I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Since Thanksgiving, for each Wednesday, the 4-H after-school mentoring program participants were provided with the opportunity to be creative and make a homemade Christmas-like craft. From making a tiny box from recycled cards, crafting a holiday design snowman, tree, gingerbread man or stocking, making cookie cutter Christmas cookies to making homemade ice cream, the participants were eager to taste and share the final results.

Utilizing a nostalgic traditional hand crank ice cream maker, complete with an aluminum canister and plastic paddle inserted into the middle of the canister, the children were provided with a recipe and instruction from Mrs. Diane Dumont, 4-H Program Educator for Franklin County Cornell Cooperative Extension. In her demonstration, Mrs. Dumont, who also in her spare time volunteers for the Burke, New York Almonzo Wilder Association, shared with the children historical information for making homemade ice cream back in the days of Almonzo Wilder. Almonzo Wilder, who was depicted by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her books – Farmer Boy, had lived in Burke, New York from 1857-1875. Mrs. Dumont told the children that living in the time of Almonzo Wilder and having ice cream was not an everyday event. Diane shared with the children that “sugar,” one of the key ingredients for making this delightful mixture was very sparse. Therefore, making ice cream and eating ice cream, was only for “special” occasions.

Allowing many of the 4-H Members to measure, pour and stir the key ingredients of heavy cream, milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla, the mixture was ready to be churned in the hand-cranked container. Upon settling and centering the aluminum canister into the pine wood bucket and fastening the hand crank, crushed ice cubes were distributed around the inside of the bucket. Added to the top of the ice, rock salt is utilized to create a “brine” type solution or a liquid that forms in the wooden bucket. This solution absorbs the heat from the mixture of the ingredients and will gradually lower the temperature until it begins to freeze. Essentially, the rapid cooling and freezing of the mixture makes for a smooth creamy ice cream.

Mustering up their inner most strength, many of the participants took their turn at cranking, cranking and cranking some more until the opportunity arrived to savor their delicately, deliciously created homemade ice cream.

In addition, a Christmas Holiday party was held that included swimming and many “sweet” treats supplied by the children. In the weeks leading up to the party, a “potato” hockey tournament was held where teams of 4 individuals squared off in a taped-off rectangle area of 10’ x 10’, utilizing halved “pool” noodles as hockey sticks and a potato served as the “puck.” The team who scored three points earned the opportunity to challenge other teams in the tournament style brackets. The runner up and winning team earned 4-H memorabilia type prizes for their effort. Others prizes were presented to teams of individuals who successfully completed a dairy “word-scramble” the fastest, and to individuals who submitted colored drawings of a 4-H Holiday Wreath, traditional Dream Catcher or a Winter Logged Cabin scene. The 4-H After School Mentoring Holiday party concluded with a gift exchange.

To learn more about 4-H in Franklin County or the 4-H Tribal Mentoring program, one may call the Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Office at 483-7403; Connie Gerow at 518-358-4271 or Tsiehente Herne at 613-360-6388.