Make your own delicious homemade ice cream using a scientific process called freezing point depression. Learn how salt helps ice freeze your cream faster and smoother!

Tools

• measuring cup
• scissors

Materials

• gallon-sized freezer bags (3)
• milk (1 cup)
• heavy cream (1 cup)
• sugar (1/2 cup)
• salt (1 cup total, split into two 1/2 cup portions)
• vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
• pinch of salt (1 pinch)
• ice (10 cups)
• towel (1)

Safety

• Adult supervision required when using scissors.
• Wash hands and all surfaces thoroughly before handling food ingredients.
• Warning: The ice bags will become extremely cold; wear gloves or use a towel to avoid skin irritation from the cold (ice burn).
• Adult supervision required for sharp objects.
• Adult supervision required for children under 8.

Steps

1. In the first freezer bag, pour in the milk, heavy cream, sugar, a pinch of salt, and vanilla extract.
2. Squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag and seal it tightly. Mix the ingredients together by gently shaking or massaging the bag.
3. In the second freezer bag, pour 5 cups of ice and 1/2 cup of salt. Mix them together to create a brine.
4. In the third freezer bag, pour the remaining 5 cups of ice and 1/2 cup of salt. Mix them together to create a second batch of brine.
5. Lay the towel flat on a table. Place one bag of brine on the towel, then place the bag of ice cream mix on top of it, and finally place the second bag of brine on top of the ice cream mix (creating a brine sandwich).
6. Fold the other half of the towel over the top of the bags to insulate them and keep the cold inside.
7. Wait for approximately 30 minutes for the ice cream mix to freeze. You can gently shake the bags occasionally during this time.
8. Once the ice cream is firm, remove the ice cream bag from the brine bags.
9. Use scissors to carefully cut a small corner off the ice cream bag and squeeze the treat into a bowl to serve.