The experienced ice cream connoisseur may prefer to make his or her custard-style concoction according to exacting specifications rigorously enforced by the zealous ice cream intelligentsia. I, on the other hand, simply toss a few eggs yolks, some cream, sugar and flavoring into an ice-cream machine, hit the start button and enjoy baby, enjoy.

Ready

• 2 or 3 eggs yolks
• Cream
• Milk
• Simple syrup
• Flavor: anything from vanilla to strawberry-marshmallow-mango. The possibilities are endless.

Set

• Ice cream maker
• Heavy bottom pan
• Whisk
• 2 bowls
• Strainer

Go

1. Separate three eggs and drop the yolks into an ice cream maker bowl.
2. Add some cream. How much you ask? This depends on a) the size of your mixing bowl and b) your taste. As a general rule of thumb you don’t want your final mix to fill more than half your bowl. Some people like it really creamy. If you are one of the creamy types, then fill your bowl about one quarter of the way with cream and go light on the milk in the next step.
3. Add a touch of milk, simple syrup and your flavoring agent. This could be vanilla extract, or flavored simple syrup. My favorite is mint flavored simple syrup. You can use what ever you please.
4. Whisk well and adjust to taste. I am a firm believer that ice cream should not be too sweet, but should be strong in flavor.
5. Whisk again. Air is a critical ingredient. The more you whisk the more air is added to the mix and the lighter and fluffier your final product will be.
6. Pour mix into your machine, start the crank and wait until it’s frozen.
7. If you are going to add fruit, candy bits, chocolate chips or any thing hard you should wait until the ice cream is almost frozen to mix them in. Otherwise they tend to get chopped by the paddle and settle to the bottom.

What you should know

Holly salmonella Grubman, this thing’s got raw eggs. Are your trying to make me sick? The answer is no. I’m willing to take a chance that either the irradiation or clean handling of eggs reduces the risk to super low levels. But make at your own risk. If you don’t want to take a chance then simply mix the cream, milk in a saucepan under a low heat until it begins to form bubbles around edges. Remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks until they are a light yelow color. While continuing to whisk, add a small amount of cream mixture to yolks. Once mixed, add all the yolk mix back into the cream mix (this is known as “tempering”). Place pan back on low heat and cook mixture, while frequently stiring, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (approx. 5-6 minutes). Remove from heat. Strain and let cool completely before proceeding.

If making chocolate, chop chocolate into small peices and place in bowl which you will pour the strained, cooked mixture into and cover the bowl for 15-20 minutes, which, at the end of this time you will whisk to ensure that the chocolate is melted and smooth.

As a general rule of thumb I use a cream to milk ratio of two parts cream to one part milk. If you like it creamier use more cream and less milk. If you are concerned about your waistline, adjust the ratio in the other direction.

Every ice cream maker is different. Some more expensive ones come with a refrigeration unit built in. These are quick, easy and heavy. Some need to be put in the freezer and are battery operated. And some need lots of ice, rock salt and a hand crank. To each his own.

Finally, there’s a proper way to make ice cream and there’s a quick, easy and fun way. Both are pretty damn good. My partners David and John in this grand experiment known as GreatGrub believe firmly in custard-based ice cream making. See David’s fresh mint ice cream recipe if this one isn’t doing it for you.