Sweet treats, handmade

Homemade ice cream is deeply woven into my childhood memories of summer. I remember sitting outside my house with a bowl of strawberry ice cream, legs dangling, face and hands streaked with sticky pink. The fresh flavor and frozen chunks of berries created a frozen treat better than anything you could find in the store.

This summer, I wanted to create my own ice cream, but without buying any high-tech kitchen appliances. In other words, my ice cream would be made sans ice cream machine.

The machines are useful because they churn the mixture while it hardens. They create a smoother dessert with fewer of the ice crystals typical of most homemade ice creams.

But it can be done without one! After a shopping trip to buy all the essentials, I spent one night making three varieties of ice cream in three distinct ways: One mixture was frozen undisturbed in the freezer; one was removed from the freezer every 45 minutes and churned by hand; and the third method involved science and a bag of ice with salt.

My first attempt - channeling my childhood memories - was strawberry. This recipe was the most time-consuming, because you both whip the cream and turn the egg whites and syrup into a meringue. Normally, if you owned a mixer, this step would be a breeze. But, the apartment I am subletting for the summer is without this vital tool. Instead, I used a food processor, an option which requires both faith and time. With a mixer, the meringue should take about 10 minutes but with the food processor, about 30.

The mix was placed in the freezer and left untouched overnight, more than enough time to become solid. But this resulted in a rock-hard and icy finished product. This was mostly remedied by letting the ice cream soften on the countertop (about 10 minutes) before spooning into bowls.

I learned afterward that adding two tablespoons of vodka to the strawberry ice cream (or any homemade variety) will keep it soft, because alcohol does not freeze. You can experiment with types of alcohol, but vodka will have the least impact on taste of finished product.

The next ice cream I made was lavender-honey. The grocery I went to did not carry lavender, but an employee in the produce department offered to pick me some from a plant growing outside the store.

After washing the lavender, I removed the flowers from the plant and placed them in a separate bowl. As mentioned in the recipe, you can use either fresh or dried lavender in the ice cream. The recipe recommends straining out the pieces of lavender, but I left them in to add texture to the ice cream.

After freezing the ice cream mixture for 45 minutes, I removed it from the freezer and stirred it vigorously. This step is repeated until the ice cream is thoroughly frozen, roughly four hours. This method simulated an ice cream machine and facilitates the breakdown of ice crystals. (Although it does make one lust for an electric machine!)

Of the three varieties I made, the Lavender-Honey was the most similar in consistency to store-bought ice cream.

My next recipe, blueberry ice cream, produced a rich, fresh berry flavor. The freezing method combines science with interactive fun; I remember making ice cream in this method with my high school chemistry class.

The freezing method involves pouring the chilled ice cream mixture into sealable sandwich bags (I recommend double-bagging) and placing the half-full sandwich bag into a gallon bag filled with the ice and salt.

Salt lowers the freezing point of ice. Because the salt and ice mixture is colder than ice alone, it requires more heat from the surrounding area/objects for the ice to melt.

This process enables the ice cream to freeze inside the plastic bag. And, because you move the ice cream mixture around while it is freezing, there are fewer ice crystals in the finished product.

Yes, these methods require more time than ice cream frozen in a machine, but there is the money saved and then there's all the fun you can have waiting around for the ice cream to freeze.

Of course, if you already own an ice cream machine, you can cheat and make the accompanying recipes and then freeze them fast in your machine. But would you really want to miss out on all that waiting time?

Makes 1 quart

EndTextStartText

2 cups picked-over blue-

berries

¾ cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1½ cups heavy cream

EndTextStartText

1. In a saucepan, bring blueberries, sugar and salt to a boil over moderate heat, mashing berries and stirring with a fork.

2. Simmer mixture, stirring frequently, 5 minutes and cool slightly.

3. In a blender, puree mixture with milk just until smooth, and stir in cream.

4. Pour puree through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids with back of spoon. Chill mixture, covered, at least 2 hours or until cold, and up to one day. Proceed with your preferred method of making ice cream.

Per one-cup serving:

522 calories, 4 grams protein, 49 grams carbohydrates, 45 grams sugar, 36 grams fat, 129 milligrams cholesterol, 132 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 1 quart

EndTextStartText

2 cups half-and-half or milk

3 tablespoons fresh or dried lavender

3 large egg yolks

2/3 cup honey

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

2 to 3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons honey liqueur (optional)

EndTextStartText

1. Prepare a large bowl or pan of ice water.

2. In the top of a double boiler, heat the half-and-half and lavender over simmering water until steaming. Remove from the heat and steep for 10 minutes.

3. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until blended, then whisk in the honey.

4. Whisk in about half of the hot half-and-half and pour the yolk mixture into the pan of the remaining half-and-half.

5. Stir and cook over simmering water until the custard coats the back of a silicone spatula or spoon, about 10 minutes. Immediately place the custard pan in the ice bath and stir the custard occasionally until it cools to room temperature.

6. Transfer custard to container, stir in the cream, add honey liqueur (optional), cover and freeze until firm.

Per one-cup serving (with whole milk):

492 calories, 7 grams protein, 54 grams carbohydrates, 53 grams sugar, 29 grams fat, 248 milligrams cholesterol, 80 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 2 quarts

EndTextStartText

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups fresh strawberries

4 egg whites

EndTextStartText

1. Combine sugar and corn syrup in small bowl. Set aside.

2. Chill a medium bowl and pour in heavy cream. Using an electric mixer at low speed, beat cream until it holds a soft shape. Cover cream and refrigerate.

3. Wash and hull berries. Put a handful into blender. Blend, adding more through the top to make 11/2 cups puree.

4. Beat sugar syrup vigorously with spoon.

5. In large mixer bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. At medium speed, add sugar syrup, a little at a time. Beat on high until a shiny meringue holds stiff peaks. The stiffer, the better.

6. With rubber spatula, gently but firmly fold in strawberry puree. Next, fold in beaten cream.

7. Pour into 1/2 gallon lidded plastic container and freeze overnight. Keeps for 6 to 8 months in freezer.

Per one-cup serving: 226 calories, 3 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, 19 grams sugar, 11 grams fat, 41 milligrams cholesterol, 51 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

EndText