Selects: How Ice Cream Works | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

I screamer. You screamer. We all. screamer for how ice cream works. The. great episode celebrating the best. dessert treat in all honesty. I mean, there's just nothing better than ice. cream. This is from February 5th, 2015. I don't eat ice cream much anymore. because it disagrees with my body. But. boy, every now and then I get one of. those pints, get a little chubby hubby. if you can find it, throw it down your. throat, and suffer the consequences.

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart. Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck. Bryant. And there's Jerry. So, this is. Stuff You Should Know, the Dreaming of. Summer in the middle of winter edition. Oh, my friend, ice cream is a year-. round treat for me. Yeah, sure. I know. I had some last night. Oh, yeah. What'd.

you have? We're going to buzz market a. lot probably. Rocky Road and Vividly. Vanilla. What uh brand is that? Kroger. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They were delicious. Nice. Yeah. Was it heavy or light? It. was light. Yeah. Yeah. After reading. this, I was like, man, this is very. light. A lot of air in there. I taught. myself to juggle with them. Oh, well, that's exciting. That was a cross. reference. Yeah. I'm uh I'm a Ben and. Jerry's guy. Well, yeah. It's great. stuff. Yeah. Can't have too much of it. though because I got the the lactose.

issues. Really? Yeah. And ice cream is. your favorite treat? Yeah. It's pretty. sad. That's self that's self-hate. Yeah. Ice cream followed by a large glass of. milk, right? No, just kidding. Then you. just inject a bunch of casins directly. into your neck. Yeah. I mean, fall over. It's not like I don't have lactose. issues such that any kind of milk. product really. It's just if I overdose. on it. Huh. Like if I have a a bunch of. like pizza and ice cream or something, what do they call it? Like mildly. sensitive. Maybe. Maybe mildly.

intolerant. Yeah. I get the poopy butt. Like like you're you're cool with like. um lactose at work, but you don't want. lactose marrying your your kid. You're. that kind of intolerant to lactose, right? Exactly. Just don't want it. living next door to me. I I can I can. get a uh I can do a pint of ice cream, though. And Or is it the half pint? The. the Ben & Jerry's with little one. I. think it's a pint. Is a pint. The little. Yeah. Not the little baby one. That's. just like a a fistful. I'm not I'm not.

seven. Yeah. Right. Uh I think it's a. pint is what they sell them. Yeah. I can. do a pint of like the chubby hubby. That's my old favorite. That's a good. one. Um well, basically any Ben &. Jerry's is good. I'm not a big fan of. cherries and stuff. Me neither. Um but. other than that, I'm like pretty cool. with with all ice cream. And I used to. not like bananas and things, but now I'm. like I'm cool with bananas. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like bananas and ice cream I would. never have eaten before and now I will. I'm pretty picky with my ice cream.

flavors. I'm trying to think of one I really. don't like and nothing's coming to mind. except for stuff with cherry in it. Yeah. I don't like mint. Um crazy. I. don't like coconut. Crazy. Uh my. favorite is the chubby hubby. And then. they have, you know, have the limited. runs. Yeah. Uh, they have one out now. called Candy Bar Pie. Candy Bar Pie. Like, what kind of candy bar is it. modeled after? Redonulous. I don't know. It's got nougat in it. Um, it doesn't. taste like a specific candy bar, though. It's not like they're trying to be like.

a Snickers ice cream sneakily. It just. tastes It's just delicious. Nice. I will. have to try that. I like Butterfinger. and ice cream. Yeah. What about So, like. places to get ice cream. Jenny's is. delicious. Where is that? They have it. here on the west side over by Star. Provisions. Okay. And they got a new one. in uh P or in Crog Street Market. There's a place in uh Oldtown Alexandria. outside of DC called Pops. Uhhuh. It's. like an old timey ice cream parlor. Awesome. I think I went in there.

actually last summer. It's awesome. But. it did not Did they have like candy and. all that stuff? Um or is it just an ice cream shop? It's. pretty much just ice cream. There's like. a couple of like long cases. They've got. like the old like turn of the last. century like furniture and everything. and the striped wallpaper. So like. they're doing it right. But then their. ice cream stands behind it too. It's. good. Uh and then of course friendlies. Yeah. Friendlys has the Reese's Piece of. Sundae which is probably the greatest.

ice cream treat ever created in the. history of humanity. Yeah. Growing up in. Atlanta they had something called Ferals. which was I remember Ferals. Oh do they. have those? They had that in Ohio too. And and on your birthday, they'd come. out with that big drum. Oh, yeah. Scare. me to death. I went under the table a. couple of times. Old school ice cream. parlor scaring the be Jesus out of. children everywhere. Now, they had a lot. of candy selection, too. Yeah. Yeah, man. Let's just talk about Let's just. not even do this. Let's just talk about.

