Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I prefer to eat non-procesed foods whenever possible, and store bought ice cream is full of additives, so I usually skip it when I'm at the grocery store. One night, while watching a series of YouTube videos I watched a recipe for ice cream where the host was using this KitchenAid attachment. I promptly bought it and decided to perfect a vanilla ice cream first before venturing out to creative concoctions. I found an amazing recipe from The NY Times and made the custard base....ugh...had to wait an extra day or the Ice Cream maker to freeze! Finally the time came for me to test it and all I can say is I'm hooked. I never cared for vanilla ice cream, but when it's good quality and made well, that's all you need. On my first attempt, it took 35 minutes and the custard was still very soft, took another 12 hoursbin the freezer to achieve the perfect creamy texture. I also live in Florida and even though my house stays cool, my kitchen was not. Here are some things that I learned after making my first batch. 1) Don't be tempted to scrape the sides during freezing. I couldn't resist, but all I did was remove cold cream that would have helped my ice cream freeze faster. 2) Freeze the dasher! I don't think that's in the instructions, but the room temperature dasher can transfer the heat to the cold custard base. 3) Add a little more sugar than you think you need, the colder it gets the less apparent the sugar becomes. 4) DO NOT, and I mean really DON'T touch the frozen bowl with wet hands...just trust me, ok? 5) The warmer your kitchen, the quicker the bowl will defrost. Try not to make ice cream if your oven is on...yeah that happened! 6) If you're making vanilla ice cream use the real extract or beans, not the fake stuff they sell in most grocery stores. Here's the recipe I used. This gadget so far has been a fantastic addition to our kitchen! ICE CREAM BASE Time: 20 minutes plus several hours’ cooling, chilling and freezing 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup whole milk ⅔ cup sugar ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt 6 large egg yolks Your choice of flavoring (see grid below, or invent your own) 1. In a small pot, simmer cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). 2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. 3. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed. Yield: About 1 1/2 pints