Homemade Ice Cream

When Husband and I got married, the ice cream maker and sundae set (complete with tall ice cream glasses and various jars of toppings) that some friends gave us instantly became one of my favorite gifts. I thought it was such a creative and fun gift idea. Well, we’ve been married for over two years now, and we finally used the ice cream maker today to make our first batch of homemade ice cream. The verdict? In short, I think there’s a reason why people get their ice cream from the freezer section of the grocery store. We used a package of chocolate ice cream mix and a quart of whole milk. [Surprisingly, I’ve learned that they no longer label milk as “whole milk.” Instead, it’s tagged as “Vitamin D” milk (and according to the label, “an excellent source of calcium!”) At least, I was left to assume it was whole milk, since the “skim” and “2%” varieties were clearly labeled as such.] The machine turned the inner frozen bowl and churned the ingredients, creating about as much noise as a jet taking off. After about 15 noisy minutes, our ice cream was ready. Or so we figured when it was dripping down the sides of the machine. It wasn’t too bad. A little more icy than creamy, but decent. I still can’t help but think that for less than $3 we could just buy it – in any flavor we want! – at the store without any of the mess and fuss…and noise. But then again, we wouldn’t be able to fondly say, “Hey, remember that afternoon we reached in the freezer and grabbed that carton of ice cream?”