The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker promises that you can “have a ball” then end up with a delicious home made ice cream treat. Geeze, just when you thought making ice cream was old hat… Can you imagine, working  for your dessert? No need for electricity… Just add ice cream mix in one end and ice and rock salt in the other. Then “have a ball” so they say.  You literally toss in the ingredients and throw the ball around until the ice cream is made. This is better left to the kids, shaking it, passing it around and rolling  it.

How the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker Works

The Play and Freeze comes in two sizes - standard and mega. You’ll also need the ingredients to make ice cream. Here’s the basic vanilla recipe…

On the top end of the ball you add
1 pint of Half & Half
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

If you want richer, creamier ice cream,  whole cream is the way to go. If you are using part half and half and part milk it makes a lighter ice cream. The only problem is that it  but takes longer to freeze. It yields about a pint of creamy smooth ice cream for the small ball and a quart for the Mega Ball.

1. In a container, mix up your ice cream ingredients, then pour the mix into the end with of the cylinder. Leave about one inch on the top for expansion.
2. Fill the ice end with as much ice as possible, then add 1/2 cup of rock salt. (MEGA: Add 3/4 cup of rock salt).
3. The lid should be hand tightened.  Then go have a  ball! Shake, roll and pass it around as you mix and freeze the ingredients. It’s not necessary to actually  shake the ball…just motion will do it! After about 10 minutes (15 for the MEGA ball) open the ice cream end using the included plastic wrench.
4. Scrape the sides of the cylinder to mix up the ice cream using a wooden or plastic spoon. Don’t use a metal spoon since it will scratch the cylinder.
5. Now check the ice end. You can pour out the excess water and add more ice and up to 1/3 cup more rock salt to enhance the freezing ability. Close the lids securely and continue having a ball for approximately 5–10 more minutes. (15 for MEGA)

Some Issues You Might Encounter

• You might have to crush the ice since larger ice cubes don’t easily fit inside it.
• Since a fully loaded ice cream ball is around 7 lbs, very  young children might get tired of rolling the ball around before the ice cream was ready.
• It seems like a fun idea for kids to roll the ball around but it’s not soft. The kids seem to end up passing it off to the parents to shake whos arms inevitably get very tired.
• The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball is more of a novelty toy. Why isn’t it the best ice cream maker? It doesn’t have anything on the inside to stir the ice cream like a regular ice cream churn. This is what  puts air into the mixture and evenly mixes the ice cream. This helps the milk mixture have a chance to be close to the icy cold sides of the container. If you’re craving home made ice cream, you might actually find more value, more ice cream servings and less hassle buying yourself a electric ice cream maker.
• The positive points are that it needs no electricity so it may be good for camping trips. Also, you can create your own flavored gourmet style ice cream.

The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker can be found at Bed Bath and Beyond for $25.  Overall, the consistency is generally more soft-serve ice cream. But it will vary based on your mix, the ice, shaking frequency and the outside temperature, shaking frequency, etc. Once the ice cream is at the consistency that you like,  gently scoop it out and enjoy! With fresh garden vegetables soon on the way, I thought you might like to check out the latest kitchen gadget…the Titan Peeler.

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