THE ALTERNATIVE: 20- MINUTE ICE CREAM

Premade mixes make ice cream in under an hour, no matter your machine, and act as an easy base for more creative flavours. Some of these mixes are reliably delicious, but will turn out icier from lack of egg yolk and are admittedly less fun than making it from scratch.

Nostalgia Electric Ice-cream

Maker C/ Short of a four- or five-figure commercial machine, nothing cools ice cream faster – for a smoother texture – than the centuries-old method of packing ice and salt (4:1 ratio) around a metal bucket and churning. An electric motor replaces the traditional hand crank, but if that’s more your style, follow our instructions for a manual maker on overleaf. D/ The double-walled insulation will keep your homemade half-litre cold for 12 hours. If you don’t plan on sharing, the insulated lid is also a bowl. To keep your ice cream at its hardest, cool the jar in your freezer before scooping it in.

E/ Built for an afternoon in the park, the Bucket Cooler can fit up to a 3,8-litre tub with room for ice. The waterproof liner is removable for easy cleaning of any spillage. Ben Cohen and his business partner, Jerry Greenfield, never planned on building a business. Forty years later, Ben & Jerry’s is sold in 35 countries. POPULAR MECHANICS: How did it all begin? BEN COHEN: So, what can I tell you? The story goes, ice cream started with Marco Polo. He had runners who would bring ice from.. cold places, I guess, and they’d flavour it. PM: Did you have this interest in ice cream before Ben & Jerry’s? BC: No, not really. We never planned on, you know, having a big ice-cream business. It was an era of homemade ice cream, like Steve’s Ice Cream in Massachusetts. We just wanted a shop like that. PM: What the company grew to – was it just as surprising to you guys? BC: Well, we were just trying to survive. We opened in Burlington, Vermont. It gets cold there. In the winter people stopped buying ice cream. We weren’t thinking about the future, there wasn’t much of a strategy. Vermont as a market isn’t so good. There aren’t a lot of people. PM: I went to school in Vermont, so I know that. BC: Aha! Right. But, what it has are tourists. They got introduced to our ice cream and demanded it when they got home. PM: The crazy chunks and swirls, where’d you get that inspiration? BC: Ever since I was a kid, whenever my mother served ice cream for dessert, I would find some cookies or candies. Chop ’em up, mush ’em around in the ice cream. It was kind of second nature when I started making ice cream to do the same thing. PM: Do you still make ice cream at home? BC: For special flavours, special people. I made “Bernie’s Yearning” for the election. PM: Favourite Ben & Jerry’s flavour. BC: Last night I finished a pint of Chubby Hubby that was even better than I remember. PM: Our editor-in-chief once ate a Vermonster with Jerry, at a store opening in 1996. BC: Ha! That’s beautiful.