A Little Science: Ice Cream in a Bag

June 06, 2012
I was looking for some fun summer experiments to do with the children at work, and I found this really fun recipe to make ice cream in a baggie. It seemed simple enough, and almost too good to be true, so I tested it out at home first to make sure that it would actually work.



You will need:

2 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of half & half -- or light cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of salt -- coarse salt or table salt
ice
large Ziploc bag -- gallon size
small Ziploc bag -- quart size


First I measured out the cream, the sugar and the vanilla, and mixed it all together in a measuring cup. I then poured the mixture into the small baggie and sealed it up.


Then I put two ice cube trays worth of ice along with the salt in the large bag. The salt is very important because it helps lower the freezing point of the ice, making it so the cream mixture will freeze and turn into ice cream. Check out the science behind it here.


Once I had the ice and salt inside the large baggie, I put the small baggie inside. Then I shook it all up! I quickly learned that my large baggie had a hole in it, and I had to do the shaking over the kitchen sink -- the price for buying cheap bags.


After shaking the bag for what felt like forever -- it's a good workout for the arms -- I noticed that the cream mixture was finally starting to freeze. It was pretty cool, actually. I was super excited that I had made ice cream just from shaking a bag -- if only everything was that easy...spaghetti in a bag?


I carefully rinsed off my little baggie so the ice cream wouldn't melt -- because there was salt and water all over it -- and put the ice cream into a bowl. It was absolutely delicious, and it made so much more than I expected. It tasted just like ice cream from the store, only a little more work and a lot more fun :)



5 comments

  1. oh my, that looks delicious right now! i remember making homemade ice cream when i was little. definitely an arm work out, but well worth the wait after! :)

    andrea brionne @thedailyeverythings.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. loving this idea for a summer afternoon! just found your blog and its adorable ;)
    excited to be your newest follower!
    -elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perfect for a summer afternoon!

      I'm so glad you found me, and decided to stick around :)

      Delete
  3. Seriously, this is such an amazing concept. I MUST try it sometime!

    http://www.101fashionstreet.com/

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your lovely comment!

Powered by Blogger.