How to Make Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag
Posted by Danielle Bean in Food on Tuesday, June 08, 2010 10:00 AM
So I found this cool link the other day, which told me how to make ice cream with a few simple ingredients and a couple of plastic bags.
I was enchanted. Cream, sugar, ice, plastic bags, and a little shaking ... What could be easier?
Oh, I don’t know, perhaps wrestling wild boars might be easier. By a long shot. I had no idea what I was in for.
You see that glowing candle in the foreground of this picture? That’s my pretty, peaceful kitchen candle. That’s the kind of fun-with-kids activity I anticipated in my kitchen: Peaceful fun.
But now do you see Ambrose’s expression in the photo? That was just the beginning of The Crazy that my kids became with this peaceful little project.
The first problem was the wetness. We never should have tried this in the kitchen. My counter tops quickly became soaked and the water dripped onto the floor. I mopped with towels and pretty soon found I couldn’t keep up with the mess.
So I sent the kids and their bags outside, where they should have been in the first place.
The second problem was the cold. Though the recipe clearly warns that the bag will become very cold and you should be prepared with gloves or a towel, we were not prepared. With the combination of salt and ice, the bags quickly become painfully cold to touch. I soon had a bunch of whiners on my hands—and we hurried to get towels (the last few that were not sitting, soaked, on the kitchen tiles) to protect our hands.
The third problem was the ice cream itself. Though the recipe says it will take about 10 minutes, we were still shaking liquid after over 20 minutes. We added more ice and more salt, and some bags even split from so much shaking—before the ice cream even started to thicken.
In the end, after several dozen plastic bags and about 45 minutes of labor, I scooped some soft vanilla ice cream into dishes, drizzled it with chocolate syrup, and ... It was delicious!
So ... sweet success!
But for any mom who is tempted to try this one for herself, I recommend the following:
1. Consider it science. Don’t freak out over the time involved or the number of plastic bags this recipe requires.
2. Consider it camp. Definitely do this outdoors, from start to sticky finish.
3. Consider it cold. This would be a big hit on a hot day. But on a drizzly, gray, New Hampshire afternoon in early June? Not so great.
If I try this little project again, I will have different rules and expectations. But then again, the whole experience has me wondering if this KitchenAid attachment
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