Making ice cream in a bag, or in a coffee can is fun and easy...in addition to being yummy. Use these basic recipes then experiment with your favorite flavors!
To make ice cream in a zipper bag you will need:
1 quart zipper freezer bag
1 gallon zipper freezer bag
1/2 cup half and half, or whole milk
1Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Enough ice to fill the gallon bag about 1/2 full
6 Tbsp. salt --Table salt works fine for this.
In the small zipper bag pour in the milk, sugar and vanilla. Seal tightly and set aside.
In the large bag pour in the ice and the salt. Carefully put the smaller bag with the milk mixture inside the larger bag with the ice.
Shake the whole thing for about 5 minutes then remove the smaller bag and enjoy your ice cream!
Coffee Can Ice Cream
This is another fun way to make ice cream, and store it for later. Because the coffee can holds more this recipe is a bit different.
What you'll need:
1- 3 lb coffee can
1-1 lb coffee can
2 cups of very cold milk: For a creamier ice cream you can use 2 cups of half and half, or 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup light cream. But if all you have on hand is whole milk it will do just fine.
1/2 cup sugar
To flavor you can add: 1 tsp vanilla; or 2 Tblsp chocolate syrup; or 1/4 cup frozen strawberries. (We use peaches sometimes and it's crazy good.)
2 cups salt (Rock salt, Kosher or Table salt work fine)
A bowl full of ice
In the smaller coffee can mix together milk, sugar, and the ingredient for whatever flavor you are making, then seal this can tightly.
Place the small can inside the larger can. Carefully pour in a layer of ice around the small can keeping it in the center of the large can. Sprinkle a layer of salt over that, then ice again, and so on layering the ice and salt until you reach the top.
Seal the larger can tightly. We put duct tape around the lid. Let your kids roll it around for about 30-40 minutes until it's ice cream. We check ours after 15 minutes, then about every 10 minutes until its the thickness we like it.
We've found the easiest way to handle the can is to wrap a towel around it and hold it in place with rubber bands. If you find that after 30 minutes or so your ice cream is still not as thick as you'd like it simply pop in the freezer and let it harden up.
You can make ice cream with any kind of salt. Rock, table, or Kosher. Though rock salt is least expensive and can be found at most grocery, or hardware stores, whatever you have handy will work.
But why exactly do you need salt to make ice cream?
I was asked this question by my fabulous friend who checks all my pages before they roll out to all you moms. Well...I had no idea why salt was needed to make ice cream in a bag...or in a can...or anywhere!?!....But me being the information seeker that I am...I found the answer! And it's really cool! -- Pun intended. :-) Check out this video and try it with your kids. It's a science experiment with an edible result!
