Summer Activity: Making Ice Cream With Your Preteen

Source: Veronica Shore

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Summer conjures up so many wonderful memories from my own preteen days. Like when I finally earned the freedom to walk to the neighborhood movie theater with my friends, sans a parent escort. Waking up at noon on school-free summer days and heading straight to the pool. Falling in love for the first time... with the ice cream shop that opened up near my home that boasted freshly homemade ice cream, made with minimal ingredients.

Ice cream simply made is the ultimate simple pleasure. It's easier to do than you might realize. Why not spend a hot and sticky afternoon with your tween being creative and making your very own ice cream concoctions? All you really need is some cream, eggs, sugar, salt and whatever flavor you desire. Strawberries. Vanilla bean. Mangoes. Cardamom. The possibilities are endless!

Some of the best ice cream makers can cost several hundred dollars, but you don't need to break the bank to experience homemade ice cream with your tween. A few alternatives include:

Do-it-yourself Ice Cream Maker. If you want to be adventurous, you can use this hands-on (or feet-on?) method for making ice cream with clean coffee cans. In a smaller coffee can, mix the ice cream ingredients. Seal tightly with the coffee lid and cover with duct tape for extra security. Place the smaller coffee can into a larger one, and pack the remaining space in the larger can with ice and 1 cup of rock salt. Seal that can and roll it back and forth with your tween for about 30 minutes, while finding out what's going on their lives. For more details on coffee can ice cream, and other methods, recipes, and facts about ice cream, visit MakeIceCream.com.

Another DIY option is the bag method - get your ingredients together, plus a large freezer-safe bag and a smaller bag. Fill the larger bag halfway with ice, and then add rock salt. Put milk, vanilla and sugar into the smaller bag and seal it. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it tightly. Shake until the contents of the small bag becomes ice cream, at least 5 minutes. Wipe clean, open, and enjoy!

The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. It's a plastic ball that has two compartments: one for the ice cream ingredients, and one for the freezing components (ice and rock salt). When the ball is closed shut with all the ingredients, your tween will simply have to toss or kick the ball around with you or a few friends, keeping the ice cream ingredients in motion, to make the yummy treat. Visit IceCreamRevolution.com for more information on purchasing the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker and recipes.

Cuisinart®. This familiar small appliance manufacturer has a nice line of moderately-priced and trusty ice cream freezers Cuisinart.com. Just be sure to read the instructions and follow the directions before operating. 

Recipe for vanilla ice cream (from www.makeicecream.com):

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 beaten egg (if you prefer it to be cooked, cook it slowly over very low heat and stir constantly so it maintains a sauce-like consistency. See "Hints and Tips")
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients together and freeze in your ice cream maker of choice. Have fun!

Hints and Tips when using a Home Ice Cream Maker
(from www.ice-cream -recipes.com) 

• Hygiene is a very important factor when making ice cream at home. If using an ice cream maker, always follow the manufacturer's instructions for correct cleaning and maintenance of the appliance. 
• If your ice cream maker has a metal container, be sure to use only wooden or plastic utensils when removing any mixture from it. Otherwise you risk damaging the container. 
• When preparing a recipe that involves heating milk and then mixing with eggs, be sure to cook on a low heat and to keep stirring all the time. For best results when mixing the milk and eggs together, stir half of the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs and then pour the eggs into the remaining hot mixture. 
• If possible, it's best to chill your ingredients before making the ice cream mixture as this can help reduce the churning/freezing time required. This doesn't apply to any ingredients being used to make a custard base, which requires heating milk and eggs, as part of the recipe. 
• If your ice cream maker has an opening through which you can add ingredients, make sure that any chopped items in your ice cream recipe (such as chocolate or nuts) are sufficiently finely chopped to go through. 
• If your ice cream is too soft after churning in your ice cream maker, put it into a shallow, freezer-proof container and into the freezer for up to 1 hour. 
• Storing: if kept in a sealed, plastic container (always make sure the lid is tightly closed), ice cream can be stored for quite a long time in the freezer. 
• Do not store ice cream next to any uncovered food as the flavor of the ice cream could be affected. 
• Ice cream should always be stored in the main part of the freezer where the temperature is most constant. 
• Never re-freeze any ice cream that is partly or fully defrosted. 
• Any ice cream that contains raw ingredients (such as raw eggs) is best consumed within one week.

Ice cream fun facts (from www.ice-cream-recipes.com):

• The most popular ice cream flavor in the world is vanilla.
• The most popular ice cream topping is chocolate syrup.
• The world's top 5 consumers of ice cream are (in order): USA, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, and Belgium/Luxembourg/
• In the USA, July is officially recognized as "National Ice Cream Month."
• Chowing on ice cream in the middle of the night is apparently done by 1 out of every 5 ice cream eaters.
• The biggest ice cream sundae was 12 ft. tall and made with 4,667 gallons of ice cream, in California in 1985.

 This article is written by Veronica Shore