Could i use a frozen mixing bowl to make ice cream?!
But i have looked at how ice cream makers work and have realized that many consist of a 'freezer bowl', basically a plastic bowl that you freeze overnight and a paddle that churns the mixture. So would it work if i were to freeze a plastic mixing bowl and beat the ingredients with a hand mixer? Five stars for a Yes or No answer :)
Answers:
Those bowls are actually double-walled and filled with a material that will freeze and stay frozen longer than regular ice, etc. They also need to be pre-frozen for at least 24 hrs to get them frozen "enough" to work well (and all the ingredients need to be *thoroughly* chilled as well).
As mentioned also, plastic isn't very good for keeping things cold in general...and just one layer would be worse.
You can certainly make your own ice cream at home without an ice cream maker though, if you want. You can do it with a non-electric ice cream maker (with a handle to churn), or just put the ingredients into a container and then into a plastic bag/etc with ice and salt in it and shake it around for 15-20 minutes. Or you can make some and sorbets by freezing but then "stirring" up every so often to keep it from getting solid and rock hard.
The ice cream that's made from most of those methods will initially be the "soft serve" kind then harden further in the freezer after a few hrs...in fact it can get quite hard, but various ingredients and techniques can change their consistency as well as flavor, etc.
Check out some of these instructions for making homemade ice cream without an electric ice cream maker:
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ma…
http://www.google.com/images?q=how+to+ma…
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Plastic will warm up Far to fast.
Metal would be better, but still it warms up in minutes, and you need something that stays Very cold for at least 30 minutes.