The Best Ice Cream in the World

Ice cream has always been one of my very favorite foods. At home in Tennessee, we generally have at least three or four flavors open in the freezer at any one time. My grandmother has been known, not infrequently, to eat solely ice cream for dinner. And one of the main events of the biennial Ellis family reunion is the homemade ice cream social. My love for it must be genetic.

Being an avid food blog and cookbook reader, I had been wanting to make my own ice cream after encountering so many intriguing flavors. But the old-fashioned crank machines tend to be huge and a bit cumbersome. You need a ton of rock salt and the ice cream never seems to reach a proper consistency, always too runny.

So I bought this. Compact and perpetually on sale on Amazon.com. It can make 1.5 quarts at a time.

When it arrived, I experimented with a number of the flavors that I had been eyeing. Complicated, but not necessarily great. Impressive though, at least. So when my new roommate Jenn requested vanilla ice cream to be made for her birthday, I was quite disappointed. I wanted a chance to dazzle.

I have to admit though; it was incredibly delicious. And when I made it again with a real vanilla bean (not just vanilla extract), what I thought was just plain, boring vanilla ice cream became The Best Ice Cream in the World. A very rich, very intense vanilla flavor, and almost custard-like in taste. It coats the tongue. It steals the show from whatever pie/cake/cookie I serve it with. And since I have started making it, I can barely bring myself to make any other flavor. Vanilla beans can be expensive but it is well-worth the price. I buy mine from Polcari's in the North End for $2 a bean.

Vanilla Ice Cream (from David Lebovitz...though I have used this recipe so much that I now have it memorized!)

1 cup whole milk (2% milk will do as well)
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
2 cups of heavy cream
a few drops of vanilla extract

Heat the milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in two lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds out of the bean pod with the end of the knife. Add the bean and seeds to the milk. Heat until just steaming.

While the milk is heating up, whisk the five egg yolks in a small bowl. If you remember, save the egg whites for an omelet later. Add in some of the warm milk to temper the eggs. Whisk together. Slowly pour the warmed egg mixture into the saucepan.

Turn heat down to low. Continue stirring and scraping the bottom of the saucepan until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Once thickened, remove custard from heat. Strain the custard through a sieve into the heavy cream. Add a few more drops of vanilla extract just for extra richness. Remove and rinse vanilla bean, but return to custard to let steep. Chill the custard thoroughly.

Once chilled, remove bean and process in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, probably 25 minutes or so. The ice cream will be thick but still soft, so if you prefer a more frozen consistency, place in freezer for additional hardening.



What a vanilla bean looks like, in case you were wondering.

What the ice cream maker looks like, in case you were wondering.