Ice cream salt is a type of salt needed to make homemade ice cream. It is not mixed in with other ice cream ingredients, but it is used to help make the ice colder. If the salt is not added to the ice, the ice cannot reach a cold enough temperature to freeze the ice cream. This salt is added to the outer containers of ice cream makers, and the interior chambers are filled with the ice cream ingredients.

Large salt crystals usually make up the majority of ice cream salt. This type of salt is also sometimes referred to as rock salt. It can also be used to melt ice on roads and sidewalks. Although one may need to use more of it, table salt can sometimes be substituted for ice cream salt.

Ice cream salt is not mixed in with the ingredients used to make ice cream. In fact, it is not even considered edible, and it never comes in contact with the ice cream. Instead, it is mixed in with ice or ice water, which is placed in an outer chamber of an ice cream maker.

Although ice is cold, it is not cold enough to freeze ice cream. Ice cream salt makes the ice water mixture a few degrees colder than 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). It does this by lowering the freezing temperature of water as well as the melting temperature of the ice. This results in temperatures below freezing, which are needed to solidify the ice cream.

A large ice cream manufacturer will typically use chemicals such as ammonia to freeze ice cream, but homemade ice cream is usually made with ice cream salt. Manual and electric ice cream makers are available. The ice cream salt is mixed with ice water and placed into a large outer chamber. The ice cream ingredients are mixed together in a slightly smaller container, which is placed into the larger container. These ingredients are then constantly agitated, either by hand or electricity, until the mixture freezes and thickens.

One does not always necessarily need a commercial ice cream maker to make small batches of homemade ice cream. The ice water and ice cream salt mixture can be placed in a large sealable plastic bag, and the ice cream ingredients can be mixed in a smaller sealable plastic bag. To freeze the ice cream, the larger bag can be shaken and agitated gently.