ice cream. We love I like this flavor. I. like this flavor. Everyone's starving. right now for it, though. I guarantee it. with that intro. I have one more, though. Um, have you ever been to the. uh Plaza Fiesta, I think is what it's. called, over on Buford Highway? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Um, they had they have a. gelato place there that had tuna. flavored gelato. Oh. Raw tuna flavored. gelato. And by God, it tasted exactly. like raw tuna flavor. I thought you were. going to say it was good. It It wasn't.

bad really. Like Yeah. If you if you eat. like sushimi or something like that, I. love sushimi. You would appreciate this. It's not something you're like, "Oh, man. I've got to get some tuna flavored. gelato." But you're not like, it's not. like one bite and you spit it out. Yeah. Yeah. You're just like, "This is really. odd." But interesting. Unusually tasty. I have to try that. Yeah. Uh my other. quickly, my other thing I like lately is. uh a little heat in the ice cream. Like. some of them that have a little cayenne. in the chocolate or Oh, yeah. Or with. cinnamon or something, too. Yeah. That.

and some salted caramel. I am so over. salted caramel or bacon and sweetness. I'm just so sick of that combination. Really? Yeah. It's all basically a. ripoff of Wendy's fries and a frosty. dipped together. That's good, too. That's fine. That's the original. That. one like no improvement. Yeah. All right. Well, I'm salivating now. I. am as well. Let's get through this and. we can go get some ice cream. Okay. Yay. You're buying. Okay. Um, so the history.

of ice cream, Chuck, how long could it. possibly have been around? Where'd you. find this, by the way? We need to give a. good shout. Was that the dairy. association? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. The I. think the International Dairy. Association, the the big guy. Not not. the regional dairy association. They. came up with this uh this kind of this. history of ice cream or dairy frozen. dairy treats is a better way to put it. because ice cream is the lion share of. frozen dairy treats. But technically it. falls under the umbrella of frozen dairy.

treats along with things like sherbet. and gelato and frozen yogurt. Right. Or. um uh ice cream sandwiches. Yeah. Novelties. Exactly. Those are good, too. Um well, my friend, it goes back, they. say, as far as 2 century BC. Uh but they. can't pinpoint like a definite person or. place for sure, right? They just know. that it started popping up in history. Um like with Alexander the Great. Um he. had flavored um ice and snow with honey.

and nectar. Yeah. Snow cone. Yeah. And. that that makes sense that that would be. the origin of ice cream. Um it makes me. laugh in this thing. They said that Nero. and Claudia Caesar would frequently send. runners to the mountains for snow. That. just seems like a very Roman Emperor. thing to do. Like I'd like something. cold and sweet. Go. Right. And like. three hours later they'd come back, you. know, half dead. Yeah. Here is your ice. snow cone. Exactly. But uh they would. flavor those with fruits and juices and. that was sort of um another part of the.

beginning of ice cream. Apparently all. this is going on in a vacuum too like. over in Asia in different places. Yeah. In the in the Middle East and Asia um. wherever they had mountains in these. areas and they could get snow and ice. Um because Marco Polo in I think the. 13th century um came back to Italy and. said check this idea out. Yeah. frozen. fruit treats. And that was basically the. origin of ice cream in the west. Yeah.

In uh in England, uh they were big on. what they called cream ice. Yep. Because. it's England, you got to say it slightly. funny. Um or they would probably call it. proper, right? You know, there's a e at. the end of cream, is there? No. No, but. there would be. Uh, and um, Katherryn. Dadichi, who we mentioned in the um, episode, oh, Nostradamus. Nostradamus episode. That's right. She was big on it. She was.

the wife of Henry II. And back then. though, it was, you know, in the 1500s, in the 16th century, it was only like. for royalty because ice was Yeah., you. know, they didn't have freezers and they. didn't have ice machines. You needed a. guy to go run up to the mountain and. bring it down. Yeah. No, it was a big. deal to have ice. Unless, of course, it. was winter, in which case you were like, "Oh, yeah, I can have a frozen treat.". But if it were summer Yeah. and you were. enjoying a frozen dairy treat, it's in. the runner. You're rich. Yeah. You're. super rich. Um, so apparently by about.

