If you love ice cream and have never made it at home, you’re in for a real treat.

Little kids and big kids alike love the cool, creamy taste of homemade ice cream on a hot, sunny day. Buying frozen concoctions at the store or supermarket is always an option, but for a true taste sensation try making ice cream with fresh ingredients right at home.

Homemade ice cream begins with basic household ingredients. Sugar, cream, milk and flavorings like vanilla, strawberries or cocoa is all you need. At the touch of a button, your homemade ice cream machine will turn these ingredients into something truly marvelous. It can also be used to make sorbet, frozen yogurt, slush and frozen beverages. It’s so easy to use, that you and the kids can make homemade ice cream whenever you feel like a sweet treat.

It’s incredible to think that a machine that brings such sweet joy can really be so simple:

1. Inside the ice cream maker, seated in its belly, are storage containers. You will pour your blended ingredients into this storage container.

2. The mixture is drawn from the storage container into a freezing chamber edged with refrigerant liners.

3. The mixture is blended and fluffed with by agitator blades that are powered by an electric motor.

4. As the ice cream begins to firm up, and sets in the refrigerated chamber

5. To serve, simply raise the handle on the dispenser unit, and the ice cream will fall into your bowl or cone.

Years ago, families gathered together to take turns making ice cream. The ingredients were mixed in a prepared metal container that was stored in a mixture of salt and ice. Mother and the children then took turns stirring the ingredients with a wooden paddle, or turning a crank connected to mixing paddles. It was extremely tiring work, but with sweet results. Years later, the metal container would be fit with a motorized paddle agitator. Today, of course, ice cream makers require almost no effort at all, to be able to create the same delicious homemade flavor.

If you have kids or grandkids, pick up an ice cream maker to create a sweet treat for any occasion.