Ice cream is one thing. Homemade ice cream is something else. The same goes for sorbet and other frozen desserts. Kids love making their own frozen deserts.
Gone are the days of handcranked ice cream makers that need both ice and salt. I use a Donvier ice cream maker. You put the inner metal container in the freezer beforehand. It acts as a heat sink and cooling your ice cream mixture quickly. All you do is turn the handle a couple times every few minutes. No ice, no salt, no problem.
The difference between ice cream and sorbet? Butterfat. Milk and/or cream, and it’s ice cream. No dairy and it’s sorbet. There’s a time and a place for both. Below is a basic, generic recipe that I use as a starting point. You can add flavorings, modify the liquid (juice, milk, cream, etc.), and improvise all you want.
The sweeetener can be sugar, honey, agave syrup, or simple syrup (see below). The latter adds a silky texture and IMHO is worth the extra step. Now if you look at most ice cream recipes you’ll see that they’re variations of the above. Yes, the butterfat in heavy cream beats milk let alone sorbet. Consider the calories and cholesterol. YMMV
Chill the ingredients before putting them into the ice cream maker. The colder they are, the less time it takes to make. Many people use egg yolks to improve the texture. Others use corn starch. a.) you can do without either in most cases and b.) guar gum does the same thing without eggs. Guar gum adds that smooth mouth feel. All you need is 1/2 teaspoon in the recipe above. Add more and it gets “chewy” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if that’s what you want.
Simple Syrup is water + sugar
The water:sugar ratio can range from 2:1 to 1:1, the former being lighter than the latter. Experiment and see which you like best. Or make both and use whichever one suits your immediate needs. Combine the water and sugar in a pan and bring it to a boil, stirring as you go. Simmer but don't boil. Cool and store in the refrigerator until needed.
I prefer organic free trade raw sugar myself but it has a darker color compared to white sugar. Try replacing some of the sugar with honey for a more distinctive taste.