In the May 2013 issue of Farm Collector, Terry Spahr shares his story of finding the perfect miniature steam engine to make old-fashioned ice cream with. After locating and transporting the 1/3-scale, 2-cylinder custom-built Gaar-Scott model steam engine to Los Angeles, Terry hooked it up to a Country Freezer ice cream freezer to make some delicious confections.
Want to try some of Terry's delicious ice cream recipes? Here are just a few:
All of Terry Spahr’s “steam cream” recipes start with a commercial low-fat ice cream mix (vanilla or chocolate) he gets from a local dairy. To each portion he adds heavy cream on a 2-to-1 ratio (2 quarts of mix to 1 quart of heavy cream).
• Vanilla Ice Cream: To the base above, add 1 can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk and 6 tablespoons vanilla extract. There are many vanilla recipes on the Internet, but add heavy cream as an enrichment.
• Butter Pecan Ice Cream: Follow directions for the vanilla mix above and add the following: 1-1/2 tablespoons maple flavoring, 1-1/2 tablespoons butter flavoring, 1-1/2 tablespoon instant butterscotch pudding (dissolved in water or milk), 1 pound pecan halves, 1/2 stick butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Melt the butter and brown sugar in an iron skillet and add the pecans and saute until toasted and covered. Refrigerate the pecan mixture, adding when you put the base mix in the freezer (that preserves the candy-like coating on the nuts).
• AC/DC Ice Cream: Start with the vanilla base recipe as above and add 2 cups of maraschino cherry halves and a cup of cherry juice, 1-1/2 cups almond syrup, and 1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (chop the chocolate chips in a food processor before adding).
• Oreo Cookies and Cream: Start with the vanilla base recipe above. Pour into can; freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. After the ice cream is finished and prior to serving, dump in a generous amount of chopped Oreo cookies.
• Chocolate Ice Cream: Start with chocolate-flavored dairy mix. Add heavy cream and chocolate syrup, about two cups.