Just a quick note on our nations holiday about homemade ice cream.

I’m not going to post the recipe since the book is worth getting.  Go grab the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.  I made base ice cream #1 and added frozen mini rolos (remember those?) in the last few minutes of churning.  When I made ice cream in the past, it was more like making a custard which meant standing over the cooktop trying to not make sweetened scrambled eggs.  And yes, I did that one time.

The Ben & Jerry’s recipe didn’t involve any cooking so I was able to get ingredients out of the fridge, mix in a few minutes, and into the ice cream maker it goes.

One downside of making your own ice cream is the flavor can deteriorate in a few days.  A freezer isn’t the greatest place to keep food that’s not tightly sealed.  Mine lasted a few days and then got a bit crumbly.  My advice: make, freeze for a few hours to firm up, eat, and then tightly pack what’s left over into smaller containers.  This will cut down on the freeze/thaw cycle of getting to your ice cream, but also keeps the ice cream sealed until you use it.  Adding a layer of plastic wrap or wax paper on top of the ice cream will probably help as well.