This is the Ice Cream formula used by Alma Hendrix, with some tweaks by Grant and Gary. This could have come from Mary Jane Fleming or from the Frymires, or from Molly Hendrix. This is close to Hazel Frymire’s formula, but Hazel kept all of her notes in her head so we will never know exactly how she make the Poverty Knob version.
For One Gal.
3 C sugar
1/3 C flour. (For Grant's ice cream, use 1 C flour. I don't think Hazel used flour.)
t salt
6 eggs (but Alma and would slip in more, and Hazel a lot more)
qt 1/2 & 1/2 (light cream) (Hazel used heavy cream)
qt Milnot
whole milk
3 t vanilla
4 Junket rennet tablets
(C of jelly and T lemon, or 12 oz can of chocolate fudge sauce — these are optional and were never used by any of the Flemings)
Milnot is a milk substitute. If you like, use ½&½ or evaporated milk or whole milk instead. Some people (but no one in our family) like to use Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. These products give distinctive flavors to the mix. People who like Milnot often do not like Eagle Brand. Make lots of different batches and experiment until you get what YOU want.
½ & ½ will give you more of a flavor like high-quality store-bought ice cream
Milnot or evaporated milk contribute to the distinctive taste I associate with homemade ice cream.
EagleBrand makes it taste like the stuff I would get when I went to friend’s houses when they said
their folks were making ice cream. I was always felt sad for those kids, but they (and you) might
think it is great.
You don't have to use the flour. The Flemings never did it and I always loved their ice cream.
The jelly and lemon is for making fruit ice creams. For vanilla, just leave those out. The best ice cream I ever had, other than what I got at Hazel and Ivan's farm, was made with blackberry jam.
Disperse the Junket Rennet tablets in a dab of water (like 5 Tbsp). This gets easier if they sit in water for several minutes. Use room-temperature water only. Put the tablets in the water first thing, and then they will be ready later when you need them.
Mix sugar, flour and salt very well while dry.
In BIG pan, beat eggs
Add ½&½ and/or Milnot to eggs.
As you slowly heat and constantly stir, add in sugar mix.
(I beat the eggs using a hand held electric mixer, then throw in the liquids. I slowly add in the dry stuff while the milk and egg mix is on the stove heating up, with the mixer running the whole time. I keep stirring all the time to keep the flour from going to the bottom and to keep the milk from boiling on the bottom.)
You can pasteurize the mix if you like (140 degrees), but at least get it so that it is warm to the touch. Do not boil the milk. (Also, if mixture is over about 120 degrees when you put in the rennet, the rennet may not work.)
Take the pan off the heat.
If you got the mixture really hot, let it cool to 110 degrees.
Add dispersed Junket Rennet tablets to the mix, and stir for a minute but no more.
Cover the mixture and let it sit.
After it cools down a bit, put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, you can freeze it, but it is much better if you let it sit in the fridge over night. I never knew Mother or Hazel to let it sit over night, but I have done this and it is MUCH smoother.)
When you are about ready to freeze, add the vanilla.
(Bea Foster says to add ½ tsp orange extract along with the vanilla.)
(Grant Hendrix says to use Mexican vanilla and forget the orange)
If you are going to do fruit, add the lemon. If the jelly or fruit does not have big chunks, you can put it in now. Otherwise, wait until the ice cream is almost frozen and then put it in. That will keep it from sinking to the bottom.
To cut freezing time, place the mixture in a deep freeze for about an hour before freezing. This will save you a lot of work.
Use whole milk to bring the freezer up to the full line. Remember how much extra milk you needed and add that to the heated mixture next time. If you plan to add fruit, leave room for that. Remember, the mixture will expand as it freezes. Until you know your freezer, it is better to make too little rather than to make too much.
For low-cal, use milk, even low-fat milk, for the ½&½, Milnot, etc. However, keep in mind that the more fat the better the taste.
The best freezers to use are the hand cranked ones made by White Mountain. These cost about $100 and are worth every cent.
You don’t have to use rennet, but it makes the ice cream richer and smoother. Rennet is an enzyme that converts milk to something with more body. Junket is a brand of rennet, and many ice cream makers just call it Junket.