Question
Sweet, Creamy Science
News: Science Scene
Here's a riddle about ice cream with a hint mixed in and some sprinkles of science on top:
What "magic ingredient" accounts for nearly half the volume of ice cream and helps give the treat its creamy consistency? Although it's invisible, it's easy to find—in fact, it's all around you!
The answer is air, and it's just one of several culinary requirements that make ice cream a sublime treat that tickles your taste buds.
Indeed, the making of ice cream is a science—food chemistry, to be exact. But really, who cares about molecules just so long as your Rocky Road is rocking? Ice cream makers do! They want their products to be as scrumptious as possible. And for ice cream lovers, the science behind ice cream explains why some brands taste fabulous and others leave you, well, cold.
To begin with, ice cream is an emulsion. That means it's made of two liquids that don't normally blend, yet they're forced to. In this case, milk fats are diffused through sugary water. When they freeze together, the result is a creamy texture that keeps ice cream firmly on the cone.
The first step in making ice cream is typically to warm and mix the milk, cream, and sugar until they truly blend, then cool the mixture and add flavoring, like vanilla. You might be surprised by the quantity of sugar in ice cream. About 7 teaspoons (41.5 grams) are in a cup of plain old vanilla. Ice cream makers add all this sugar because our taste buds numb up when we eat something really cold, so it's harder to taste sweetness. Ice cream fans rarely become too dismayed by all that sugar. Frequent trips to a dentist, however, might daunt some devotees.
The next step in the process is to freeze the emulsion quickly and evenly while turning it into foam. To do this, ice cream manufacturers use large cooling vats with high-speed rotating paddles. As the ice cream gets cold, its water freezes into ice crystals. The churning keeps those ice crystals super small. The smaller the crystals, the creamier the ice cream; the larger the crystals, the grainier the consistency. You probably know all about grainy ice cream. It gets that way when you put a carton back into the freezer after the ice cream has melted. Even ice cream enthusiasts might pass on this freezer-burned snack.
The churning also forces air bubbles into the mix, increasing the volume and enhancing the texture of the ice cream. The result is a smooth foam of frozen crystals, fat, flavors, and—let's not forget—air.
Now that you've learned the scientific basics of making ice cream, you'll be able to delight your family and friends with your newfound knowledge. You can use it to explain the divergences between different kinds of frozen treats. Soft serve, for example, has less fat and more air than hard ice cream. It's also served at a warmer temperature. Frozen custard contains egg yolks and has less air than ice cream, while frozen yogurt has less fat but more sugar.
This lesson on ice cream science may be over, but here's a parting riddle for you to defrost:
This painful medical condition can be triggered by ice cream, but it's harmless and passes quickly. (Hint: Don't let your brain freeze while figuring this one out.)
Think about and discuss these questions:
How is mixing important when making ice cream?
If you could make a frozen treat, what ingredients would you change or add?
Question 1
1 / 8
In the first paragraph, the author presents a riddle in order to __________.
educate readers in a fun way about the importance of air in ice cream
describe in a mysterious manner why manufacturers sell ice cream by volume
mock manufacturers for adding air to ice cream to reduce costs
amuse readers by asserting that ice cream is a light and healthy food choice
News: Science Scene
Here's a riddle about ice cream with a hint mixed in and some sprinkles of science on top:
What "magic ingredient" accounts for nearly half the volume of ice cream and helps give the treat its creamy consistency? Although it's invisible, it's easy to find—in fact, it's all around you!
The answer is air, and it's just one of several culinary requirements that make ice cream a sublime treat that tickles your taste buds.
Indeed, the making of ice cream is a science—food chemistry, to be exact. But really, who cares about molecules just so long as your Rocky Road is rocking? Ice cream makers do! They want their products to be as scrumptious as possible. And for ice cream lovers, the science behind ice cream explains why some brands taste fabulous and others leave you, well, cold.
To begin with, ice cream is an emulsion. That means it's made of two liquids that don't normally blend, yet they're forced to. In this case, milk fats are diffused through sugary water. When they freeze together, the result is a creamy texture that keeps ice cream firmly on the cone.
The first step in making ice cream is typically to warm and mix the milk, cream, and sugar until they truly blend, then cool the mixture and add flavoring, like vanilla. You might be surprised by the quantity of sugar in ice cream. About 7 teaspoons (41.5 grams) are in a cup of plain old vanilla. Ice cream makers add all this sugar because our taste buds numb up when we eat something really cold, so it's harder to taste sweetness. Ice cream fans rarely become too dismayed by all that sugar. Frequent trips to a dentist, however, might daunt some devotees.
The next step in the process is to freeze the emulsion quickly and evenly while turning it into foam. To do this, ice cream manufacturers use large cooling vats with high-speed rotating paddles. As the ice cream gets cold, its water freezes into ice crystals. The churning keeps those ice crystals super small. The smaller the crystals, the creamier the ice cream; the larger the crystals, the grainier the consistency. You probably know all about grainy ice cream. It gets that way when you put a carton back into the freezer after the ice cream has melted. Even ice cream enthusiasts might pass on this freezer-burned snack.
The churning also forces air bubbles into the mix, increasing the volume and enhancing the texture of the ice cream. The result is a smooth foam of frozen crystals, fat, flavors, and—let's not forget—air.
Now that you've learned the scientific basics of making ice cream, you'll be able to delight your family and friends with your newfound knowledge. You can use it to explain the divergences between different kinds of frozen treats. Soft serve, for example, has less fat and more air than hard ice cream. It's also served at a warmer temperature. Frozen custard contains egg yolks and has less air than ice cream, while frozen yogurt has less fat but more sugar.
This lesson on ice cream science may be over, but here's a parting riddle for you to defrost:
This painful medical condition can be triggered by ice cream, but it's harmless and passes quickly. (Hint: Don't let your brain freeze while figuring this one out.)
Think about and discuss these questions:
How is mixing important when making ice cream?
If you could make a frozen treat, what ingredients would you change or add?
Question 1
1 / 8
In the first paragraph, the author presents a riddle in order to __________.
educate readers in a fun way about the importance of air in ice cream
describe in a mysterious manner why manufacturers sell ice cream by volume
mock manufacturers for adding air to ice cream to reduce costs
amuse readers by asserting that ice cream is a light and healthy food choice
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
In the first paragraph, the author presents a riddle in order to **educate readers in a fun way about the importance of air in ice cream.**
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