Ice cream making in the small studio

While folks in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the last days of summer, the temperature is rising here in the south. And the humidity is going down. Way down - last week, we were down to 10% relative humidity, which is desert like (the World Health Organization recommends at least 60% for healthy living, so, yeah, very low).

The warm sunshine had me craving something smooth, tart and icy. Frozen yogurt, as a matter of fact. But the freezer was bare and I didn't want to leave the house just for my treat. Deb Stoner, however, taught me well: "we are jewelers and we can do anything." So here is how this jeweler made creamy frozen yogurt.

First, empty the only ice tray into a ziplock baggie (yes, the only one. Bachelorette living at its finest). Then, use your general duty hammer to bash it into smaller pieces. Mind you, don't use the mirror polished hammer. You never know what may mar it and it is nearly sacred in my studio.

Now, put the crushed ice in a barrel, fill it 3/4 up with water and add salt. I am using barbecue salt crystals, because that is what I had on hand. It is great for salt casting as well, with all the textures. Throw in a small pot of yogurt too, since that is the main objective of this.

To get creamy frozen yogurt or ice cream, it is important to churn it or stir it constantly as it freezes. Otherwise, you get a solid lump of frozen stuff and that is not good. Since I have no ice cream maker and I didn't really want to stir the yogurt constantly, I improvised: the tumbler. It is usually used to finish jewelry, by turning the barrel and pushing little steel balls against the silver, to strengthen and give it shine. Since it is slowly spinning around, it also works beautifully to churn my yogurt.

Half an hour latter, here we have a perfect pot of frozen yogurt, perfect on a hot day.

Note - rubber barrels don't really like ice and salt. Rinse it thoroughly before and after use and don't do this too often, otherwise the rubber may become dry and crack.