Homemade ice cream is deeply woven into my childhood memories of summer. I remember sitting outside my house with a bowl of strawberry ice cream, legs dangling, face and hands streaked with sticky pink. The fresh flavor and frozen chunks of berries created a frozen treat better than anything you could find in the store.
This summer, I wanted to create my own ice cream, but without buying any high-tech kitchen appliances. In other words, my ice cream would be made sans ice cream machine.
The machines are useful because they churn the mixture while it hardens. They create a smoother dessert with fewer of the ice crystals typical of most homemade ice creams.
But it can be done without one! After a shopping trip to buy all the essentials, I spent one night making three varieties of ice cream in three distinct ways: One mixture was frozen undisturbed in the freezer; one was removed from the freezer every 45 minutes and churned by hand; and the third method involved science and a bag of ice with salt.
My first attempt - channeling my childhood memories - was strawberry. This recipe was the most time-consuming, because you both whip the cream and turn the egg whites and syrup into a meringue. Normally, if you owned a mixer, this step would be a breeze. But, the apartment I am subletting for the summer is without this vital tool. Instead, I used a food processor, an option which requires both faith and time. With a mixer, the meringue should take about 10 minutes but with the food processor, about 30.
The mix was placed in the freezer and left untouched overnight, more than enough time to become solid. But this resulted in a rock-hard and icy finished product. This was mostly remedied by letting the ice cream soften on the countertop (about 10 minutes) before spooning into bowls.
I learned afterward that adding two tablespoons of vodka to the strawberry ice cream (or any homemade variety) will keep it soft, because alcohol does not freeze. You can experiment with types of alcohol, but vodka will have the least impact on taste of finished product.
The next ice cream I made was lavender-honey. The grocery I went to did not carry lavender, but an employee in the produce department offered to pick me some from a plant growing outside the store.
