As I write this column, the first day of summer is on the horizon. It won’t be long before July 4 gatherings celebrate our nation’s independence. 

Back in the day, home churned, hand cranked ice cream was a staple on the summer entertaining menu. A much treasured ritual, especially on this meaningful holiday. 

Today homemade ice cream doesn’t have to involve “elbow grease” to churn up a batch. Ice cream makers do all the work. 

Are you a fan of strawberry ice cream? I’ve got 2 recipes for you: one made with frozen sweetened strawberries and the other with fresh strawberries. Both are churned in an ice cream maker.

But, don’t let not having an ice cream maker stop you from tucking into a large scoop of this frozen treat. Check out the recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream frozen in a loaf pan. 

Full disclosure here: none start out with a traditional cooked custard made with egg yolks. That’s a process in itself, and if you’re inclined to make ice cream from scratch, you’ll like the recipe for cooked custard vanilla ice cream.

But for now, let’s go with this trio of versatile recipes.

Homemade strawberry ice cream with frozen sweetened berries

So easy, and pretty, too. 

Ingredients

12-16 oz. frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed — enough to make 1 cup sweetened puree

1-1/4 cups whipping cream, unwhipped 

2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

Pour berries into blender or food processor. Blend until as smooth as you like.

Pour whipping cream and vanilla in. Blend until mixed.

Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Mine took 20 minutes.) 

Eat immediately as soft serve, or freeze for firmer set.

Homemade strawberry ice cream with fresh berries

Ingredients

Enough fresh strawberries, diced, to make a generous  cup — about 1 pound

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup sugar or to taste

1-1/2 cups whipping cream, unwhipped

1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

Whirl strawberries, honey and sugar in blender or food processor. Blend as smooth as you like. Or mash by hand, which will result in larger berry pieces.

Pour into a bowl, whisk in cream and vanilla. 

Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Mine took 20 minutes.) 

Eat immediately as soft serve, or freeze for firmer set. 

Swap it out!

Just about any fresh berry works here, so do your thing.

No churn homemade vanilla ice cream

Can you see the tiny black specks in the ice cream? Those are from my homemade vanilla bean extract.

Ingredients

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups whipping cream, unwhipped

Instructions

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Place in freezer

Whisk milk and vanilla together. Set aside in refrigerator. 

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Fold whipped cream into milk mixture. 

Pour into prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap on top to prevent ice crystals from forming, then cover again with plastic wrap or foil.

Freeze at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Homemade vanilla ice cream from scratch

Check out the recipe on thespruceeats.com/step-by-step-ice-cream-recipe. It has a full tutorial. Here’s a photo of the ice cream on their site.