Heat permeates through clothes, rooms and minds all day and into the evening. Nothing satisfies at the moment. All you want to do is stay inside, anything to avoid the heat. The lack of afternoon soaking rains and the abundance of hot, dry and sometimes unbearably humid weather demand cold – from air conditioning to food.

While I remember the days of old fashioned, hand-churned ice cream that was worth the effort, my early years saw the arrival of electric ice cream makers. No real, true ice cream is low in calories or fat but the results are not only soothing but also delicious. I will eat any homemade ice cream, sorbet or sherbet, but have found those I make tend to not have egg in them. No rhyme or reason here to it, but my recipes below just happen to be mostly eggless. Drag out the freezer, quickly whip up the ingredients, sit back in the cool of your home and let the machine do all of the sweaty work.

This first recipe is the tried-and-true basic, passed along to me years ago from my friend Coco, who hails from Demopolis. You can add anything to this ice cream. I have used it to make all kinds of fruit ice cream, but the best is to take an entire box of Andes mints, freeze them and then add to ice cream before placing it in the freezer. This could not be any easier.

Coco’s Ice Cream

1 can Eagle brand milk

1 large can evaporated milk

3 tablespoons vanilla

One and a half cups sugar

2 cups fruit, Andes mints, chocolate chips or whatever you like

Place all in ice cream freezer container. Finish filling the can with regular milk. Follow directions to freeze.

This tangy ice cream stands out due to the inclusion of fresh lemon juice.

Mother Pryor’s Peach Ice Cream

“Come on in!”

4 cups fresh peaches, mashed before measuring

Three and a half cups sugar

One-fourth cup fresh lemon juice

1 pint heavy cream

One-fourth teaspoon salt

Milk

Mix together peaches, sugar and lemon juice. Slowly blend in cream and add salt. Place mixture in ice cream freezer and add milk to fill line, freeze according to directions.

By the time you read this next one, I will have tried it for the first time. It appears easy, different and does not require an ice cream freezer. I have looked at it for years.

Southern Strawberry Sorbet

“Come on in!”

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled

2 cups sugar

2 cups buttermilk

Puree strawberries and sugar in a food processor. Add buttermilk and blend well. Pour in 9” x 12” baking dish and freeze one hour (center will be mushy). Transfer mixture to processor and whip. Return to freezer at least four more hours.

Likely a decade has passed since I last made this chocolate ice cream, which involves little prep work. If I make it again I might try dark chocolate.

Chocolate Ice Cream

“Recipe Jubilee!”

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

One and a third cups sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cold water

2 cups heavy cream

Melt chocolate in double boiler top. Add condensed milk and stir over rapidly boiling water five to ten minutes or until thick. Remove from heat. Gradually add water and cream, mixing well. Cool. Freeze in two-quart freezer. Remove dasher; pack in ice and ice cream salt for one hour or more after freezing.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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