There are many advantages to having your own ice cream maker. They are quick: an Ice Cream Pro machine can produce delicious results in as little as thirty minutes. They are simple: just add the ingredients and all the churning and freezing is done for you. They are no problem to clean: the components are removable and very easily rinsed or placed in the dishwasher. Furthermore, homemade ice cream is also healthier, with none of the additives and preservatives which can be found in shop-bought brands. But surely, one of the very best reasons for having one is that with an ice cream maker recipe you can choose the ingredients, which means that the flavour will always be able exactly to your taste. Even if conventional ice cream flavours aren’t for you, a lot more possibilities open up when you’re the one in control.

Experimental recipe ideas

Having the chance to experiment is one of the best things about homemade ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours are all very well, but if you want something a little more exotic, or seasonal, or even savoury, there are hundreds of delicious recipes out there. Inspired by famous experimental chefs like Hestor Blumenthal, modern ice cream makers such as Ben Vear and David Lebowitz are keen to bring new ingredients together and blur the distinctions between sweet, savoury, hot and cold. Their recipe books contain intriguing concoctions that might surprise you: a bowl of mulled wine ice cream to see you through those long winter nights? Or how do you fancy an ice cream with parsley, or avocado, or even a dash of vodka? With your own ice cream maker, and copies of Vear and Lebowitz’s recipe books to hand, the world is your oyster (ice cream?).

Seasonal variations

Such new approaches mean that the end of summer does not necessarily spell the end of ice cream. Plenty of traditional autumn flavours and fruits can be used. For a delicious autumnal ice cream, try using rhubarb, hazelnut or marron glace. And as the season gets cooler, warming flavours like ginger and whiskey come into play. The beauty of having your own ice cream maker is that whatever you fancy for dessert, no matter how outlandish it may seem, you can give it a try. Not everything will be as delicious as you might hope, but there’s lots of fun to be had in experimenting. And who knows, you might just hit upon a winning formula: a world-beating ice cream of your own creation!

We would love to hear about your recipe ideas. Drop us a line or send us some photos, so that we can share them with other ice cream aficionados.

Images courtesy of The-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.co.uk and Trialx.org