How to Make Ice Cream with Snow

There are days throughout the winter season when kids are home and bored, and need to find something to do with themselves to keep themselves occupied. This is a great time for you to help them make their own homemade ice cream. Keep the supplies on the shelf, and wisk them out on just such days. Everyone will be happy, would be kept busy (so that they don't get bored), and then enjoy a treat at the end, by eating the ice cream that they just made.

Steps:

1. Fill a gallon size bag half full with snow or crushed ice.
2. Add about 6 tablespoons of salt to the snow or ice. Seal the bag and mix for 5 minutes. Wear gloves when you're handling the bag.
3. Use a quart size zipper-lock bag to mix the following ingredients:
   •1/2 Cup Half & Half (or milk)
   •1 Tablespoon Sugar
   •1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible. Too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking. Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By 'double-bagging', the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized.
5. Place the two bags inside the gallon size bag with the ice, and seal the bag. Wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture. Five to eight minutes is adequate time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream.
6. Feel the consistency of the ice cream mixture through the bag. When it feels frozen enough to eat, remove the inner bags and rinse it well with water. You don't want any salt water accidentally getting into your ice cream.
7. Pick up your spoon and eat the ice cream right out of the bag!

Tips:

• Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes that will cause the bags to leak.
• You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging.
• If you plan to do this indoors, use gallon size freezer bags.
• Add well beaten raw egg for greater color, nutrition, and flavor. (Remember - raw eggs can carry salmonella.)
• Instead of milk, you may also add eggnog, and instead of vanilla you could try cinnamon, butterscotch flavoring, or almond flavoring.
• If you don't have snow in your area or you don't want dirty snow, you can make your own snow by blending ice.

Warnings:

• Make sure to wear gloves because the salt and ice mixture gets down to about 14°F (-10°C)!
• Don't eat too much of the snow, because of the dirt and pollution in it. If you really want to see what's in the snow you're going to eat, compact a bunch of snow, and put it in a glass jar, and observe. Not for the easily disgusted.
• Use fresh, clean snow. If the snow has been sitting for some time or is any color other than white, don't use it.

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