Grandma's Homemade Ice Cream

This recipe has a back story

My grandmother emigrated to the U.S. in October 1929. She was on the train from Ellis Island to Utah when she heard that the stock market had crashed. At the time, she had no idea what the stock market was or how it could crash, but she found out when she began looking for jobs. There were none to be found. It took weeks of pavement pounding and, finally, some divine intervention for her to find employment with the Coalville Ice Cream Plant, located at 159 West 100 South in Salt Lake City. She soon became invaluable there and she also learned the secret to their silky ice cream. When she became a farmer’s wife, she used that knowledge to develop her signature recipe, one we lovingly call Grandma's Homemade Ice Cream. 

And the secret ingredient is . . . 

Gelatin. 

Grandma claimed it was the best way to produce a velvety texture. She incorporated this ingredient into the ice cream base in two ways--she uses both unflavored gelatin and marshmallows, which are gelatin-based. They are melted into the hot custard, and you wouldn’t know they’re there because the frozen product doesn’t taste marshmallowy, just smooth and creamy.   

Different versions

So, why are there three recipes pictured above? Because Grandma was a fiddler. Just like me, she continually tweaked her reicpes. The top photo is of the recipe in her box, and it looks to be an older version, which is one of the reasons I didn’t use it for my test. (It’s also doubled, which would have made too much for my small freezer, and it doesn’t give the amount of cream to use.) For my test, I used the recipe in the bottom picture. This one was typed up for a family cookbook from a card Grandma wrote for my mom. This is the version I consider to be the definitive version because, frankly, it's the best.

How to make Grandma’s Homemade Ice Cream

First, plan ahead. You’ll need to make your base the day before you want to freeze and eat it. You'll probably agree that the ingredients are unique. I’ve never seen an ice cream recipe that starts with a pudding mix like this one does. You can use any flavor, just be sure to get the cooked version, not the instant. (But honestly, if you can only find instant pudding, don’t worry. I made it once with instant, and it still turned out great.) 

Make the pudding as directed, stirring in the tempered egg and the marshmallows when it begins to boil. 

Transfer the custard to a bowl, let it cool for a while, then pour the cream and the half-and-half slowly over the top. Don’t stir it in. Grandma did this to prevent a crust from forming on top of the pudding as it chilled.

Eat it right away

I’ve made this recipe many times, so what was I testing? The next step. Usually, I harden the ice cream before eating it. However, when Grandma was around, we always ate it as soon as the freezing process was done. I decided I would go back to our original tradition for this test. When we were nearly ready for dessert, I stirred the mixture together and added it to my freezer. Because it starts out cold and is fairly thick, this ice cream base freezes faster than most.

When I took my first spoonful, I remembered why we used to dive right in. It tastes like the soft-serve ice cream--the best you've ever had.  

You can put it in the freezer to harden if you’d like, but it does get quite solid. I would recommend serving it up as soon as your machine tells you it’s done.     

Click on the link below the card to download, print, and make the recipe for Grandma’s Homemade Ice Cream. You won’t regret it.