People have been making ice cream far longer than the invention of electricity so there's no reason you can't make ice cream and sorbets at home without a machine.
The advantage to using an electric or hand-cranked machine is that the final result will be smoother and creamier. Freezing anything from liquid-to-solid means you're creating hard ice crystals, so if you're making it by hand, as your ice cream or sorbet mixture freezes, you want to break up those ice crystals as much as possible so your final results are as smooth and creamy as possible.
Machines are relatively inexpensive nowadays with models costing less than $50, and yes, I've seen the ball, but if I started tossing one of those around the streets here in Paris, I'd probably get even more strange looks than I normally get. (Plus you'll need to lug some rock salt home as well.)
But not everyone has the space or the budget for a machine, so here's how you can do your own ice cream at home without a churner. I recommend starting with an ice cream recipe that is custard-based for the smoothest texture possible. You can use my Vanilla Ice Cream or another favorite, or even this Strawberry Frozen Yogurt recipe using Greek-style or drained yogurt. The richer the recipe, the creamier and smoother the results are going to be.
Ice cream made this way is best eaten soon after it's made—which shouldn't be a problem.
Making Ice Cream Without A Machine
1. Prepare your ice cream mixture, then chill it over an ice bath.
2. Put a deep baking dish, or bowl made of plastic, stainless steel or something durable in the freezer, and pour your custard mixture into it.
3. After forty-five minutes, open the door and check it.
As it starts to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and stir it vigorously with a spatula or whisk. Really beat it up and break up any frozen sections. Return to freezer.
4. Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it's freezing. If you have one, you can use a hand-held mixer for best results, or use a stick-blender or hand-held mixer.
But since we're going low-tech here, you can also use just a spatula or a sturdy whisk along with some modest physical effort.
5. Keep checking periodically and stirring while it freezes (by hand or with the electric mixer) until the ice cream is frozen. It will likely take 2-3 hours to be ready.
You can easily make Stracciatella ice cream with Italian-style chocolate chips:
Drizzle pure melted dark or milk chocolate (about 5 ounces, 140 g) over the almost-frozen mixture, then stir, breaking up the ribbons of chocolate as they start to freeze, to create little 'chips'.
Transfer the ice cream to a covered storage container until ready to serve.
Other posts on ice cream-making and recipes:
David,
The step #1 picture shows a copper bowl. Do you prepare your custards on copper bowls? What are the advantages?
Thanks.
That coffee tin within a coffee tin idea is genius, although perhaps it may wrapping in a towel as the ice melts. Now I'm very hungry.
B
Hand to Mouth
ooh, thanks for this post! i've long lusted after an ice cream machine, but after a history of ice cream abuse too gruesome to detail in public, as well as zero counter space (studio apartment), it would be a dreadful -- nay, FATAL -- event to make the purchase. however, a method that involves too much work for casual ice cream production as well as some inherent caloric burning could be the ideal solution!!
I have a friend who says she uses her old fashioned blender, she puts the custard in the blender, then transfers the blender jar to the freezer, then about every half an hour she takes it out, blends, and return the blender jar to the freezer. Works beautifully and involves only one dish!
N.R.: The sole advantage is that it's more photogenic, especially when its all polished!
; )
Mercedes: If someone has room in their freezer for a blender jar, I'd like to see that freezer.
Seriously, that would work up to a point. Once the mixture gets thick, I don't know how it would work its way down to where the blender blades are to get stirred up. But if it does work, anything that involves less dishes to wash, I say bravo to!
My Argentine "mother" (I lived in the San Juan/Mendoza region many years ago) used to make ice cream several times a month using this rustic method. We would barely breathe, waiting for it to be ready. Ice cream never tasted so good. Thanks for the memories!
I was all set to try the Ziploc version...thanks for your tips so I can feel a little better experimenting with the creamy recipes I haven't attempted yet.
Great post, David! I just returned my loaned ice cream maker and was wondering how I was going to survive the rest of the summer sans homemade ice cream. How did you read my mind?
This is a great write up! I'm surprised you omitted to volunteer the things you can do while waiting to stir every 30 minutes. Do share, please!
