How Do You Hand Churn Ice Cream?
People have been making ice cream for an awfully long time, since before electricity was invented. That means that there’s definitely a way to make ice cream without using an ice cream machine, though it can be a little labor-intensive. So how do you hand churn ice cream?
Still – some people don’t have the space or budget for an ice cream machine. So, let’s get to talking about it! In this article, we’re going to quickly run through the history of non-electric hand churn ice cream making, as well as how to cool your ice cream mix without an appliance, and how to make ice cream solely with your freezer.
History: how to churn ice cream
The history of ice cream is a fairly simple one. Essentially, the dish was created by industrious chefs in personal estates. These historical chefs had a huge amount of time and money at their disposal, so they were particularly happy to make recipes that would suit the people who were paying them. In this way, ice cream was born.
It spread through Europe at first, and then into the rest of the world with time. It was a simple idea since people in almost every household were already used to making an egg custard. Essentially, one would make an egg custard, cool it, and then freeze it in a very specific way to create ice cream.
Chemistry
How to churn ice cream: The freezing process is the thing that people found particularly tricky – they didn’t have refrigeration appliances, and they didn’t have access to expensive chemicals which would be able to do that job if it were needed. Instead, they simply used ice and salt.
When mixed together, ice and salt form a suspension that can get to be as cool as -20˚C. This mixture was typically formed in a large bowl, and then the cooled custard was added to a bowl within that. It was whipped and churned for about five to ten minutes, and then frozen – much like ice cream is today in ice cream makers.
The Freezer Method
The freezer method (how to churn ice cream) is an interesting one, as it creates an ice cream that, while not technically churned, is quite similar to a churned ice cream in a number of ways. The idea is that your cooled custard is bought to an exceptionally low temperature, before removing it from the freezer and beating air into the mixture.
For example, as your tray of custard starts to freeze at the edges, you would remove it from the freezer, beat it with a whisk, and then return it to the freezer. Every thirty minutes or so, you would continue this process, and in two to three hours, the mixture would be truly frozen, as ice cream should be.
How do you churn ice cream by hand?
This is a labor-intensive process, but it does result in good ice cream. It can be tricky, but you’re carrying out the same slow-freezing process that an ice cream maker does.
To make the process of hand churning ice cream a little easier on your arms, you could use an immersion blender to whip air into the mixture. However, if you don’t have one – a whisk will be your best bet.