1

With a knife, halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into a large, heavy saucepan and stir in pods, cream, milk and sugar. Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat.

2

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Temper egg mixture by adding hot cream mixture to egg mixture ¼ cup at a time, adding the hot cream in a slow stream and whisking constantly. Don't add it too quickly or you'll end up with some scrambled eggs!

3

Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook custard over a moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil).

4

Pour custard through a sieve into a clean bowl and cool. Chill custard, its surface covered with wax paper, at least 6 hours, or until cold (or up to 1 day). The mixture really must be chilled well in order for the ice cream to freeze properly.

5

Freeze chilled custard in an ice cream maker, in 2 batches if necessary. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.