Last Dairy in the Classroom...and Ice Cream!

We had such a fun Dairy in the Classroom with Dana last week! It was the final lesson of an incredible unit. We painted t-shirts and made ice cream.

Check out this recipe Dana sent us! :)

Make Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag

Yes, it sounds dangerous and the potential for messes seems highly likely, but you’ll be surprised at the good, “clean” fun you’ll enjoy with your students when you make ice cream. The key to success is to plan smart and follow our simple instructions. The lesson possibilities for this one are nearly endless. Your class can explore the history of ice cream and dairy products, the chemistry of ice, salt and exothermic reactions, or use it an exercise in the scientific method: what if you make the following recipe without salt?

This recipe is enough for one student, so that each student can make their own.

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 quart size Zip-loc bags
1 gallon size Zip-loc freezer bag
a hand towel or gloves to keep fingers from freezing as well!

Mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the quart size bags. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible. Too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking. Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized. Put the two bags inside the gallon size bag and fill the bag with ice, then sprinkle salt on top. Again let all the air escape and seal the bag. Wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on, and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture. Five to eight minutes is adequate time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream.

Tips
Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging. Especially if you plan to do this indoors, we strongly recommend using gallon size freezer bags.