How To: Using an Ice Cream Maker

Nothing beats a vintage ice cream maker with an old wooden barrel and wiring that you'd assume

would have caused a fire by now. An ice cream maker works by simultaneously c

hilling and churning the ice cream base. This allows the mixture to freeze without developing ice crystals, which results in a creamy, smooth, and light sweet treat. The addition of rock salt to the ice surrounding the drum enables freezing-point depression (a phrase I had to Google) to lower the temperature at which ice freezes. This allows us to get the ice cream mixture frozen more quickly.

Things you'll need:

• Ice Cream Machine (the older, the better)

• 20-pound bag of Ice

• 2 Cups of Morton's Rock Salt

After making your homemade ice cream base, pour the mixture right into the drum. Place a sheet of

wax paper over the drum and under the lid, trimming it to create a nice circle with only a slight overlap. This helps prevent rock salt or salty water from leaking into the ice cream mixture. Insert the paddle and place the drum into the barrel.

Once assembled, fill the barrel half full with ice. At this point, you'll want to sprinkle about 1/2 Cup of the rock salt generously over the ice. Then, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of water over the ice. This helps dissolve the salt, melt the ice, and kickstart the reaction to lower the temperature.

Fill the remainder of the barrel with ice, sprinkle with salt, and activate with water again. For the next 30-60 minutes, you'll want to be watching the ice melt to ensure that the drum remains covered with ice. Keep topping it off and then sprinkling with salt. As the ice melts, the water level in the barrel will rise. Our barrel has a hole in the side right below the lip of the drum. Be sure to pour out excess ward to ensure none of that salty water leaks into the drum. I know a few people in the family who like to keep the ice cream maker on the back porch because of the noise. However, I prefer to keep it in the sink for the ice/water cycle.

As the mixture begins to freeze, you'll hear the motor start to work harder and bear down. You'll know your ice cream is ready when it sounds like it's struggling to keep up. With the older motors, it may even stop functioning altogether. At that point, be sure to hurry and unplug it before it burns out.

At this point, your ice cream is done...ish. The consistency at this point is normally between soft-serve and a Wendy's frosty. Feel free to enjoy it as is, or scoop the ice cream into a freezer safe container, and toss it in to harden up over night.

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