What’s not to like about a ‘homesteading’ ice cream post. We take our ice cream seriously here…sometimes churning it in secret, doling out the coffee-flavored tub after the kids go to bed, and of course, being pleasantly surprised to find some Hershey’s syrup and slivered almonds in the pantry. I like to substitute honey for sugar as it dissolves fine in the ice cream mixture and is not a negative in the taste department.  Normally, we are churning in this fashion: motor + bucket of snow + salt.

Earlier this month though, we got to step it up a notch thanks to my brother Cory, who brought his thermos of liquid nitrogen. Lest you think this is high tech, think again: bowl + spool + some hand stirring. But first, yes – you have to pour in a little magic…

I hope people reading this won’t be too alarmed with these sort of pictures because you do have to be extremely careful with this sort of compound. You don’t want to shatter an eyeball. In the photo below, you get a better idea on the size of the insulated thermos Cory owns. That is the main investment and impediment for anyone just doing this at home. The liquid nitrogen itself can actually be considerably cheaper (depending on where you can find it) than buying the ice for making the equivalent in ice cream. Nonetheless, you do need to add a good amount for it to freeze the mixture before it boils off. It only takes about a minute of stirring here and it is ready to serve!

Here is your basic vanilla, but we did 3 batches each evening, with different flavors and add-ins. The benefit of this freezing process is that the ice cream [can] turn out super-smooth, without any ice crystals that may build up in churning it for the hour that it takes me.

I would recommend throwing a little more technology into the mix though – a Kitchen Aid mixer and a blow torch for starters. If you are curious, the simple process is described in this article.