I suppose I should have known I was tempting fate when I declared our last snow/sleet as the Last Hurrah of winter.
We got about 4 inches of perfect, fluffy snow last night, and today had snow ice cream written all over it.
Encouraged by one of my brothers (who got about an 8″ snowfall in his neck of the woods), I made snow ice cream for the kids today. I may have sampled some myself.
Here’s the method, not an exact recipe, but the way we have made snow ice cream in our family for over 50 years.
Step 1: Wait for a nice, dry, powdery snowfall
Step 2: Take your biggest bowl and a big spoon outside or put it in the freezer. I buried mine in the snow for about ten minutes.
Step 3: Open a can of sweetened evaporated milk and add 2 to 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Stir it in. If you have a very large bowl and want to make an extra large batch, use 2 cans of milk and another dose of vanilla.
Step 4: Remove the snow used to chill the bowl and scrap any ice crystals off the inside of the bowl. Fill the bowl with fresh snow from a nice, clean, shady spot.
Step 5: If you can stand it, bring the milk outside and drizzle it over the snow. I leave the bowl in the snow while I stir in the sweetened condensed milk so everything stays very cold. If you like, you can bring everything inside, just stir quickly!
The snow ice cream is ready to eat when the milk is incorporated. For best flavor and texture, eat it soon after it’s made and keep any leftovers covered outside or in the freezer.
The batch shown here is probably a little light on the milk and heavy on snow. It was still very good!
Ummmm, looks yummy, I am going to e mail this to my daughter. I am at work. she can try it.
I remember this as a kid. It was so good and back then, the snow was sooooo much better.
Those were fun childhood memories.
Daisy, I’d very much like to reprint (cut and paste) this article in our Memphis Area Master Gardener blogspot–Musings. Do I have your permission? Thanks in advance! JJ James
jj james–Of course, JJ. Anything, anytime.
WOW, thank you for this recipe. My Mom used to make this for us in the winter when we were growing up in Minnesota. I have tried to make it a few times over the years, but it never seemed to taste like my Mom’s version. I now live in Boise, ID, so we don’t get that much snow, but I am copying your recipe to keep for future reference.
I really love your recipes for homemade everything and have tried quite a few that I love. Keep up the great work.
Judy L. Thank you! I hope it tastes like Mom’s. (Of course nothing ever does, though, does it?) Thanks for the encouragement!
kay–It is good! I wonder what has changed about the snow?