I've actually found that a food processor works even better at blasting away those ice crystals than a stick blender, particularly once the mixture is mostly frozen. On the other hand, I rarely do it that way because I hate washing up my food processor, and we all know that laziness trumps all...
Oh, this is so genius. Because I was GOING to reward myself after moving with an ice-cream machine, only to find that our counter space is somewhat limited and my budget even more so. But an immersion blender I have! Yum yum yum. Thank you!
My coeditor has been looking for ways to make ice cream without a machine for awhile now! And I find your Stracciatella technique to be awesome! I didn't know you could do it this way, but it makes so much sense! Thanks for sharing this!
for making ice cream without a machine, see the alice b. toklas cookbook for pre-electricty ice cream cecipes -- all of her recipes involve whipped egg whites or cream to provide volume. and of course it being miss toklas quite a hefty dose of different alcoholic beveridges.
Thank you thank you thank you for this post!
fun reading the posts. will adding powdered gelatin (without heating) do the job?
Sam: I'm not a fan of using gelatin in ice cream. You can make Philadelphia-style ice cream without heating the mixture if you use superfine sugar (or whiz it in a food processor) so it dissolves without heating.
Mike: Yes, those are other ways to go for sure. I love her book...next time you pull it out, try A Tender Tart. It's delicious, although not very boozy. : 0
Hello, of course I came to visit your site and thanks for letting me know about it.
I just read this post and wanted to say it is full of number one resources. Some I am familiar with. For those who don’t know these other sites they are in for a treat as there is a lot to learn there.
I came to your site to know more about making ice-cream. Your making of the ice cream is so cool, tell me more-thx!!!!!!
I love this! Does it work just as well with ice? I love making thyme or lavender ice for serving between courses as a palette cleanser but loathe to have an appliance just for that. Thanks!
i love making ice cream!
Hi, my name is Chanel and i like making ice-cream. At school the people were making ice-cream; it tasted so good.They made it with ice a plastic bag and cream and something else, so i was wondering if you know how to make it that way. If you do can you please e-mail me back, thank you bye!
Oh David, I love it when you talk ice cream to me!!
hey dude!
my sister and i were really really bored so we looked up "how to make ice cream" and your site popped up,so we followed your directions and it worked out great!
thanks david!
peace,
Does anyone know if this method will work with Ensure drink that is used to increase nutrition?
I must drink "Ensure" but would rather eat it like ice cream.
Thank you,
Big D Harris
Wow your pics look delicious and your web page rocks
David, I have made your stracciatella ice cream (got it on Gourmet.com) and it is absolutely amazing. My husband just can't get enough of it (I'm going home right now and will make it for the 4th time).
Tks for sharing!
I was reading this post for tips on making ice cream without a machine, but remembered as I was reading that I own one of those ice cream balls! It was a housewarming gift, and I think I'll be bringing it to my friends' house tonight so we can all participate in making dessert! If the ball doesn't end up working out, though, at least I know I have your low-tech recipes to try :)
Hi David, I just came across this post. You just gave me a good reason to not go out and splurge on an ice cream maker this weekend (that's a good thing!). I can't wait to give this technique a try. Thanks for posting it!
ohmygoodness thank you thank you so much. i've been looking everywhere on the web for making ice cream without a machine!!! genius! thanks!
I'm going to try the blender idea. And yes, some people do have room in their freezer for a blender. Thanks, Mercedes.
If the blender idea doesn't work, I will try your method. Thanks, David!
Hello David! I have recently made a food blog & you are one of my favorite chefs/bloggers (I'm sure you get that alot.
I just made Green tea frozen yogurt with Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy 's recipe who got the basis from you, and I linked you ( i attached the link)
Thank you so much! And I'm gonna read ur book "The perfect scoop" while eating it, woot woot!
Hello,
Thanks for the info! But as a culinarily-challenged person who is very adept at burning water, please explain in step #1, "chill it over an ice bath."
Does that mean pour it over ice? Put the bowl it's in into another bowl filled with ice and water? Inquiring minds want to know :-)
Thank you.
An ice bath for cooling down a custard is made by filling a large bowl or basin with ice and some water, enough to float the cubes. The you place the bowl of custard in a smaller metal bowl, and submerging the bowl in the icy water which chills the custard.
