Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream
PHOTO ESSAY BY DAWN HUNTER AND DARCY PHELPS, NOVEMBER 19, 2022
We are so excited to get a new ice cream maker, and we went for a reasonably priced model created by the brand Tasty. There were a range of colors to choose from, and we were able to select one that suited Darcy's style. She promptly decorated it with a sticker created by one of her favorite YouTubers and a source of her inspiration for Dish with Darcy™, Moriah Elizabeth. We watch her creative YouTube channel every Friday together.
"Nobody has everything and everyone has something”
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- Moriah Elizabeth
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Darcy has been trying to make ice cream in a plastic bag for the past few weeks. The results were less than she desired even after shaking the mixture in salted ice. Since tackling ice cream from scratch and minimal technology had been frustrating, we decided to go for a recommended ice cream mix. The mix we found, Junket Ice Cream mix, was simple to follow and only required a few ingredients that we already had in our kitchen. After a few trial and errors, we finally had a delicious and smooth soft serve ice cream that we could enjoy!
Unique History
Ice cream's origins can be traced back to ancient China. Its appearance can be traced to Italy through Marco Polo and then to France with Catherine de Medici. Eventually, it made its way to the US through Thomas Jefferson. European ice creams appeared in Italy during the 1600s and eventually became popular throughout Europe by the mid-century. This is recorded in letters, journals, and records from Paris, Florence, Naples, and Spain.
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"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
- Howard Johnson
History continued:
Ice cream reached America with European settlers and was served by the first lady of colonial Maryland as early as 1744. George Washington bought a mechanical ice cream maker for Mount Vernon in 1784. Thomas Jefferson, who developed a taste for French-style ice cream while in Paris, served it at the executive mansion at least six times and wrote ten recipes, including one for vanilla ice cream with egg yolks.
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By the late 19th century, ice cream had become a popular treat in America. In 1874, the ice cream soda was invented, and by 1881, the sundae made its debut. The waffle cone stole the show at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, while Popsicles were patented in 1923. Both Dairy Queen and Carvel claim to have created soft-serve ice cream in the mid-1930s, and frozen yogurt hit the scene in the 1970s.
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Junket Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
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3 Junket® Rennet Tablets
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
4 tsp vanilla
Dissolve Junket® Rennet Tablets in cold water by crushing. Set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in saucepan. Heat while stirring to lukewarm (110º F). Remove from stove. Add dissolved tablets. Stir a few seconds and pour immediately into freezer can. Let set at room temperature until firm and cool. When mixture is set, place container into the ice cream freezer and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Begin churning until it is frozen.
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