How Is Ice Cream Made?

Milk, cream and sugar. Cool science. That’s all it takes to make magic — otherwise known as ice cream!

Today we offer a look behind the curtain so you can learn how to make ice cream in seven simple steps:

1. Prepare the Base: All ice cream starts with a base of milk, cream and sugar (or other sweeteners).
2. Heat: You’ll notice that many ice cream recipes involve heating the base, which plays an important food safety role especially if the ingredients include eggs.
3. Strain: Want a creamy base? Giving it a quick strain will make sure it’s super smooth.
4. Cool: While a mixture of milk, cream and sugar sound delicious, wait for your base to cool before adding in other flavorings or ingredients.
5. Flavor: Once cooled, it’s time to mix in base flavorings like vanilla as well as any other ingredients you might want to add such as berries or nuts.
6. Freeze and Stabilize: Pour your mixture into your ice cream maker. (Check the instructions as these can vary!). During the freezing process, the mixture will be chilled and a mixing blade, called a dasher, will churn the ice cream and add air, which will create volume.
7. Store: In case of leftovers, store your homemade ice cream at 5 to 14 degrees F to make sure that it’s firm enough to scoop, but still smooth.

Feeling inspired? If you’re looking to make ice cream at home, check out these 35 homemade ice cream recipes, including peach, mint chocolate chip, lemonade, chocolate cherry and blueberry cheesecake.