No need to run to the grocery store!
You may not be thinking about icy roads right now, but if you think about how salt is used to melt the ice on a winter road, you will know the secret to this ice cream in a bag experiment! Have fun together measuring, pouring and shaking your way to a delicious frozen treat that is also a mystery. Here is the science behind the freezing; adding salt to the ice lowers its melting point which pulls heat away from the cream in the bag, allowing it to freeze.
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 gallon sized re-sealable plastic bags
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 1/2 cup salt
optional: top with chocolate syrup and sprinkles
Instructions
- Pour cream, half and half, sugar, and vanilla extract into a gallon sized re-sealable plastic bag.
- Seal well. Squish it around to combine until sugar is dissolved.
- Place ice cubes and salt into another gallon sized re-sealable plastic bag.
- Place the bag with the ice cream mixture into the bag with the ice. Seal the larger bag.
- Shake until mixture freezes, about 5 to 7 minutes.
*Use oven mits or a towel to wrap around the bag while shaking, so your hands won’t get too cold.
Literacy Connection: What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla is a fun, vibrant and bilingual story about a girl who is enjoying her own frozen treat in an imaginative way. You can even take turns reading it in English and Spanish!
