Many people all over the world enjoy the wonderful taste of ice cream and there are literally hundreds of different homemade ice cream recipes that provide a variety of flavors. The top five flavors of ice cream are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan and Neapolitan. Though these particular brands are preferred by many people there are some other flavors such as French Vanilla, Praline Pecan and cherry that are also consumed on a regular basis. Homemade ice cream recipes can be used to make just about any type of ice cream flavor that is available for consumption.

Vanilla ice cream is considered the world’s number one ice cream flavor. Homemade vanilla ice cream recipes are the foundation for many other types of ice cream varieties. This flavor is typically consumed by itself or it can be mixed with just about any other type of ice cream on the market. This easy vanilla ice cream recipe calls for:

• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cups of half-and-half cream
• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Mix together milk, sugar, egg yolks and salt in a medium salt pan and place the pan over a medium to high heat. Whisk the mixture for about 5 minutes until it starts to simmer or until the ingredients began to thicken. Once the substance thickens remove it from the heat and strain the mixture into a large bowl. Add in the half-and-half, whipping cream and vanilla. Mix all of the ingredients together and cover with a plastic wrap once everything has been mixed together. Place the substance into a refrigerator and chill for about 2 hours. The next step is to pour the chilled mixture into an ice-cream maker and then make the ice cream according to a manufacturer’s instructions.

Keep in mind that not all ice cream makers are the same and each one has a different set of mechanism that they use to create ice cream. Some ice cream makers are hand crank apparatuses while others use a motor so it’s important to know how to use the device in order to complete your ice cream recipe.

This simple ice cream recipe can be used to make a variety of flavors. Chocolate ice cream is the world’s second best flavor but it’s not as versatile as vanilla. In order to create chocolate ice cream use the recipe above with the exception of adding 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the milk, sugar, eggs and salt while heating the mixture. The rest of the recipe is to be carried out in the same way.

Real fruit can be used for homemade ice cream recipes that call for strawberries, cherries or peaches. The fruit can be added to the mixture right before its chilled. Some ingredients such as vanilla can be substituted with strawberry syrup or some other type of flavoring or extract. Adding fruit or flavoring mixture to vanilla ice cream after it has been processed is another way to create different types of ice cream flavors. Some people like to add nuts, cookies, caramel, peppermint, chocolate candy pieces and sprinkles to their ice cream. Each of these ingredients can be placed inside of an ice cream mixture while it’s being prepared or after it has been formulated.

Sherbert ice cream is another type of ice cream that is used to create a variety of fruit flavored varieties. The basic ingredients for sherbert consist of:

• 1 qt. of sugar
• 8 oz evaporated milk
• 2 cups of orange juice
• ½ cup of lemon juice
• 1 qt. of heavy cream
• 1 can of drained pineapple
• Milk

The first step is to mix sugar, evaporated milk and fruit juice and then add cream and pineapple. Place the mixture in a 2 qt. ice cream mixture and add the whole milk until it reaches the top. Once the mixture is processed it is then ready to serve.

Not all sherbert recipes are the same. Some recipes do not call for milk and others include ingredients such as water. Once a basic recipe is completed it can be altered to create many other different types of sherbert ice cream. No matter how ice cream is prepared it will continue to be one of the best dessert treats for many years to come.