by hisbabydoll

Created on: July 22, 2008   Last Updated: January 24, 2012

It's raining. Your kids are bored. What better way to cheer up their day than to make ice cream in a bag? Your kids will enjoy this fun experiment and get to eat their results!

Making ice cream in a bag can be MESSY! Multiply the mess-factor by the number of children you enlist in the process. Fun science experiments are an awesome way for kids to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. Turn off the Nintendo and lure them into the kitchen with promises of ice cream!

Before you freak out at the large quantity of salt in the ingredients list, I should tell you the salt does not end up in the finished ice cream! You'll see what I mean by reading on. Feel free to experiment with your ice-cream ingredients, for instance by adding crushed strawberries or raspberries to the mix!

YOU WILL NEED (per child):

3/4 cups chocolate milk
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 plastic bags (food-quality)
1 large bag (for instance a kitchen-sized garbage bag)
A pair of winter mittens

Notes: Feel free to substitute white milk with vanilla extract and a tablespoon on sugar OR milk flavoured with strawberry syrup instead of the chocolate milk. Regular ice cubes will work as well, but you'll need to add an extra tablespoon of salt. I'm not kidding about the mittens, the process may give you frostbite otherwise!

WHAT TO DO

1. Pour the chocolate milk into one of the platic bags. I suggest using sealable freezer bags instead of a grocery bag. Grocery bags are sketchy at best for cleanliness and chemical content. Seal bag tightly, as extra air may cause the bag to open during shaking. Yes, there will be shaking!

2. Place this bag inside another sealable bag as a precaution against milk flying all over your kitchen. Seal tight, leaving as little air as possible. If you don't have sealable bags, clean out a plastic bag (for instance, a milk bag), fold the open top over and seal with strong tape.

TIP: If you want to make a large quantity of ice-cream try buying a 1L bag of chocolate milk and leave it sealed! Easy-peasy!

3. Put your sealed milk into the larger kitchen bag and fill the bag with ice. Sprinkle salt on top of the ice. Seal the bag, tie a knot as opposed to taping it shut. Zip-lock makes very large sealable bags you might want to use instead!

4. Put on gloves (or if you can't find them, wrap the bag in a bath towel!). Alternatively, shake the bag and massage it with your hands. You want to make sure the ice is distributed evenly around your ice-cream to be. Shake for about seven to ten minutes until you can feel your mixture hardening into ice cream.

5. Pull the ice cream bag out of the salt and ice bag and rinse under the tap. This step avoids salt from contaminating your ice cream! Serve and enjoy. Feel free to eat it straight out of the bag, but I suggest using a bowl!

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