Healthy and Delicious: 30 Homemade Mason Jar Ice Cream Recipes to Try (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to ice cream? ›

The cream cheese helps create an ice cream with a denser, smoother texture. As explained by TASTE, cream cheese acts as a stabilizer in ice cream, preventing water from seeping out of the milk and cream as well as preventing the formation of ice crystals that detract from ice cream's creaminess.

"You can also try diced pineapple tossed in li hing mui powder, which will add sweet, salty, and sour flavors to a simple bowl of vanilla ice cream." In addition to dried fruits, try tossing in chopped nuts, crushed cookies, bite-sized candies, or even bacon bits.

This summer I have been using my tiniest 4-ounce, mason jars to store individual servings of ice cream for the kids. After giving my ice cream maker a whirl, I divide the frosty goodness into the small mason jars, twist on the lids and store them in the freezer.

You can make ice cream without an ice cream maker

After chilling your ice cream base, pour it into an ice-cold pan and freeze for 30 minutes. Then use the hand mixer to beat the mix until smooth. Repeat this process over and over until you've reached the right consistency.

If you have ever made ice cream, you already know what goes into it, ingredients such as milk, cream, and sugar. But there is one main ingredient that you may not have thought about, probably because you can't see it—air.

Egg Yolks: The most traditional thickening agent, egg yolks contain natural proteins and fats that contribute to a rich and luxurious texture in custard-based ice creams. Cornstarch: Often used in non-custard ice creams, cornstarch mixed with milk helps thicken the base and create a smooth mouthfeel.

Whole milk – I don't recommend replacing it with reduced fat or skim. Whole milk's higher fat content ensures that the homemade ice cream comes out creamy, not icy. Cane sugar – For sweetness.

Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.

Most home ice cream recipes call for simple table sugar, which is chemically known as sucrose. But in pro kitchens you have more options. Liquid sugars like invert sugar, corn syrup, honey, and glucose syrup all add body, creaminess, and stability to ice cream, and a little goes a long way.

Regular mouth jars are not recommended for freezing because of the shoulders. As we know, when liquid freezes it expands. Therefore it is critical that enough headspace is available to allow for this expansion. However, even leaving plenty of headspace the regular mouth jars can crack.

Why did my mason jars crack in the freezer? ›

The reason you need to leave space at the top is that when food freezes, it expands. Another major reason for frozen jars breaking (aside from rapid temp changes) is the lack of space for the liquid to expand.

Ice forms on homemade ice cream due to crystallization, and this process is usually triggered when you don't freeze your ice cream fast enough. Your recipe and storage method may contribute to crystallization as well.

Depends on what (or who) you're trying to recreate. You can make Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia cheaper at home. But you'll lose money copying Edy's Cookie Cobblestone Ice Cream (especially if it's on sale). Turns out heavy whipping cream is pretty expensive, at least in comparison to the other ingredients you'll need.

Of course, the main ingredients in ice cream come from milk–and the most important part of that is milkfat, which gives ice cream its smoothness and creamy texture. In fact, in order to be called ice cream, the USDA requires it to contain at least 10 percent milkfat, which can come from milk or cream.

Fat. A great ice cream owes its smooth, creamy mouthfeel to fat, which helps keep ice crystals small. As Bauer explains, fat is also extraordinarily effective at carrying flavors, so when ice cream melts in your mouth, you are hit with the taste of your ingredients.

At its core ice cream is a successful emulsion of fat into water, sugar, and ice with air mixed into the batch. An emulsion is a mixture of two substances that typically separate (like oil and water). But, instead mix together to form the consistent creamy base used for ice cream. It's Science!

By binding with liquids, sugar molecules prevent an ice cream base from fully freezing into crunchy ice. That is, the more sugar you add, the softer and less icy your batch will be. The kind of sugar you add also matters.