Sweet summer science

NORTH LIBERTY - Summer and ice cream go together like peanut butter and jelly, or, well, ice cream and cones.

To satisfy summer's sweet tooth with a cool creamy cone (or bowl), head to the local ice cream shop, hit up the grocery freezer aisle or make your own.

Sound complicated? It's not. And you don't even need an ice cream maker.

Lindsey Downes' eighth-grade students learned this when they put science to the test during the last week of school at North Central Junior High. In late May, they put away their textbooks for a hands-on chemistry experiment that turned ice, sugar, milk and salt into summer's beloved treat.

“This is just something to show the kids how they can apply what we learned in science to real life,” Downes says. “It reinforces the lesson and now they know how to make ice cream at home.”

Plus, it's fun and “can get messy,” Downes says.

Downes' students placed the milk, sugar and vanilla in one plastic bag. Then they put the sealed bag into a larger plastic bag, filled with ice and salt.

“What does the salt do to the ice?” Downes asks the classroom.

“It lowers the freezing temperature of the ice,” several students respond.

The larger bag sealed, students shook it around until the liquid in the smaller bag took on a semisolid form, usually within 10 minutes.

The process is like a workout for your arms with ice cream as a reward.

“This isn't easy,” David Garivay, 14, adds. “It's cold.”

Marissa Meade, 13, switches her bag from one hand to the other as spatters from the condensation on the bag fall to the floor.

“I've never made homemade ice cream before,” she says. “My hands are like dripping right now.”

The process wasn't completely new to other students. Katie McGrane, 14, employed the same method to make ice cream while volunteering at science camp. Eva Linklater, 13, made it at Girl Scout camp. And Nathan Armstrong tested it out as a Boy Scout.

“It usually tastes pretty good,” says Nathan, 14, shaking the plastic bag vigorously in one hand, switching after a few minutes to the other.

Katie agreed, adding that it would be even better if the class made her favorite flavor - strawberry.

And Eva?

“I like chocolate ice cream in a cup,” she says.

It all sounds sweet to us.

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HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
• 6 tablespoons salt

Put milk, vanilla and sugar into a pint or quart-sized freezer bag. Seal well.

Fill a large, gallon-sized freezer bag with ice. Add the salt. Put the smaller bag into the larger bag and seal.

Shake and mix until the ice cream thickens, about 10 minutes. The bag gets very cold, so you might want to use towels to hold it.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: www.about.com

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Can ice cream flavors predict personality?

We're not sure what, if any, science went into making these observations, but who knows? Maybe ice cream flavors do give insight into our personas.

--- Butter Pecan: Fans of this flavor are devoted, conscientious, respectful and fiscally conservative. They hold high standards for right and wrong.

--- Chocolate Chip: Chocolate chip lovers are competitive and accomplished; no victory is sweet without a little hard work.

--- Coffee: Coffee ice cream fans are lively, dramatic and flirtatious – thriving on the passion of the moment.

--- Mint Chocolate Chip: Mint Chocolate Chip lovers tend to be ambitious and confident, but a little skeptical about life.

--- Double Chocolate Chunk: Fans of this flavor are the life of the party. They tend to be lively, creative and dramatic.

--- Rocky Road: People who prefer rocky road tend to be a balanced mixture of charm and practicality.

--- Strawberry: Strawberry ice cream fans tend to be thoughtful, logical people who weigh options carefully before making decisions.

--- Vanilla: There's nothing plain about the people who love this flavor. They are colorful, dramatic risk takers who rely more on intuition than logic.

Source: www.icecream.com

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Mark your calendars!

July is National Ice Cream Month, but there are several daily ice cream celebrations throughout summer:

• July 7: National Strawberry Sundae Day
• July 17: National Peach Ice Cream Day
• July 20: National Ice Cream Day
• July 23: National Vanilla Ice Cream Day
•  July 25: National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
• Aug. 2: National Ice Cream Sandwich Day and National Ice Cream Soda Day
• Aug. 6: National Root Beer Float Day
• Aug. 18: National Ice Cream Pie Day
• Aug. 19: National Soft Ice Cream Day