Ice Cream Chemistry Featured in New Video and Lesson Plan from Chemistry Shorts^TM

Materials available free of charge via chemistryshorts.org

"Frosty Formulations," a seven-minute short film from Chemistry Shorts^TM, explores the surprising science behind one of the world’s favorite desserts.



Ice cream is made up of dairy, sugar, flavorings, and chemistry! Like bubbles colliding and connecting, the interactions between the molecular components of ice cream are responsible for the dreamy qualities of texture and mouthfeel that we all enjoy so much. Those same interactions reveal important chemistry concepts that touch our lives daily.

In "Frosty Formulations," Ice Cream Scientist^TM Dr. Maya Warren takes us down to the microscopic level to discuss how ice cream is a solid, liquid, and gas all at once, and how the combination of those three states gives it its distinctive texture.

But, that’s not all. The film dives deeper into the key steps in making ice cream that allow suspended fat globules to partially coalesce - like soap bubbles: with the addition of an emulsifier, cold temperature, and friction from the churning ice cream maker. Without all of these steps combined in just the right way, the complicated chemistry of ice cream wouldn’t form the same beloved treat!

“Chemistry has opened up the possibilities and opportunities in my life in ways I would’ve never even imagined. Being able to have something like ice cream and being able to relate that to my first love, which is chemistry, has been able to allow me to see life in a completely different way.” – Dr. Maya Warren in “Frosty Formulations.”

“Frosty Formulations” is aimed at high school to college students and can be used as a starting point for discussions around emulsions, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, and states of matter. A full lesson plan with an experiment to accompany the film is available on the Chemistry Shorts website.

The film is available for immediate viewing and use in teaching free of charge on the Chemistry Shorts YouTube channel.

Click here to watch the film now!

More Films and Lesson Plans from Chemistry Shorts

• “Driving Reactions” features a “plastic eating enzyme” that harnesses nature’s own innovations to solve problems.
• “Untapped Potential” explores how modern chemistry is developing innovative approaches that address the growing challenge we face in providing sustainable fresh water supplies to our communities.
• “Direct Air Capture & the Future of Climate Change” shows how modern chemistry is creating solutions to the climate problem via new technologies that facilitate the direct capture and removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• “Rewriting Life” highlights CRISPR, an innovative DNA editing technology that has transformed scientific research and advanced the ongoing quest to combat human disease.

The Chemistry Shorts film series spotlights the positive impact of chemistry on modern life as scientists work to solve important problems and create new opportunities that benefit humanity. Learn more about Chemistry Shorts and see all of the films, lesson plans, and experiments in this series at chemistryshorts.org.

The series is presented by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

About the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation

The mission of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. is to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances throughout the world. Since its establishment in 1946 as a non-profit organization, the Foundation has awarded over $150 million in support of these goals. Current Dreyfus programs support young faculty accomplished in both research and teaching, further the exploration of emerging fields, recognize exceptional and original research that has advanced the field with the Dreyfus Prize, and fund lectureships at primarily undergraduate institutions. Learn more about the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation by visiting its website.