Raw Milk Ice Cream | Vanilla

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Raw milk ice cream is simple to make and absolutely delicious! You’ll feel good about serving this farm-fresh ice cream to your family! Choose how you sweeten it and enjoy this decadent treat!

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We have two cows in milk right now…two! That’s a lot of milk every day! We do this intentionally so that when it’s time to dry one cow off we have one fresh, that way we never are without fresh raw milk. However, there is a small amount of overlap and a time when we are dealing with about six gallons of milk a day! I’m thankful for this experience as it has pushed me to learn more and more ways to use raw milk! Of course, I will share them all with you here! Here are a few recipes

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Is Raw Milk Ice Cream Creamy?

I’m not really new to homemade ice cream, but in the past, most of the recipes I have used involved making a custard first and cooling it before churning. This method does make wonderful ice cream but I wanted to preserve the nutrients in the raw milk for this ice cream. Heating it kills all that goodness!

This ice cream is surprisingly creamy due in part to the egg yolks. This is a great way to use up extra eggs if you are in a season where your chickens are laying a lot! Any ice cream made in your kitchen with a counter top ice cream maker is by nature going to be a bit softer than store-bought ice cream. The consistency is more of a soft serve although you can still use an ice cream scoop.

If you wish for it to be firmer you can pop it in the freezer for a few hours and it will firm up although I don’t like the texture as much as when it is fresh.

A side note: It was over 100 degrees on the day I took these photos. The ice cream was melting so quickly! I will try to get better photos the next time I make it!

How to Sweeten Raw Milk Ice Cream?

This is what I love about making treats at home, you are in control. No wondering what sweetener or preservative has been used. You get to decide how and how much when it comes to the sweetener. Below is a list of sweeteners that would be suitable for homemade ice cream.

• Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar ( I use this for all my baking)
• Pure Maple Syrup
• Date Syrup, or you could soak 8 oz of pitted dates in the milk overnight and then blend it up
• Stevia
• Agave Nectar
• Coconut Sugar
• Honey

Of course, you would have to play around with amounts to see how sweet your chosen sweetener makes the ice cream. I know stevia needs to be cut way back as it is so very sweet.

Steps for Making Raw Milk Ice Cream

First, make sure your ice cream freezer bowl is frozen. Next, combine all the ingredients in a blender or mixing bowl. You can thoroughly blend this by hand with a whisk although it takes a bit of mixing to ensure any sugar is fully incorporated. An easier method is to use a blender or the whisk attachment on a Kitchenaid mixer. However you choose to mix it, just make sure it is thoroughly blended and there are no sugar granules left.

If your eggs are room temperature, you may want to chill the mixture for about an hour before putting it in the ice cream freezer. I have found that room-temperature eggs are warm enough that the ice cream won’t freeze properly in the ice cream maker. A good fix is to keep a few cartons in the fridge.

Once the whole mixture is nice and blended and cold, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your ice cream maker. This recipe is for a 2 qt ice cream maker. I also have an old-fashioned ice cream maker that makes 4 qts. For that one I double the recipe.

Can You Make Homemade Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker?

You actually can. I used to use this method back when I was a young mom and we had no extra money. Simply put the blended milk and cream mixture in a shallow baking dish. Place it in the freezer and stir it scraping down the sides every 30 minutes or so for the first few hours. Then let it firm up in the freezer for about 8 hours.

Which Ice Cream Maker is Best?

Good question! I wish I had the money and space for a professional soft-serve machine in our home! Wouldn’t that be something? In lieu of that I have chosen a counter top ice cream maker. I went with Cuisinart because I had seen several people recommend them and honestly they seem to have the most options! I love that you don’t have to use rock salt and ice and make a big mess. By the time I bought ice and rock salt, I’m wasn’t sure it was all that economical.

The main drawback with the countertop ice cream makers is that they only make 2 quarts. This is a problem for our large family. The answer is to have an extra freezer bowl, that way you can make a batch and then quickly make another one. It only takes 15-25 minutes to make! I have really enjoyed using it!

Cuisinart ICE 60 Gelateria, I’ve heard this one is good too, and it’s cheaper. I bought the one I did only because it was white!