You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! I love ice cream, it is probably one of my favorite foods. It is all too easy to pick some up from the store to bring home for a treat. My kids love it when we pick up some and do your own sundaes. Having ice cream as a bed time snack and making toad stew is a favorite memory of mine from my grandma’s. She always had plenty of Schwan’s ice cream at her house. I am sure the memories of my grandma only add to my love of ice cream.

Unfortunately for me though going to the store and just picking out ice cream is no longer an easy task. Finding ice creams that I can eat that are gluten free is generally easy. I am allergic to coconut and that is where I have problems now. Coconut Oil is appearing in more and more products and sometimes it appears suddenly in a product we have eaten for years after  making a product new and improved. Ice cream is now one of those products that for whatever reason often has coconut oil in it. Between being gluten free and my coconut allergy, I am now a pro at reading labels.

So yes, I am one of those people that while they are grocery shopping that is examining labels. I have to or else I am stuck with an itchy and sometimes swollen feeling throat, hives and whatever else. Food allergies and intolerance’s aren’t fun.

In all of my reading of labels I have been puzzled by some labels of what would be thought to be rather simple foods like ice cream. I understand there are some preservatives in there and then there are thickeners but food coloring for vanilla ice cream, huh?  I’m not Food Babe and have no desire to be like her but I do have to question some things that are being put in the food that we buy. Plus we are talking about ice cream, isn’t it suppose to be basically milk, cream and sugar?

I am thankful that I can cook and make things so that I know exactly what ingredients are in the things that I am eating.  After finally putting the drum of my ice cream maker in my deep freezer I think I will be making more ice cream at home. Cost wise it is about the same to make a batch of ice cream  as it is to buy some brands. Ice Cream really isn’t that hard to make. It just takes a little time but it is worth it in the end.

I just discovered a great recipe for a honey vanilla ice cream that I think will be my new go to. It is made with honey and brown sugar instead of  white sugar creating a beautiful taste profile. It is a deeper vanilla ice cream flavor. It is smooth and creamy too! It was so much better than anything you can buy in the store and easy to make too. It was an easy process of simmering milk and then slowly adding the milk to the egg yolk, brown sugar and honey and touch of salt. Once you temper the milk and egg mixture you put it back on the stove and cook until it coats a spoon. Remove it from the heat and add your cream and vanilla extract and throw the ice cream mix in the fridge to cool for a few hours. I like to do this part at night so in the morning my ice cream is ready to churn. Once you churn it you can eat it right away or you can place it in the freezer and let it harden up. After churning in my Kitchen Aid mine was like a soft serve consistency so I put mine in containers and froze for later. Freezing allowed it to harden up and make it perfectly scoopable.  My family loved this ice cream plain and with caramel and/or chocolate. It is sadly all gone and my kids keep begging to make more. With simple ingredients I think I can make that happen for them.

If your family likes ice cream as much as my family does I am sure they will love to make this rich and creamy homemade ice cream too!

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 (7 inch) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. In a medium pan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to simmering. Do not boil. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, honey, and salt until light colored and frothy. While whisking constantly, slowly combine the hot milk with the egg mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 degrees Celsius) when tested with a candy thermometer, or becomes thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat.
2. Remove the vanilla bean from the mixture and reserve. Strain custard into a large bowl. Scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into the custard. (Vanilla bean pod may be used again.) Stir the heavy cream into the custard. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
3. When cold, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

NOTE-

You can substitute 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla bean in your pantry. Add the vanilla extract to the custard mixture with the heavy cream.