Fourth of July Memories - Celebrate with Homemade Ice Cream

One of my most favorite holidays is the 4th of July. Being a historian by education, I was a student of the birth and development of the USA. The 4th will always be special to me because of the principles our nation was founded on and for the vision of the founders. It is also special for the memories of growing up in KY—two of my favorite Uncles and their families returned home to visit over the 4th of July each year. It was always a time for catching up with my cousins and celebrating the holiday as a family. As our family and friends gathered to celebrate the Independence Holiday, memories were made while “cranking” the ice cream freezer and eating the cool, refreshing taste of good ole homemade ice cream. On a hot summer day, nothing beats finishing a meal with some homemade ice cream.

In 1963, the original Favorite Recipes Press got its start by publishing a series of cookbooks titled the Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers. The original series, recently reproduced for QVC, consisted of Casseroles, Meats, Salads, Vegetables and Desserts. Each book contained over 2,000 recipes and each was submitted by certified Home Economics teachers from across the USA. What better reference to find a true “made in the USA” recipe than these books. They were a great hit on QVC when promoted early this year and thousands of copies of each were sold.

While there are a ton of choices to pick from, I chose Ruth Stovall’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream from the Desserts title. Ruth was the head of the Alabama Home Economics Association and a long time friend of FRP. Ruth passed away last year but her contributions to society through the teaching and training of Alabama youth for years will always be remembered.

While Ruth featured peaches, she was quick to point out that strawberries or bananas could easily be substituted. This recipe doesn’t call for raw eggs and that is one of the reasons, along with its yummy taste, that I like it so well.

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

1 quart milk + 1 cup (or more depending on the amount of fruit to be used)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 small can evaporated milk

1 pt. whipping cream

1 c. sugar

3 smashed peaches (fresh) or strawberries mixed with ¾ c. sugar and juice of 1 lemon

Combine first 6 ingredients and freeze to a mush in an electric or hand-turned freezer. Add peaches (or other fruit) mixture and freeze hard. Remove dasher and pack with ice and salt until ready to serve.

Note:  Keeps well in deep freeze without getting icy. Whether you hand crank, electric crank or use one of the new inside kitchen ice cream freezers, this dessert will be a hit and the tip on freezing later without becoming icy will be irrelevant.

What's your favorite homemade ice cream recipe?