This idea is a craft, an activity, a science lesson and a treat all rolled into one. It will stay with you and your kids for years. If you have seen it, or done it, before it will bring back great memories. Fantastic for birthday parties, picnics or camping, or just a hot summer afternoon where you need something to do. The best thing is, you probably already have everything you need.
You will need
- one large zip-lock bag per child
- one small (sandwich sized) zip-lock bag per child
- ½ cup of milk per child
- 1 tbsp of white sugar per child
- vanilla essence
- rock salt
- ice (about 2-3 cups per child)
Method
- put the milk, sugar and a dash of vanilla essence in the smaller zip lock bag and seal it
- put the ice and the rock salt in the larger zip lock bag
- put the smaller bag inside the larger bag with the ice and salt, seal the larger bag
- have the kids shake, shake, shake the bags until the milk turns into ice cream, this will take 3-5 minutes
- remove the smaller bag and wipe off the salt before opening
- roll down the top of the bag and there you have it – delicious home-made ice cream!
Tips
- you don't actually need to add salt to the ice, however adding salt to the ice lowers the freezing point of the ice and not only stops it from melting but will reduce the temperature making the milk turn to ice cream faster – this is where your science lesson can come in – although if you are like me you would have to google that first to be able to explain it well!
- you don't need to use cooking grade salt, the really cheap marine salt will be fine as they are not eating it, this salt often looks a little dirty but don't worry
- you can substitute some of the milk for heavy cream if you like your ice cream a little creamier
- you can add some chocolate powder or strawberry syrup for different flavours, experiment!
- half a cup of milk makes half a cup of ice cream, so if you want more you can add more milk, but it will extend the shaking time, and not only do the kids get a bit bored but you may need more ice which can make the bag quite heavy to shake
Have fun!
