I don’t know about you guys, but it is hot here in Cincinnati, OH. It is almost like the seasons went from winter, a hint of spring, and full-on summer. There are a lot of foods that we all seem to love in the summer. One of those foods is ice cream. Some of the best ice creams come from farms. Every year I take my family to Young’s Jersey Dairy Farm, north of Dayton, OH, to pet the farm animals and enjoy their delicious ice cream that is made fresh on the farm! When making this easy vanilla bean ice cream recipe, I tried to go for the farm effect: to use fresh cream, whole milk, sugar, vanilla, and a touch of love.

Tips for making Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

There are many recipes out there for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. What I love about my vanilla ice cream recipe is it doesn’t require eggs. When making ice cream using eggs, I’ll be honest; you get an extra element of smoothness from the ice cream. You are essentially making a custard and using an ice cream machine to churn it into ice cream. This recipe requires an ice cream maker, but the rest of the steps are easy.

1. When you combine the milk, cream, and sugar, you will leave the vanilla bean in the mixture for as long as possible to extract the vanilla flavor from the bean. For this recipe, you only need to leave the vanilla bean in the ice cream base for about an hour, but you can leave it there longer.
2. Use the best quality milk, cream, and vanilla extract you can afford. This definitely makes a difference. The fresher and better quality, the better. But the ice cream will still taste amazing without higher-end ingredients.
3. Feel free to use two vanilla beans to punch out the flavor of the ice cream.

Recommended Ice Cream Maker

I have always wanted an ice cream maker. Last year, I finally bought one and I absolutely love it. I bought an ice cream machine made by Cuisinart. It is easy to use, you don’t need salt, or top it off with ice like you may have seen with some ice cream machines. It’s affordable and comes with some beginner recipes that you will be confident making. I highly recommend that ice cream machine if you are looking for one. This vanilla bean ice cream recipe is adapted from Cuisinart.

Toppings for the Ice Cream

Now here is the best part, the toppings. There are so many toppings perfect for ice cream. Some of my favorites are:

• Diced Strawberries
• Chocolate Sauce
• Caramel Sauce
• Sprinkles
• Brownie Bites
• Crushed Oreo Cookies

I have also used this recipe for ice to make ice cream sandwiches and banana splits.

Options for those who are lactose intolerant

I discovered I was lactose intolerant when I was 28. Out of nowhere, I suddenly started getting sick whenever would eat something and I didn’t know what was making me sick. I decided to go to an allergy doctor ( I have no idea what they are called).

They did the typical allergy test where they prick your arm with different solutions that have the enzymes of certain groups to see what your skin responds to. Well, it came back that I was severely lactose intolerant. I will never forget what the doctor said, “Well Nicole, I believe you are lactose intolerant and it is only going to get worse as you get older. Your body is losing the ability to digest any dairy you eat.”

What do you do when you hear those words?

I tried several probiotics and lactose pills but the ones that were really effective are called “LactoJoy”. Before I give you guys my honest opinion about this product, let me say I am not getting paid to endorse this product in any way, but they’re awesome!

This summer, give making homemade ice cream a chance. You can start by making this Simple Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Recipe. All you need are a few simple ingredients! This recipe makes 2 pints of ice cream and if you want to buy the cardboard ice cream containers, click here. Give it a shot and let me know what you think?

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