Tuesday, June 19, 1934

Today was Helen's birthday. She is 12 years old. Went to Swope Park. I caught 3 fish. Made ice cream.

This is a manual or "old-fashioned" ice cream maker. The milk mix is surrounded by ice and mixed by turning the handle until it freezes gently.

In the 1930s, homemade ice cream became a big trend in kitchens across America because the “mechanical icebox”, or refrigerator, began to see widespread use.


Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:


•2 1/2 Cups milk, half-n-half, light cream or a blend
•1/2 Cup sugar
•a pinch of salt
•3 Tbsp corn starch
•vanilla bean, vanilla paste or extract

Cooking Directions:

1.Pour 2 of the cups of milk/cream into a pot and put over medium heat. Blend in the sugar and the pinch of salt. If you are using whole vanilla bean, now is when you add the beans and pod to the milk mixture. Heat gently until the mixture is steaming slightly. Then strain out the bean pod.

2.In another bowl, mix the last 1/2 cup of milk/cream and the cornstarch. Blend or whisk until there are no lumps. Then add this mixture to the sweetened milk, whisking frequently and heat until the mixture is almost boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking mixture as it thickens. If you are using vanilla paste or extract, add it after the mix gets thick.

3.Remove thickened milk from heat and allow to cool (this can take several hours). You get better freezing from using a cooled-down mixture. Once milk mix is cold, pour it into your ice cream mixer and freeze according to the instructions for the mixer. (This step can take a half hour to several hours.)