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To Freeze Ice Cream

A method for freezing ice cream using ice and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Freeze Ice Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ice

  1. Chip the ice finely.

  2. Prepare a mixture of three parts ice and one part salt, alternating layers in the freezer.

Freeze the cream

  1. Turn the crank slowly at first, then more rapidly, until the cream is frozen.

  2. Refill the pail with ice and salt as it melts.

  3. Drain off excess water if needed.

  4. Once frozen, remove the stirrer.

  5. Replace the lid.

  6. Turn the can for a few more minutes to harden.

  7. Cover the pail with an old blanket and keep it filled with ice and salt.

Pack and finish

  1. Pack the ice cream in molds immediately after freezing, ensuring it fills every corner.

  2. Use a brick mold for easy packing and turning out, or a pyramid mold as a second option.

  3. Cover the cream with a piece of paper that extends beyond the edge.

  4. Put on the lid.

  5. Pack the mold in the freezer tub with ice and salt.

  6. Freezing will take about twelve minutes in a gem freezer; water ices may take longer.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Ice cream mixture
The cream base that freezes into the finished ice cream.
Ice
Chilled surface that draws heat away from the cream as it freezes.
Coarse table salt
Lowers the melting point of the ice, letting it chill the cream far below freezing.

The step that matters

Refill the pail with ice and salt as it melts. Salted ice keeps the brine colder than plain ice can. If the ice melts and is not replaced, the cream warms and freezes slowly or unevenly, leaving a grainy texture.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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