Recently made at home: ice cream

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Recently made at home: ice cream

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Food & Drink, Home Life |

Melissa’s Mother’s Day present was a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, the ice cream maker attachment, and an ice cream recipe book. The ice cream maker attachment consists of a heavy bowl, paddles, and paddle head. The paddlehead goes into the mixer head. You freeze the water-filled bowl for 17 hours, then attach it to the mixer base, insert the paddle, and lower the mixer head. Freeze time is about half an hour.

The kids weren’t crazy about the ice cream at first. After we froze the excess and brought it back out the next day they gobbled it up. Note to self: our kids like hard ice cream, so harden it in the freezer for a few hours next time.

Is the KitchenAid ice cream attachment worth the seventy odd bucks? TBD. Our old-fashioned electric ice cream maker - the kind you pack with ice and rock salt - cost a third as much, doesn’t have to spend a day in the freezer, and makes ice cream that’s harder when it’s done. The KitchenAid solution can make sorbets, so if that’s successful I’d say it might be worth it for the versatility and the fact it’s quieter.

Li’l tip on what not to do. The recipe said to mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and pour into the ice cream maker. “Why dirty a bowl?” I thought, and poured the ingredients one at a time into the ice cream attachment, which had been in the freezer for days. Imagine my surprise when the ice cream paddles wouldn’t turn because the liquid ingredients had frozen up glacier-like to the side of the ice cream maker. So, yeah, mix everything in a bowl, start the mixer, and then add the mixture.

2 Comments to Recently made at home: ice cream

Bitter
June 16, 2009

But I would question whether you think it’s of value for the money if someone doesn’t have another backup ice cream maker. I have zero desire (or space) for an older machine, so I’ve debated getting this. It’s more a question of whether or not I have the desire to have such a dangerous item in the house. [rq=18517,0,blog][/rq]Bitter´s last blog ..Stories of Kitchen Destruction: I Melted a Strainer

Les Jones
June 16, 2009

Heh. I kind of like the old fashioned ice cream makers for sentimental reasons. They’re what we used when I was a kid for family cookouts. The first one I remember had a wooden bucket and we took turns handcranking it. Over time the rock salt gave the wood an interesting character. Now we have one with a plastic bucket and electric motor.

The old ones are noisy. You’ll want to use them outside, for sure.

But, yeah, if you have a KitchenAid stand mixer this is much more elegant and quieter. And of course the motor in the mixer will outlast the motor in most standalone ice cream makers. Other than price the main downside is having to freeze the bowl a day ahead of time. If you’ve got a spare freezer even that isn’t a downside.