Ice Cream in a Can, Teaching Science
{Originally published on SusieJ}
This summer, our hill at the lake will be used in yet another ingenious way: to make ice cream for our root beer floats. I was tempted to buy the traditional ice cream maker, but there are so many choices; I quickly became overwhelmed looking at all the bells and whistles. And besides, I have all that boy power just dying to get put to use. Plus, the process of making ice cream by hand… literally…. in the can… is is a great way to introduce some lessons in science. There is the ice cream in a bag method; my boys would surely break the bag in the mixing process. So, I’ve decided to go with the ice cream in a can method.
- The first challenge is finding the can. Many recipes suggest using
a coffee can, but who buys coffee in a can anymore? A better idea is
to ask for an empty paint can from the paint store. You’ll need two: A
quart, and a gallon. - Ask your kids to tell you the freezing point of water — or teach
them — 32 degrees F, or 0 Celcius. Then, ask them what happens when we
put salt on icy sidewalks. Ask them to start thinking about why we need
salt to make ice cream. - In the small, clean can, add one cup of milk or half and half, one cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla.
- Optional: add one tablespoon of chocolate syrup — or frozen strawberries.
- Use a hammer to seal the lid tightly.
- In the larger can, combine the ice and rock salt. Use a thermometer to record the temperature of the rock and salt mixture.
- Use hammer again to seal the lid tightly.
- Take turns rolling the can down the hill, for about five minutes. This will “solidify” the ice cream.
- Explain what’s happening: the ice melts and combines with the salt.
This “brine” has a lower freezing point — lower than 32 degrees. - After five minutes of rolling, open the large can, and take the
temperature of the ice. It will be colder than it was the first time. - Open the smaller can. The colder brine was able to get the milk
mixture cold enough to freeze the milk mixture to make it solid, to
create ice cream. - You know you’re going to have to whip up another batch right now; the fun was really rolling the can down the hill.
- An instant way to eliminate the ice cream headache is to put your
tongue on the roof of your mouth. Teaching a toddler how to do this is
something you won’t soon forget.
Editors Pick by Amy from Doobleh-vay: SusieJ is awesome! Susie is an Ohio mother of four young boys who is married to a real life iron-man, she inspires and educates her readers weekly on the joy of parenting. I guarantee you will learn a lot from this wise sexy mama! Go over there now and dive into her archives and be amazed! Read the original post here and be sure to subscribe. I love her pantry ideas and quick lessons of homeopathic remedies!
Editor
Amy Turn Sharp
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September 14th, 2009
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Category:
Author- SUSIEJ, Channel- Education, Children, Kids, Teenagers, Crafts, Editor- Amy Turn Sharp, Family, Featured 1, Friday 1, Science, childhood
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Sounds like a lot of fun! I’m gonna have to try this some time with my kids. Thanks for the tip on the empty paint cans. ( I’m not a coffee drinker.)
[...] my answer to that question! In an admittedly contrived attempt to make this post more STEM-serious, here’s a recipe for making ice cream in a coffee can and teaching the associated [...]