Thomas Jefferson’s vanilla ice cream recipe

No, Thomas Jefferson did not invent ice cream. That myth is easily debunked. According to food historian Michael Twitty, the recipe commonly attributed to Jefferson was most probably written by his French butler, Adrien Petit.*

It is no secret that Thomas Jefferson learned to love ice cream when he was the Minister Plenipotentiary in Paris from 1784 to 1789. Upon returning to the United States, the presidential foodie introduced ice cream to the Americans when he served it at the President’s House in Washington on at least six occasions, according to historical records. 

You can taste a bit of history when you make Jefferson’s Vanilla Ice Cream at home. Naturally, we recommend using Vanilla From Tahiti. If you don’t have a Tahitian vanilla bean handy, you can substitute one tablespoon of Tahitian vanilla extract.


See the recipe in Thomas Jefferson’s hand. Transcript follows:

2. bottles of good cream. (2 quarts)
6. yolks of eggs.
1/2 lb. sugar

mix the yolks & sugar
put the cream on a fire in a casserole, first putting in a stick of Vanilla.
when near boiling take it off & pour it gently into the mixture of eggs & sugar.
stir it well.
put it on the fire again stirring it thoroughly with a spoon to prevent it's sticking to the casserole.
when near boiling take it off and strain it thro' a towel.
put it in the Sabottiere (similar to the canister of a modern ice cream maker)
then set it in ice an hour before it is to be served. put into the ice a handful of salt.
put salt on the coverlid of the Sabotiere & cover the whole with ice.
leave it still half a quarter of an hour.
then turn the Sabottiere in the ice 10 minutes
open it to loosen with a spatula the ice from the inner sides of the Sabotiere.
shut it & replace it in the ice
open it from time to time to detach the ice from the sides
when well taken (prise) stir it well with the Spatula.
put it in moulds, justling it well down on the knee.
then put the mould into the same bucket of ice.
leave it there to the moment of serving it.
to withdraw it, immerse the mould in warm water, turning it well till it will come out & turn it into a plate

Click here for a modern version of Jefferson’s recipe that you can make at home. 

Bake with Love. Vanilla From Tahiti.

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* Munchies article Stop thanking Thomas Jefferson for inventing ice cream