Home made ice cream By Charles Hyatt, Contributor IN MY DAY that is when me was a boy we never ate out of the home in restaurants. We did that in Ice Cream Parlours or Soda Fountains. Those places never had kitchens for the preparing of cooked menus like today. Electric or gas stoves were not yet in vogue and wood burning ones were not big enough. As a result, meals were had at home at specific times. When one goes out for a treat, a visit to the Ice Cream Parlour for some ice cream and cake or some form of ice cream and soda drink was always something to look forward to. The popular choices of flavours were strawberry, cherry, chocolate, vanilla, grapenut and rum and raisin, which was a Jamaican creation and was the most popular among adults and children. Nevertheless, of all the many tasty flavours to be had in the parlours, none can beat the ice cream churned on a Sunday at home in the ice cream bucket and served at supper time. This was a family exercise. Mother would mix the flavour, father would wash and prepare the ice bucket by chipping up the ice. We the little ones, would take turns at turning the handle of the bucket and be rewarded with the fan - which is the contraption which churns the In my home, grapenut was the favourite. We had a two-quart capacity bucket and we had cream even on a Monday. INGREDIENTS 1 quart of freshly scald cow's milk Granulated sugar Grapenuts Nutmeg Rose water Salt (coarse and fine) METHOD 1. Mix warm cow's milk with sugar (to taste usually very sweet). Pour in grapenut and a tincture of rose water and grated nutmeg not as much as half nut though. Add a touch of salt, a bit between the forefinger and thumb is enough. Stir. Leave to settle for a while during the preparation of the bucket. 2. Put chipped ice in bucket up to 1/4 way, then pour coarse salt on ice. Pour mixture into freezing pan of ice cream bucket. 3. Attach the mill atop freezing pan and anchor in staples on top edge of ice cream bucket. Chip more ice around freezing pan and pour on more coarse salt until ice cream bucket is full to the top. 4. Put a bung in the hole of the ice cream bucket and start turning the handle of the mill. Keep turning until it becomes almost impossible to turn. By now you'll see ice cream seeping under the lid of the ice cream freezing pan. 5. Detach the mill, remove lid and haul out the fan. This will not be easy because now the ice cream is ready. Replace the lid and pack tightly around the ice cream freezing pan with cloth to keep the cold in. If the cold salt water is getting too near the lid of the ice cream freezing pan, pull the bung of the bucket and let some out. As long as there's enough packed ice, your ice cream will remain frozen. Enjoy!
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