Homemade ice cream?

[Peanut]

Think it would be cost-effective to move this staple (whoops) into the DIY category.
Anyone made it before? Level of difficulty? Did you use a machine?

[jacob]

Cost-effective depends on what kind of ice cream you're comparing to. Since ice cream largely falls under junk food and doesn't require storage, I don't imagine there's much of a premium (unlike e.g. yoghurt or cheese), but I haven't run the numbers.

Yes, we've made it. If you can make dough, you can make ice cream (or alcohol). No machine, but did use a special "bucket" that had to be pre-frozen. Don't have it anymore---too infrequently used.

[Laura Ingalls]

I am going to go with not cheaper if you compare apples to apples in terms of ingredients. Maybe if you had a cow

I used to have the kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment.

We did not utilize it very well. It made great sorbet which we made about two times per year. It was way cheaper than store bought as we made it with grapefruit in the height of their season. Never made a really good batch of regular ice cream

[slsdly]

I make ice cream with a machine. Used to make it with milk and whipping cream, but I switched to coconut milk when I started avoiding dairy for intolerance/allergy reasons. Is it more satisfying? For sure! I love making everything from scratch. Is it cheaper? Not by a long shot, at least here in Canada. Unless you would otherwise insist on buying Häagen-Dazs, I don't think you can save much, if any, money.

[llorona]

I use a machine to make ice cream, too. You could probably pick one up for cheap at a garage sale.

It definitely tastes better than store-bought and you can experiment with different flavors. For instance, we've made mango, pistachio, and green matcha ice cream. Don't think it's less expensive than commercial ice cream but it's certainly fun once in a while.

[George the original one]

Typically not less expensive unless you can get the ingredients very cheap (how many hazlenuts does it take to make enough syrup to flavor a gallon?). Will taste different compared to Breyers, Dreyers, Tillamook, or Bandon, I think partly because the ice crystals will form differently and then there's the mix of ingredients. Definitely more fun because you can fine-tune the flavor, but it takes far more time than shopping does.

[jennypenny]

I don't think it's cheaper, but it's easy and you can make any flavor you like. It's a good way to use up extra produce. I love making peach flavored or cantaloupe flavored, or fancier flavors like mango/basil or lemon balm/blueberry.

[JL13]

I've had *some* success without a machine - putting a large frozen bowl into a larger frozen bowl with ice/salt in between them and stirring by hand for awhile. The shape of the container is important. The raw ingredients are very expensive - cream is like 4x the cost of milk, and coconut milk is also something like $8 per gallon...

If you could get cream cheaply somehow, I haven't thought about how, then it could be a bit cheaper!

[Peanut]

Hmm time to come clean... currently spend $5/pint at a couple pints a week so... it probably will be cheaper to DIY although it likely won't taste as good as we're used to.

BTW this is pretty funny and mentions the 'super premium' ice cream phenomenon--which I haven't partaken in yet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/your- ... .html?_r=0

Cream itself is expensive I agree, but there are recipe using just milk. Coconut milk is an exciting suggestion! I'm leaning towards a push machine but DH prefers a hand crank. Anyone find those tiring to use?

[Sclass]

I make ice cream once every two months. I use this:

http://www.multiculturiosity.com/il-gel ... y-kitchen/

The basic recipe goes something like this:

3 cups cream
1 cup milk
(I use 4 cups 1/2 and 1/2 because I'm lazy)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp full of vanilla extract
Plus whatever else...a couple of Oreos, three strawberries etc.

I don't pay much attention to how much all this costs me, but I doubt it is more expensive than a tub of Three Twins which is my go to alternative. At the end of the day it's chump change.

The worst part is cleanup. The ice cream freezes rock hard to the tub and the tub isn't removeable. I swab it down with warm water and a sponge. It is easy but it's a lot easier to dump an empty Hagen dazz tub into the trash. I actually like the home made because I can control the fat content. Hagen Dazz is like crack. Too much sugar and fat for my tastes. Using 1/2 and 1/2 takes the greasiness out of the icecream. I tried milk but it isn't as good.

