would not bother making my own ice cream now, i did a few years ago,but with so many good varieties, and good ice creams on the market it is just not worth the trouble.

Answer 9

My boss used to make the most fantastic ice cream and she used to make the most amazing wonderful flavours...
So I did what was neccessary... I moved in!

Their restaurant is Craggan Mill in Granton on Spey in Scotland and they win loads of awards for their menus.
Ever up that way, she woudl definately have a chat about ice cream making I am sure!

Answer 10

i haven't had home made ice cream since i was a child and it was pretty good so i'm assuming they've come even further with technology. i'd say give it a try and if you don't like it sell the machine or try to take it back to the store you got it from. (usually at walmart you can take anything back and just say it doesn't work and they'll refund your money)