Making Ice Cream at Home

CEBU, Philippines - The past few days have not been as searing in Cebu as everybody expects summer to be. The local skies have been overcast and showers – even downpours – would occur now and then. On clear days, though, it’s really summer nonetheless.

Either as a way to counter the summer heat or the fact that the kids are at home on a school break, there’s one refreshing home activity that everyone would surely enjoy – making ice cream. Both the process and the end result is a treat. It is also a good bonding activity for the whole family.

Wow! The kids will just love to help create their own favorite cold dessert. Naomi Imatome-Yun, at the website www.food-hacks.wonderhowto.com, shares a recipe for ice cream that can be done at home and does not require elaborate ingredients or special equipment. While most cookbooks and magazine recipes require an ice cream maker, Ms. Yun suggests to simply “imitate the churning effect of an ice cream maker by shaking or tossing around the ingredients inside a tightly sealed ziplock bag.”

One essential ingredient in this method, she says, is salt. She explains that when salt is mixed with ice, it lowers the freezing point of the ice. Water normally freezes at 32°F, but a 20-percent salt solution freezes at a lower 2°F. That's why during winter some people sprinkle salt on icy roads; the salt causes the ice to melt.

Here’s Ms. Yun’s vanilla-flavored ice cream recipe that’s good to try at home:

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1.5 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Materials:

2–3 cups ice, crushed or cubed

1/3 cup kosher or coarse salt

1 quart-size plastic ziplock bag

1 gallon-size plastic ziplock freezer bag

Procedure:

Combine milk, vanilla, and sugar in the small plastic bag. Seal bag tightly, making sure to press out any air trapped inside the bag.

Mix ice and salt in the gallon-sized plastic bag.

Place the small bag into the large plastic bag and seal tightly.

Shake the bag vigorously for about 5 minutes. You can have fun tossing it around members of the family, but you might need to wear kitchen gloves as the bag will be very cold.

After about 5 minutes, you will see that the liquid inside the smaller bag has hardened. Without opening the bags, let them sit on a plate or towel for another few minutes, rearranging the ice in the larger bag so that it's evenly surrounding the smaller bag.

Open up the bags and scoop out the ice cream from inside the small bag. Serve immediately.

The ready ice cream may be topped with chopped local fruits, like banana or langka. (FREEMAN)