Ice cream is a dessert that is favorite among all members of the family, be it adults or children. And homemade ice cream, if made well can easily give all ice-cream companies a run for their money, because they can hardly come close to the texture and flavor of homemade ice cream. It is not only rich and creamy, but you can also make any flavor that you want. Moreover making ice cream at home could be a fun-filled activity for the whole family. So the next time you feel like ice cream, don’t go just pick up a block of it; instead pick up the ingredients and stock up a few flavors, so that the next time you have the urge for it, you can make your own.

There are several methods to make ice cream at home and numerous recipes that you can try out, limiting it to only your imagination and the ingredients in your pantry. To get started with the process, the simplest way is to buy an ice cream maker. Now, ice cream makers also come in several varieties. Some of the old fashioned ones use rock salt and ice, and then elbow grease is used to churn the ice cream base mixture till it freezes. Basic machines are available at prices as low as $20. There are also high end models available and though you may end up spending a little bit on them, it is perhaps the best purchase you will make all year. These ones come with built in compression freezers, using which you can make fresh batches of ice cream one after the other without having to wait for the bowl to freeze. With an ice cream maker at your disposal you are all set to make all the ice cream you could ever ask for.

Making ice cream may sound like a complicated process, but definitely is not. Simple ingredients like milk, cream, sugar and flavorings of your choice. This in fact, is the best thing about homemade ice cream; from fruits to nuts, to syrups and flavors of your own choice you can do so much experimentation and make your own flavors that once you start doing it, there is no way you will go back to the tradition of buying ice cream, again. All you need to do is mix up a base with cream, the flavoring and the sugar, and then chill it. Next, you pour it into your ice cream maker and keep churning it till you have ice cream fresh and ready to serve.

However, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fret yet. There are alternative ways to make homemade ice cream too, that does not involve machinery, but instead two reseal-able sets of plastic bags, one larger than the other. In the bigger one, add the ice and the coarse salt and fill up the other smaller one with your choice of ice cream flavors and ingredients. Now insert the smaller bag with the ingredients into the larger one, with ice and salt and keep shaking and massaging the ingredients. You may have to keep up with the shaking and massaging for a while before the ice cream is ready, but eventually you will have delicious ice cream. Though this technique may be a little time consuming and tedious because sometime it may be difficult to continue the shaking and the massaging because your hands tend to get cold, it surely a great way to churn out a batch of ice cream if there’s an ice cream emergency!

Learning to make ice cream on your own, like learning to make any other food item by yourself can be quite rewarding. Not only can you avoid having to go out, looking for an ice cream shop, every time you crave some ice cream, you also can make your own favorite flavor, instead of having to choose from the already tried and tested flavors. Plus this saves you a lot of time and unnecessary expenses. You stock up the ingredients once and you can use them to make several batches of ice cream. Along with that there is always the incentive of gloating in the pleasure of your own customized ice cream recipe, which you can surprise friends and family with!