Balance.

This machine can make you fat. I churn when I have at least three other people around to share.

Edit - I would classify this as super premium ice cream. The base is custard (see the eggs) and I seldomly find ice cream as good as mine except at the tiny mom and pop gelato places.

[jennypenny]

The worst part is cleanup. The ice cream freezes rock hard to the tub and the tub isn't removable.

I *think* you can spray the tub with non-stick spray first. The tub is removable in my machine, so I haven't tried it.


If anyone is considering death by ice cream, check out the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream recipe book. No wonder those guys needed bypasses.

[JL13]

Hmm time to come clean... currently spend $5/pint at a couple pints a week so...
...but there are recipe using just milk. Coconut milk is an exciting suggestion! I'm leaning towards a push machine but DH prefers a hand crank. Anyone find those tiring to use?

I'm sure a hand crank is 10x better than a fork. $10/week isn't really a huge issue, if you really like ice cream! Curious about non-cream recipes, i thought you needed a high fat content to freeze.

[Sclass]

Thanks JP. The cleaning is easy enough. I clean it out by eating what's left. It's just not as easy as buying a tub.

I forgot to mention that most of the cheaper icecream out there is sweetened by high fructose corn syrup. I'm not a fan of eating that. Churning my own allows me to control the ingredients a bit better.

Also things like Hagen Dazz is made with just cream, sugar and fruit. I like egg custard based stuff like Three Twins or SClass home made.

Scary about Ben and Jerry.

[jacob]

$10/week isn't really a huge issue, if you really like ice cream!

It's $25000+ worth of VTSMX.

[brighteye]

No ice cream maker, don't think that would be worth it.
I make a ready-to-eat ice cream, it's more like soft ice and a good way to use up bananas. And no added sugar.

1. Cut up and freeze bananas. Makes it easy to portion (is that a word?).
2. When you want ice cream, put bananas in a blender. (If you like, add strawberries or cocoa powder)
3. Add cream.
4. Blend.
5. Eat immediately

[JL13]

It's $25000+ worth of VTSMX.

Well that's just depressing! To be fair though, that's more an indication of the high price of yield rather than ice cream.

[JL13]

Actually, hell it probably is way cheaper. Even with half and half being $8 per gallon - that's the only really expensive ingredient (sugar is nearly free) - you'd get a pint for nearly a dollar.

I'll bet you could cut your cost in half DIY with a machine. if this saves you $260 per year You could pay up to $3,000 for the machine and still be a good investment!

[Peanut]

Unbelievably there are $400 and even $700 machines. But I'm thinking of a $30 Zoku or definitely something under $100.

I started thinking about making ice cream after I had success with making popcorn in a Whirley-Pop. Much more fun and almost as easy as microwaving, and cheaper even with special kernels.

@Sclass: How do you even store that monster? I bet your blend calls for the creation of a new ice cream category. Super duper premium?

As for health, I don't know. Fat is all right nowadays, right, but sugar is the root of all evil. I embrace evil every day. A pint a week seems ok to me, but I may change my mind if my physical numbers are concerning.

[jacob]

Why pay for a machine ... or anything?

For your ice cream container, use a 14oz tomato can inside of a 28oz tomato can. Fill the space between the cans with crushed ice that you poured salt over and kept in the freezer for a while first.

To churn, use a power drill attaching a whisk from a handmixer. Power drills are seriously underestimated kitchen utensils! I prefer the magnum hole shooter with its 1/2+ HP motor and excellent speed control for ordinary kitchen duties and similar ventures where you don't mind risking a broken wrist to achieve your ends. Clearly ice cream is one of those ends.

Once you're done drilling, put the smaller can back in the freezer. It only takes one round of ice cream before you've used your power tool more than the average power tool in the average American home is used over a lifetime (some 6-20 minutes total).

[JL13]

Ah Brilliant!

A drill would have been much faster than a fork....

And a can is a much better shape than a bowl - more surface area against the ice.