Summer means a million things. For most of us it's a time of delight and celebration. The sun shines longer, the air is sweeter, and hours of leisure wrap us in a cocoon of joy. In the world of The Great Brain homemade ice cream was part of every summer celebration.
John D. Fitzgerald's best description can be found in Chapter 4 of The Great Brain, Abie Glassman Finds a Home. Abie Glassman, the Jewish peddler, was invited to Sunday dinner. Every Sunday, the Fitzgerald boys made homemade ice cream.
Mamma had the ingredients for making chocolate ice cream poured into the freezer bucket.... Sweyn carried the freezer from the kitchen to the back porch. He and Tom packed the freezer with ice and salt. I folded two gunnysacks and placed them on the freezer. It was my job to sit on the freezer and hold it steady while Tom and Sweyn took turns turning the handle which made the freezer bucket go around and around in the ice. When the handle got a little hard to turn, Tom called Mamma and told her he thought the ice cream was done. Nobody knew better than Mamma that the ice cream wasn't hard enough, but she never let on. Sweyn uncovered the top of the freezer bucket and wiped the lid off with a towel. Mamma dipped a spoon into the ice cream and tasted it. "It isn't done, boys, " she said.
"Looks done to me," Tom said.
There was nothing Mamma could do but let Tom and then Sweyn and me taste a spoonful of the ice cream.
"You are right, Mamma," Tom said, "It isn't done."
Summer is very much like homemade ice cream; it isn't done yet. We've only begun. This weekend is a national holiday where we can relish in summer delights. To kick it off for you, I am sharing our family's favorite homemade ice cream recipe, and adding a link to a yummy looking chocolate ice cream. Feel free to grab the old-fashioned ice cream maker and give these a whirl. If they work for you, make them again all summer, or every Sunday, or whenever you feel like it.
Most of all, a very happy Summer to all of you.
Homemade Lemon Ice Cream by Kristen Topham
3 1/2 cups sugar 1 quart whipping cream
1 C. fresh lemon juice 1 quart whole milk
2 T. grated lemon peel 1/4 t. salt
Combine sugar, lemon juice, and peel. Pour into a 4 quart freezer container. Stir in cream, milk and salt. Cover and freeze according to your ice cream freezer instructions. Serves 20 (2/3 cup each).
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream by Laura of Joy Food Sunshine
Chocolate Ice Cream https://joyfoodsunshine.com/chocolate-ice-cream/#recipe
Photo attribution - Mercer Mayer, illustrator, The Great Brain