The Absolute Best Dairy For Rich Homemade Ice Cream

Making ice cream at home can be challenging for a multitude of reasons. You may have forgotten to freeze the canister ahead of time, or neglected to add salt to balance the sweetness of the dessert. While there are plenty of mistakes you might make with homemade ice cream, now, using the right type of dairy won't be one of them. We spoke with Zac Young, TV personality on Food Network and owner of Sprinkletown Donuts & Ice Cream, who informed us that half-and-half is the ideal type of dairy to use for the richest, creamiest homemade ice cream. 

Young begins by telling us that the most important component in making a deliciously creamy homemade ice cream is the fat content of your ice cream base. "The key to ice cream is the right ratio of fat, sugar, and water," says Young, "which allows it to freeze properly and create a great texture." Fat carries flavor, which is another reason why it's such an essential element in ice cream. The lower temperatures of foods like ice cream and sorbet actually inhibit our taste buds and the way that they can pick up on flavor, especially when registering sweetness, which is harder to do with cold foods. This is important to remember as you begin to play around with different flavors and additions to elevate your homemade ice cream, as the flavors and sweetness levels will be more subtle once the ice cream is fully chilled.

Zac Young prefers to use half-and-half for making ice cream, as it strikes the ideal balance of fat for a frozen dessert that's smooth and custardy, but not too stiff. "If your ice cream base is too fatty, it can cause a grainy texture because the butter fat globs together while churning, like you are making butter," notes Young. On the other hand, you want to avoid using only milk, especially low-fat or skim milk, because "not enough fat can lead to [the ice cream] being icy because of the water content," warns Young.

There is a difference between half-and-half and heavy cream. Half-and-half is made of equal parts heavy cream and whole milk, while heavy cream is the thick, fatty layer that floats to the top of a vat of fresh milk. Heavy cream is commonly sold in grocery stores as heavy whipping cream, which gives you a sense of how rich it is, compared to half-and-half, which is something many people prefer to splash in their coffee. As Young mentions, using only heavy cream to make homemade ice cream would yield a product that's too thick and fatty, while half-and-half allows you to achieve a creamy, custardy texture without risk of the water content being too high and crystallizing into ice shards.