i make my own when there is a tremendous flavour that i want to try. for example, i have a batch of earl grey tea ice cream and a pint of mint (no chocolate) in the freezer. it's a treat. it's fun to make, but it's no less cheap and a hassle. but, like many things in the kitchen, it's a love affair.

I received an ice cream maker for Christmas last year, and while I have only used it once, I really enjoyed the process. It is time consuming, but I cannot think of a better treat when entertaining guests. I have only made chocolate chocolate chip, but I am thinking about expanding into more exotic flavors combinations. Does anyone have any ideas?

How about "it depends". . .
Depends on how lazy or motivated I am.
Usually I only bother making ice cream when it's something special I can't buy (ie candy cane ice cream at xmas) or seasonal (ie fresh strawberry ice cream)
Otherwise, i often break down and buy, solely on impulsive urges!

I love your conclusion. :) If only I was willing to give up the cabinet space for an ice-cream maker....

Homemade all the way! If I want ice cream RIGHT NOW, I'll go to one of the many, many fro-yo shops popping up all over town.

Home made all the way. My Maple Gelato is not to be missed.....

I'm lactose intolerant, so homemade offers much more variety than the ridiculously expensive non-dairy-based options on the market.

Water Ice! We're dairy free and in Philadelphia, so we just buy water ice occasionally. We have dairy-free ice cream on very special occassions- like a birthday. I've always wanted an ice cream machine but they're too expensive.

I'm about half and half store bought vs. homemade since I got a good ice cream maker about a year ago. I really love to make it with fresh, seasonal fruit or different flavors that you can't find in the store. However, I still buy ice cream on occasion if it's on sale, for a certain flavor I love, or even just as a splurge to try out some of the wonderful local options near me.

Homemade ice cream has become my new fun obsession. Honestly I never really buy ice cream because the good stuff is expensive and the last thing I need is a half gallon hanging around the freezer. However, I find making ice cream to be so fun and experimental - plus we package it in individual half-cup containers and give away lots to friends - who LOVE it! So, if I'm going to have ice cream, I'm going to make it myself.

Homemade for sure!! i love seasonal flavors - I have plum ice cream base ready to be churned tonight and peach ice cream in the freezer. most recipes are just a handful of ingredients! once you get the hang of the cooking part with the eggs, you can make it easy!!

I go homemade if I want to get creative with a flavor ("here's a coffee ice cream recipe that uses brewed coffee as the flavoring -- say, if I used chicory coffee instead, I wonder if it would taste like the cafe au lait's at Cafe du Monde?"), or as a means of using up some ingredient ("okay - I've got a ton of berries, and I've already made jam and sauce -- ice cream it is!").

Sometimes I'll go homemade if I can't find the Platonian Ideal of the flavor I have in mind; I like my mint ice creams to be really, really strong, and most commercial ice creams aren't strong enough for my taste (I once joked to someone that what I was looking for was "Altoids ice cream"). Going homemade can let me tweak things to my satisfaction (I tried making mint ice cream with more than the called-for amount of mint extract, and -- ended up basicaly MAKING Altoids ice cream).

When I just need it in a hurry, commercial it is. ("Well, I have the recipe for New York Superfudge Chunk, so I could make it to have tomorrow...or I could just walk a block up the street and get some today.")

I prefer to make my own using David Lebovitz's book, "The Perfect Scoop" as my good to guide. Have Sour Cherry Ice Cream on the list as my next to do.

I hardly ever take the time to make homemade ice cream, but I actually made the exact recipe you've posted above a few months ago for a special occasion (I believe this is the original post) and oh my freaking goodness. I honestly did not know that something so simple could taste so amazing.

I don't know if it was the quality of the vanilla I used or what, but there was definitely a moment where I wasn't sure there was going to be any left over for my guests! It was worlds above store bought ice cream, and definitely the easiest ice cream recipe I've ever made. Now if I could only find enough room in my freezer to make it again...

make at home + store-bought ice cream + scoops at ice cream/gelato shops

I don't see any reason to limit this.

Both! If I want it to go with a pie for example, I'll likely use bought ice cream. But, since we have allergies towards dairy and eggs in the family and even soy based products are off limits, I make the bulk of our ice cream. It does save money and it tastes better than the few boring oats based ice creams that are avaliable here.

Both--but I only keep the base frozen in the summer, so I tend to buy it occasionally the rest of the year. Today I made an easy vanilla--cream, milk, sugar, vanilla. Mix, add to machine and 20 minutes later, voila. I got my machine on Craigslist, by the way, so it's made good economic sense! Plus I always know what I'm eating--not corn syrup or artificial flavors.

I do both as well. When ice cream at the store goes on sale for $2, it's hard to resist. Plus I rarely have the ingredients on hand to just whip up a batch of ice cream when I want it. But homemade is a lot of fun. It's one area of cooking/preparing food where I feel really free experimenting.

I make the brandy rum ice cream from the Williams Sonoma cookbook every Thanksgiving. It usually goes over very well.

I would LOVE to do homemade ice cream but I'm not letting myself get a machine because I have Too Much Going ON and I truly don't need to add this, fun and delicious as it would be. When my kiddo is older, and progresses a little past the Mostly Mess stage into Actually Helpful, I might swing it. (She can whisk eggs admirably, for example, but cannot necessarily break them INTO the bowl. I let her practice--which means I clean up a lot of egg mess.)

I buy. A pint of cream is extremely expensive here (and true ice cream, is made with cream, not cream and milk) so I'd rather stick with extremely good quality bought ice cream. Not worth the hassle. Plus, my favourite flavours are already available in the freezers at the grocers.

Both, I'd say. While homemade is definitely tastier, premium store-bought is no slouch and will do fine underneath a drizzle of homemade hot fudge sauce and a handful of roasted pecans.

I eat ice cream (actually gelato) about once a month. I have one cone all to myself. If I made ice cream, it would go to waste.

Buy. I made ice cream once, but its a pain without an ice cream maker. If and when I get around to buying an icecream maker I'll make it more often. probably.

We're totally broke and have a surplus of goat milk so I've been making ice cream. Peanut butter is good but the banana one I made last week was fabulous.

Both!

I love making my own ice cream, but I only ever seem to make vanilla. (Call it laziness on my part.)

I tend to buy most of the Ben & Jerry flavors. Fav is Cherry Garcia.

I've been making a lot recently. I went Paleo a few months ago so even a little sweetness has a big effect on me. I can make my own with about 1/3 of the sugar asked for in the recipe and it comes out great. Its also awesome for special occasions. I had a pretty girl come over last week for the Breaking Bad premier and made blue ice cream, it was a huge hit!

I make my own to experience flavors that are too expensive at the store. There is a gelato shop in my town that sells delicious pistachio ice cream but for about $5 for 3 scoops, I learned how to make my own to satisfy my cravings.