The process is really engaging, and there just might be a yummy treat waiting at the end.
Can You Make Ice Cream
Without Electricity?
Ice Cream Experiment
The question: Can we make ice cream without electricity or refrigeration?
We discussed the materials we would be using and made our predictions. Both girls were pretty confident that there would be ice cream at the end of this one.
Materials
- A pot or large bowl
- A small bowl
- Ice
- Rock salt
Ice Cream Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract
Method
- Begin by filling a large pot or bowl roughly 3/4 of the way with ice.
- Add rock salt to the ice and mix. An exact amount isn't needed, but to give you an idea we used roughly 1 cup of salt. You basically just want to cover the surface of the ice.
- Next, mix the ice cream ingredients in the smaller bowl until combined.
- Then, carefully place the bowl into the pot of ice, ensuring that the bowl is fully submerged but that no ice gets into it
- Have kids whisk the ice cream ingredients while also keeping the bowl fully submerged in the ice
- Continue to mix the ingredients in a rapid motion until the ice cream forms. This takes a bit of time (and a bit of elbow grease), but it is totally worth it!
My kids loved the process, but if your kids get tired of mixing the ice cream by hand you can use a hand mixer. Rest assured though- after several minutes of mixing you will have delicious and yummy ice cream!
Add sprinkles and toppings if desired, and enjoy!
Note
You can easily add extracts and syrups to the base ice cream recipe to make an assortment of ice cream flavors. The possibilities are endless! Experiment and have fun!
What we learned
You can make ice cream without refrigeration or electricity- how cool! This is actually the "old school" way of making this cherished treat. Who knew?
The Science Behind the Experiment
At the conclusion of our experiment we spent a bit of time online researching why this pot-freezing method works. We were incredibly fascinated by all the information that we found. To read more on the science behind this experiment check out these links:
At the conclusion of our experiment we spent a bit of time online researching why this pot-freezing method works. We were incredibly fascinated by all the information that we found. To read more on the science behind this experiment check out these links:
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MORE SUMMER FUN
FOR KIDS:
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