Helpful Hints for Homemade Ice Cream

1. CAUTION: DO NOT FILL THE FREEZER MORE THAN TWO THIRDS FULL OF MIXTURE TO BE FROZEN. EXAMINE CONTENTS AFTER FREEZER HAS BEEN IN OPERATION APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES TO SEE IF MIXTURE IS SUFFICIENTLY FROZEN.
   
2. Protect all working surfaces with newspaper. Salt is corrosive. Be careful not to kill valuable backyard grass.
   
3. Use rubber gloves to protect hands from cold and salt.
   
4. Do not use this freezer for commercial purposes.
   
5. Use a glass or plastic measuring cup for rock salt, since salt pits metals.
   
6. Use a wooden spoon for stirring and repacking ice cream to prevent melting (wood does not conduct heat).
   
7. It is best to make a cooked recipe the night before so it has plenty of time to chill.
   
8. Make sure your wooden scraper blades are 1/8" away from the metal dasher. These screws are set at the factory and should be loose, but never more than 1/8" or the end result may be freezing around the can while the middle remains liquid.
   
9. Freezing should not be too slow or too fast. A greater amount of salt will melt the ice faster, causing the ice cream to freeze faster. A too rapid freezing time does not allow for sufficient agitation and produces a coarse texture. An extended period of freezing causes a spongy, buttery texture.
   
10. You lose the delectable taste and good texture of homemade ice cream if it stores too long. It can be kept up to a month if properly packaged for freezing.
    
11. The salt used in making homemade ice cream is rock salt. It is a coarse salt and should be used instead of regular table salt.
    
12. You can hasten the hardening process by placing the entire can containing the ice cream mix (after initial churning) in the freezer unit of your refrigerator.
    
13. To your vanilla based mixtures, consider adding such flavor pick-ups as crumbled cookies or candies, granola, instant coffee mixes, small chocolate bits or even dabs of jams, jellies and peanut butter.
    
14. Fold in ingredients such as fresh or thawed frozen fruit slices about 20 minutes after removing the dasher from the churned ice cream mixture.
    
15. Try filling pre-cooked pie shells with ice cream before final hardening or orange and lemon shells with orange and lemon sherbets. Fill ice cream puff shells with ice cream and top off with sauce.
    
16. Fill parfait glasses with vanilla ice cream, add green creme de menthe and top with ice cream. Just use your imagination. There are endless pleasures in store for your with the aid of your White Mountain Freezer.