Instructions: Assemble ingredients. Heat the milk on low just until bubbles appear around the side of the saucepan. Add the sugar and salt and stir until both are thoroughly dissolved. Stir in the cream and vanilla extract. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator about 1 hour.

Pour the mixture into an ice-cream maker and process.

(Old-fashioned manually operated ice-cream makers can be found at kitchen supply stores or by calling a manufacturer such as Rival/White Mountain Freezer, 800-343-0065.)

Makes approximately 2 quarts.

Make sure the dasher (the double-sided blade of your ice-cream maker) is securely in place. Pour in the chilled mixture to fill 2/3 of the can, leaving room for expansion. Put on the lid and attach the cranking mechanism.

Pour finely crushed ice around the can, covering the bottom 3 inches of the tub.

Sprinkle the ice with rock salt. Then alternate layers of crushed ice and salt until the tub is filled

(ideally, you want a 5:1 ratio of ice to salt). Do not cover the top of the can. Add cold water to help the ice melt and avoid ice jams.

Crank the handle for 20 to 30 minutes, adding more ice and salt as chips melt. As you crank, the dasher mixes air into the thickening ice cream, preventing the mixture from becoming an ice block.

When cranking becomes harder, pull the dasher out of the can and check the ice cream. Keep cranking if it is still runny. Homemade ice cream should have a soft consistency.

To make the ice cream a little harder, plug the hole in the top of the can and leave it in the tub or in your freezer for a few minutes before serving. Ice cream hardened in a home freezer loses some of its creaminess, so plan on eating it up right away when its at its best.

CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM
Add 10 cups of chocolate chips to the ice cream just before you finish cranking it, about 20 minutes into the process.

BERRY GOOD ICE CREAM
Chop or mash strawberries, blueberries, or other fruits. Toss with sugar and refrigerate while you prepare the ice cream. After the ice cream has stiffened, drain the juice from the berries and add them to the can for the final cranks. A family favorite is strawberry ice cream with a few handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips thrown in.

GETTING IT RIGHT
Chill your mixture in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before processing.

Turn the dasher steadily-too quickly and it wont scoop the frozen ice cream off the side.

Keep the ice cream cold at all times for the creamiest consistency. Melting and refreezing turns the mixture icy.

The colder your add-ins are, the quicker you can finish freezing your ice cream.

ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY!

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