Cool Off With Homemade Ice Cream
Before electricity, iced desserts were a luxury. American colonists learned to harvest ice each winter and carefully pack it in sawdust to last all summer long. By the late 1700s, confectioners began selling frozen treats to the public, with founding fathers Ben Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson all known to have regularly enjoyed ice cream.

From our Readers:
Aunt Brenda’s Homemade Ice Cream
Connie Aylor, Etlan, Virginia
Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream
14-oz. can sweetened
condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Using a mixer, beat eggs and add sugar gradually. Combine liquids and add to egg mixture. Add fruit if you’d like. Pour in ice cream freezer, adding milk as needed to reach the fill line. Once the freezer stops, enjoy some wonderful ice cream!
From our Readers:
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
Kathy Fleming, Winchester, Virginia
Ingredients:
2½ cups sugar, divided
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
4 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 cups peeled, chopped peaches
Directions:
Combine 1½ cups sugar, flour and salt. Add eggs and blend well. Add milk and cook slowly until slightly thickened. Allow to cool. Add whipping cream, vanilla and peaches sweetened with remaining sugar. Pour in ice cream freezer and freeze. Makes 1 gallon.
From our Readers:
Black Walnut Ice Cream
Christina Snapp, Stephenson, Virginia
Ingredients:
5 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons rock salt
2 teaspoons black walnut extract
1¼ tablespoons vanilla
5 cups milk
1½ cups black walnuts
7 cups whipping cream
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add other ingredients, mix well and pour into an ice cream freezer. Close lid and fill about 1⁄3 of the way with ice, then add rock salt until the ice is covered. Repeat twice, then turn freezer on until ice cream hardens. Serve right away. Makes 1 gallon.
From Our Readers:
Banana-Pineapple Ice Cream
Joann Frazier Hensley, McGaheysville, Virginia
Ingredients:
8 cups half-and-half, divided
2 3.4-oz. packages instant vanilla pudding
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 small, ripe banana
20-oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Blend 3 cups of half-and-half and one package of pudding in blender; pour in 6-quart-capacity ice cream freezer, then repeat this step. Blend remaining 2 cups half-and-half, whipping cream, sugar, banana, pineapple and vanilla. Stir into mixture in ice cream freezer can, then freeze until ready. Makes 6 quarts.
SEND US YOUR RECIPES!
We need recipes for these upcoming issues:
Tailgating, Seafood and Wild Game Recipes
Please submit your recipe by:
- using the form here
- email to [email protected].
- mail to Commonwealth Kitchen,
c/o Cooperative Living,
P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340.
All published submissions will receive a $20 Walmart gift card.