Take Me To Your Freezer

Q: What is the item pictured above?

A: If you guessed "a Martian communication device" or "a prop from a Michael Crichton film," you are incorrect. It is, in fact, the Play & Freeze ice cream maker.

It was given to me for Christmas several years ago and has languished in disuse ever since, waiting for that special moment when I have the urge both to play and to freeze something simultaneously.

The Play & Freeze's big chance came this weekend thanks to a brutal heatwave and 48 hours devoted to being a homebody. For the past two days I have been absorbed with cooking, home improvement projects, working my way diligently through the Neverending To Do List, and keeping up with the Tour de France (there is nothing, nothing, quite so satisfying on a hot day as lying splayed out on the couch with a breakfast pastry and watching a gaggle of men with 1% body fat scramble after each other up a 10% incline). In yuppie terminology this is known as "recharging." I spent the weekend recharging.

In the course of my ongoing battle to get my kitchen into some semblance of order, I came upon the Play & Freeze. As any of you who live in a New York apartment know, every possession must pull its own weight. That square foot being used by the Play & Freeze could be a salad bowl. It could be a copper roasting pan. The Play & Freeze simply cannot go on taking up space without proving its utility.

So, I decided I would put it to the test with a batch of ginger ice cream.

I heated 2 cups cream, 2 cups whole milk, and a few slices of peeled fresh ginger in a saucepan over low heat. As soon as bubbles started forming around the edges, I stirred it for five minutes.



I removed it from the heat, fished out the ginger slices, and stirred in 2/3 cup sugar. I waited for the mixture to cool and then added 2 tablespoons of minced preserved ginger.



After a couple hours of cooling in the fridge, the time came to load my ice cream mix into the Play & Freeze. Into the other end of the ball went ice and 8 Tbsp of course (preferably rock) salt.



The instructions call for the ball to be kicked, spun, rolled, tossed, what have you, for 10 minutes. Then you open up the ice cream container, scrape down the sides, and continue with the playing for another 10 minutes.



After the allotted time had passed, I scooped the ice cream into chilled beer mugs and topped it with apricots and sugarplums.



Play & Freeze Pros:
-A carbon-neutral way to make ice cream
-If ever put in a situation with children, this may be a successful way to distract and subdue them
-Twenty minutes tossing ball makes you feel like "you've really earned this ice cream"



Play & Freeze Cons:
-Twenty minutes tossing ball makes you feel like "you've really earned this ice cream"
-Ice cream comes out just barely frozen, and melts almost immediately upon removal from ball (especially if put in anything but chilled glasses, then forget about it); would never serve this to guests
-Only makes enough for 2-3 servings anyway

In summary, the Play & Freeze is the ice cream equivalent of an Easy-Bake Oven: a toy which produces a result that's edible, but no substitute for the real deal. So, I'm giving this baby a thumbs down. Do not buy yourself a Play & Freeze. If ever you decide that it's really a good idea to own your own ice cream maker, you can get one that works at the touch of button for like $50 (and in that case, you should definitely try the above ginger ice cream recipe).

The Viking, if you're reading this: I'm already shopping for a new Le Creuset, now that we have the space.