Do you need to cover the baking dish or bowl in the freezer (like with plastic wrap)?
No, you should only cover the ice cream once completely frozen, if you don't plan to eat it right away.
Yeah i made a chocolate ice cream and its fantastic! Actually i didnt mixed it every 30 minutes at all. But the result is great!
I used only milk sugar and chocolate!!!
thanks for the hot (cold?) tip! I am trying this right now with a coconut milk version-- will report back how that turns out!
Hey David,
Any tips for making ice-cream in the Vita-Mix blender?
Girls just wanna have ice-cream.
Hi David,
Can you use this method to make gelato as well?
Dear David,
thank you so much for posting this- I just made your vanilla ice cream with this method and it was AMAZING. its all I can do to stop myself from finishing it all by myself! I'm a bit of an ice cream fiend :) I was wondering, do you find that ice cream made this way melts quicker than commercial ice cream?
Leah
Dear David,
I was trying to make gelato, and I was wondering if the custard base is the same thing as gelato? Also, when you put it in a ice bath, for how long should it be in there? Thanks.
Maria
Maria: Check out my post, What is gelato?.
As for cooling custards, stir over the ice until they were cold, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled
David,
Can milk and butter to make heavy cream be used instead of using heavy cream? I cannot find heavy cream without carrageenan (allergy). Thank you.
Jo: I've not done it, but I don't think so. If you do try it, let us know how it works out.
Look for a dairy or farmer's market in your area that sells fresh milk, rather than the supermarket, which usually carry mostly UHT cream, which can have stabilizers.
David I tried the butter and milk substitute and it turned out but has an odd texture. Kind of tastes like butter pecan ice cream. I am working on it and will let you know if I improve on it in any way.
Thanks for the feedback on your experiment. If you're avoiding cream, there are soy 'creams' out there, in natural food stores. I haven't used them, but hear that they work in ice creams. Happy churning! -dl
How do you make "ice cream mixture" Please Help!
Hi David,
Don't know why my icecream became hard like ice. couldn't not even scoop it until it's been taken out for 20 mins from the freezer... Is that normal? if not, what's wrong with my ice cream? I followed all the steps of your recipe..... thanks!
hi ellen: Because the ice cream isn't churned in the traditional manner, ie: in a machine which incorporates air into the mixture, it'll be much firmer when frozen. If you use an electric hand mixer, that helps. You may also want to check out the post on making homemade ice cream softer, which is linked at the end of the post.
'Milk and butter to make heavy cream'
I have no issues using heavy cream but my mom wants me to make butter pecan ice cream (pecans N/A). How much butter and milk do I need? Will the method change also?
I'm in culinary school and, as part of our lesson on custards, made an earl gray tea-infused crème anglaise. I took it home and, using your method, made it into earl gray ice cream...deeeeelicious! :)
Can I use an immersion blender to whisk?
Yes, they work quite well! -dl
David,
All I can say is AWESOME, I am far from a Chef I'm more of a hack armed with a wooden spoon, but even my wife was impressed with the way the ice cream turned out.
Will be making batch number 2 in a couple of days.
Thanks again
Ben
Thanks dave! Now i don't have to blow 400 bucks on a machine. :)
i have a question, though, when you say
4. Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it's freezing. If you have one, you can use a hand-held mixer for best results, or use a stick-blender or hand-held mixer.
won't it turn to mush if i use a stick-blender?
and if i use a whisk, won't that incorporate air into the ice cream?
Ilikeicecream: The mixture should be partially-frozen when you use the stick blender, so it will fluff it up a bit. And you do want to incorporate air into the ice cream (which, technically, is called "overrun"). That's why a machine does a better job; because you're whipping a bit more air into the ice cream. But this method works for those who don't have a machine quite nicely.
thanks dave :D I'm trying out the chocolate sherbet recipe actually. I know this sounds silly, but do the same rules apply for sherbet making?
Hi David,
I always learn so much from your blogs. I don't have an ice cream machine and I have no excuses. I can't wait to try this technique. The banana caramel looks yummy! Thanks.