Home Made Ice Cream
I have so many happy childhood memories of eating creamy ice cream on the beach on a hot summers day.
Nowadays ice cream comes in a variety of forms and flavours and is no longer just a treat for the beach.
So with the extended summer that we are enjoying, I thought I would share my favourite recipe for delicious homemade ice cream. It's a recipe that doesn’t require any churning and is so simple, you won't be able to resist giving it a try.
I started making this simple ice cream and it's been a family favourite ever since. As it uses egg yolks, it’s a great opportunity to use up the whites by making a good batch of meringues, or a pavlova base to complement the ice cream, or freeze until you need them.
The basic recipe can be adapted to incorporate virtually any flavouring but my two favourites are undoubtedly Chocolate and Vanilla.
No Churn Ice Cream Recipe
You'll need:
- 6 egg yolks
- 6 oz sugar
- 1 pint double cream
- Then a flavouring :
- For chocolate, use 200g of really good chocolate
- For vanilla, use the seeds from one vanilla pod
Get started:
Break the chocolate up into pieces and melt it in a bowl over a pan of hot water.
Leave it to cool for a few minutes.
Beat the eggs with the sugar until light and pale.
Whisk the cream until it is stiff.
Now add the chocolate (or vanilla pod seeds) to the egg/sugar mixture and quickly beat it together until well mixed. Fold in some of the cream to loosen the mixture slightly then gradually add the cream, folding it in until it is all mixed together. It needs to be well mixed but try to retain as much of the air in the cream as you can.
Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and pop it into the freezer.
It's best left overnight and I usually take it out a good 10-15 minutes before we want to eat it so that it gets a good chance to soften a little.
Spoon it out into bowls or a cone and swoon - it tastes so good!
So where and when did ice cream originate?
Some sources describe ice cream-like foods as far back as 550 BC, in Persia while others describe how the Roman Emperor Nero had ice collected from the Apennine Mountains to produce the first sorbet mixed with honey and wine.
Other accounts say ice cream originated in the Mongol Empire and first spread to China during its expansion.
Our own King Charles II, (who reigned between 1660 and 1685), is the first British monarch who is known to have eaten ice cream. In fact he actually built an ice house in the centre of London at the start of his reign.
In 1651, Italian Francesco dei Coltelli opened an ice cream café in Paris, and the product became so popular that during the next 50 years another 250 cafés opened in Paris.
Who eats the most ice cream?
India is one of the largest producers of ice cream in the world, but most of its ice cream is consumed domestically. Per capita, Australians and New Zealanders are among the leading ice cream consumers in the world, eating 18 litres and 20 litres each per year respectively, behind the United States where people eat an impressive 23 litres each per year!
How did ice cream exist before freezers?
Prior to modern fridges, our ancestors used a couple of innovative methods to cool food...
- Ice Harvesting - Ice cream lover Thomas Jefferson had an ice house built at both the White House and his mansion Monticello, which he filled with ice from the Rivanna River each winter.
- The Endothermic Process - put simply the endothermic process is a type of chemical reaction that produces cooling. It may sound weird, but just adding salt to ice makes the ice colder!
Which is the most popular flavour?
Vanilla is the #1 most popular ice cream flavour in most ice cream-loving countries, followed by Chocolate.
How do I deal with ice cream head?
We’ve all had that horrid feeling when you eat ice cream then feel like your head has been put into a vice!
This is caused by the blood vessels that run between your mouth and your brain tensing up, trapping blood in your brain when something really cold touches the roof of your mouth. If it’s particularly bad, try pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth — this warms up the roof of your mouth up enough so that the vessels will unclench.
I consider that ice cream can be eaten at any time of the year! Let me know of your ice cream preferences, I'd love to know the flavours that you enjoy and whether you like your ice cream neat or accompanied by a pudding or dessert.
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