Ice Cream in a Bag
Ice cream mix
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup half-and-half milk or heavy cream also work
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
For the ice bath
- 4 cups ice cubes
- ½ cup salt rock or table salt — for freezing, not eaten
- Stir the sugar, half-and-half, and vanilla together in a small zip-top bag. Press out the air and seal it tightly.
- Put the ice in a large zip-top bag and stir in the salt.
- Set the small sealed bag inside the large bag of salty ice and seal the large bag.
- Shake and massage the bags for about 5 minutes, wearing oven mitts or wrapping the bag in a towel — it gets colder than plain ice. The mix is ready when it firms into soft ice cream.
- Wipe the salty water off the outside of the small bag before opening it, so none gets into the ice cream. Eat right away.
The salt is the trick — it makes the ice cold enough to freeze the cream. Without it, the mix stays liquid.
