Escape ‘Spring to Forget’ with Grandpa’s summer treat

Bill Knight column for 5-25, 26 or 27, 2020

Just for a moment, let’s ditch our woes and consider ice cream, particularly HOMEMADE ice cream. And – now being a first-time grandfather – I’ve dusted off my own grandpa’s version for the arrival of June, summer and (hopefully) outdoor get-togethers when it’s safe to share meals and memories in backyards.

Ice-cream makers were invented in the 1800s, but the treat’s been traced to ancient China, Greece, Persia and Rome. Some places flavored ice or snow with fruit or honey; some mixed milk and rice with syrup. 

As for the heritage of this recipe – the result of trials-and-errors and (defective, if delicious) experiments – I’m escaping this Spring to Forget by remembering Albert Avery Knight. Born in 1907, my grandpa was a long-time Standard Oil sales rep whose business card said “A.A. Knight” but everyone called him “Shorty” because he was 6-foot, 4 inches tall and the world had a sense of humor.

Among favorite memories of Grandpa was at his house in Carthage, Ill., where he hosted kin to make ice cream in the shade of an old elm tree (where a neighbor’s dog used to run up its side and sit in the crotch of its trunk, honest to God). His lawn furniture included a red metal glider and we’d swing on it as he worked his wood-bucket, hand-cranked ice-cream freezer, occasionally taking a break to let us sample the salty ice.

One time, during an ice-cream-making session when I was a toddler, I was chewing on a melting ice cube when it got stuck in my throat. Dad swept in, picked me up and did a pre-Heimlich maneuver on me to dislodge the ice, and I vaguely recall being annoyed at the rough remedy until I saw Grandpa laughing.

He laughed a lot, and he seemed to smile all the time. Maybe it was the salesman in him, but despite an occasional ulcer, he was happy-go-lucky. He chewed gum all the time, kept marshmallow peanuts in his company car, and walked with a breezy gait, jingling coins in his pocket that often ended up in my hands.

I was a preschooler when I got separated from Mom at church and was wandering around among what seemed like endless waves of adult legs, weeping, until I saw him coming down some stairs.

“What’s happening, Billy?” he asked, kneeling face-to-face.

“Mom’s lost!” I cried, and he took my hand and said, “Well, let’s just go find her …”

Grandpa was a hard-working guy, too, driving a “route” that covered western Illinois from Quincy to Peoria when almost every small town had a Standard Oil filling station selling gas and the tires and other supplies he’d sell. But he relaxed, too. One evening, with my brother and me spending some vacation time with him, Grandpa took a swig of Pepsi (with peanuts he’d dropped in the bottle), sighed, smiled and said, “Billy, I can do a year’s work in 11 months, but not in 12.” I didn’t understand that until I worked my first full-time job.

It won’t be work when (soon, I pray) I’ll smile like Shorty and once more make his ice cream and relax – and hopefully introduce my grandkid to the distinctive delight. Try it:

SHORTY KNIGHT’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

Ingredients: 1 Quart whole milk, 6 eggs, 2 Cups white sugar, 1 Pint whipping cream, 1 13-ounce can Evaporated milk, and 1½ Teaspoons vanilla extract.

Directions: In a large bowl, whip cream until it stiffens. In a second bowl, whip the eggs, then add the sugar to the eggs mixture and mix again. Pour the second bowl into the first, and add the vanilla and milk. Stir slightly. If you can stand it, refrigerate the blend a few hours (overnight is even better). Before using the ice-cream maker/freezer, stir again very slightly, and then fill the freezer compartment halfway.

Surround with ice cubes (not crushed, creating air spaces), and occasionally sprinkle rock salt on the ice to increase melting and accelerate freezing. Crank or motorize the concoction until the blades slow or stop. Scoop into a separate container and continue with prepared mix, again filling (cleaned-out) freezer halfway; repeat.

Make it! And make some memories.