In the early 80s, when we lived in Massachusetts, I bought an ice cream maker called a Lickety Split. It was all plastic, except for the two bowls, which were maybe aluminum or stainless steel. It costs around $25 and it could make two different pints of ice cream simultaneously.
A few years later, Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs entered the freezer aisles, and eventually my Lickety Split entered the basement shelves of my appliance cemetery.
But the covers of food magazines this year brought back my love of home-made ice cream. I may have mentioned this to my friend, Lisa.
In early June, just a few days after my birthday, there was a notice to pick up a package at the post office. I dragged it home and inside was a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Sorbet and Ice Cream Maker, the very one my magazines said was the best. And it was smack dab during that short, three-week strawberry season.
This appliance is a fantastic machine. If you keep its bowl, which encases water, in the freezer, you are almost 25 minutes from a heavenly frozen dessert. You can eat it immediately, but I pack it in quart plastic packages and will keep it more than a week.
This is one of the easiest recipes; I have made it three times (2 quarts at a time).
Next will be fresh peaches or blueberry gelato. Later in the fall and winter, perhaps chocolate ice cream with Heath bars.
Should you buy this particular ice cream maker, it costs around $100 or even less.
E-mail me at [email protected] when you are ready to begin if you have any questions. And let me know how many other recipes you come up with yourself.
Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
From Cuisinart’s small brochure that came with the ice cream maker
Yield: about 14 ½ cup servings
3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla ice cream
In a small bowl, combine strawberries with lemon juice and ½ cup sugar. Stir gently and allow berries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours. Strain berries, reserving juices. Mash or puree half the berries.
In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine milk and remaining granulated sugar until sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved berry juice, mashed berries and vanilla.
Turn machine on; pour mixture into freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Five minutes before mixing is complete, add reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely.
The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture.
For a firmer consistency, transfer ice cream to an airtight container and placed in freezer for about 2 hours or longer. Remove from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving.
About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years but now lives in Groton, Conn. Contact Lee at [email protected].