My friend Squeaky [1] replied to my chocolate ice rock post [2] backing up Bunny's assertion that sugar content is key when making ice cream—to little and ice crystalization takes over making for a rather solid ice rock than ice cream. So on Friday, I went back to basics and made the basic vanilla ice cream receipe:
Mix, chill, churn.
I wasn't quite satisfied with making a vanilla ice cream, so I decided to add cherries—I chopped up a bunch of cherries (the hardest part was getting the seeds out—man they were stubborn), a bit of sugar, chill, and add in the last few minutes of churning. I was initially concerned because the instant I added the cherries, the mixture starting loosening up—I think the cherries to a bit too warm. Next time I think I'll freeze the cherries before adding them.
But after sitting in the freezer overnight, the results were much better—I actually had ice cream and not a large rock. Lesson learned—sugar is key to ice cream.