Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Warm the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. With a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk, then add the pod as well. Cover the pan, take it off the heat, and let the vanilla steep for 1 hour.
2. To start the ice cream base, make an ice bath by nestling a 2-quart (2l) bowl inside a larger bowl partly filled with ice and water. Place a strainer over the smaller bowl, then pour the cream into that bowl.
3. In another bowl, stir the egg yolks together. Warm the milk again, then slowly pour some of it into the yolks, whisking the whole time so they stay smooth. Scrape the warmed yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
4. Cook the custard over low heat, stirring constantly and sweeping the bottom of the pan with a heat-resistant spatula, until it thickens enough to coat the spatula.
5. Pour the custard through the strainer into the heavy cream. Stir the bowl over the ice until the mixture is cool, add the vanilla extract, and refrigerate until well chilled, preferably overnight.
6. Take out the vanilla bean, then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.