the 17th century, there was at least one. cafe in Paris. I think it was the first. cafe in Paris um that started selling. ice cream to the public in 1660. Nice. They they basically made it egalitarian. and um from that point on ice cream was. a definite luxury item, but it you. didn't have to be royalty to obtain it. Yeah, that's a good way of saying it. Yeah. Um, in the United States, the.

first time, uh, they found it in print. was in a letter in 1744 by a guest of. the governor of Maryland, William Bladen. or Bladen. And there was an ad in 1777, May 12th, the New York Gazette for ice. cream. So, it was for sure for sale uh. to the people back then, right? By that. time. Yeah. Uh, George Washington had a. recipe. Thomas Jefferson had a recipe. Yeah. Dolly Madison used to like to.

serve it at the White House. George. Washington ate a lot of it, right? Didn't he say. $200 for one summer? Yeah. And I failed. to go to the West Egg currency. converter. That's a lot of ice. I. imagine that's a lot of money. Yeah, but. he may, you know, he had guests and uh. he may have shared it with his uh Oh, I. would hope so. Staff, you never know. Especially if that's like $50,000 worth. of ice cream. You can't eat that in one. summer. Even if you're Joey Chestnut, world record holder for most ice cream. eaten. Is he? Yeah. How much did he eat? You know, uh 1.8 gallons in six minutes.

1.8 gallons in six minutes. That doesn't. seem like that much. Oh, that's a lot. Yeah, that's pretty speedy. Yeah, it is. But hey, that's why I use Joey Chestnut. Plus, don't forget the brain freeze. Oh, yeah, man. Do you have a thing on that. brain freeze? No, I've done a Don't be. dumb on it, though, before. Do you. remember what it is? Like, what is brain. freeze? Yeah. Oh, what is brain freeze? Yeah. Uh there's a. um there's a a blood vessel that runs.

from your brain into the roof of your. mouth that becomes um constricted which. changes the volume of your brain which. gives you a headache. Gotcha. Which is. why if you place your tongue against the. roof of your mouth while you have brain. freeze, it warms up that that um blood. vessel allowing it to um relax again. Oh. Or just light a match and uh hold. that under your roof of your mouth. That's another way to go. Yeah, you'll. concentrate on that pain instead of the. brain freeze. Interesting. I don't get.

brain freeze cuz um I think as an adult, you know how not to wolf it down like. that. I've gotten it accidentally though. as an adult from time to time. Really? Yeah. No good. No, it's terrible. It's. as terrible as an adult as it is when. you're a child. It's probably worse as. an adult. It's just debilitating, you. know? Yeah. It's so painful. Um, so like you said, until around 1800, it was um mostly for for the upper. class, but then like everything else in. industry in America around that time,

manufacturing became more widespread and. cheaper and all of a sudden you had uh. warehouses that were big freezers and. you had uh shipping um you could ship. things cold and frozen, right? So you. had like the manufacturing aspect in. place. Yeah. homogenizer machines, electric power, mechanical refrigeration. basically. But even still, you had you. had the manufacturing in place. The. distribution though was still limited to. say like a store, somebody who could. make money by investing in some freezer.

cases and then selling it to the public. Yeah. It wasn't until um ice boxes. became widespread in in America that the. ice cream industry really blew up. because then you could sell to the guy. down at Pops. He could also sell to. Pop's next door neighbor who took it. home. That's right. To keep in his. freezer. And thank God that happened. Yeah. And and actually as far as making. um ice cream that the you know the hand. crank ice cream maker that used like.

rock salt and all that stuff. Sure. That. was invented by a woman named Nancy. Johnson in the. 1850s, I think. Yeah. And she patented. it and apparently everybody ripped her. off. She sold the patent for like 200. bucks and the guy who bought it from her. turned around and like made a fortune. off of it. But I guess he ultimately got. ripped off by a bunch of copycats. But. that that same thing is still in use. today. Like you can go buy the Johnson. Crank. That same Yeah, the Johnson Crank.

ice cream maker and make your own ice. cream the 1850s way. Uh well, you. mentioned um take-home ice cream being a. big deal uh to as far as it spreading. Um I do have a little modern stat. Oh, yes. At released from a few years ago, that is still the biggest part of the. market. Um, 67% of the overall market is. take-home ice cream. Well, I saw that. 87% of Americans have ice cream in their. freezer right now. Yeah. I I don't I can't. It doesn't. stick around. No. Like, you know, if.

you're going to get a pint, um, you. might as well just plow through it and. be done with it, right? And then get. some a few weeks later. You're not a. quitter. No. And I don't I can't just. keep like a gallon of ice cream in the. house. That's um Oh, that's that's a bad. move. It's a bad move for me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a bad move for. everybody. Well, no. Some people have. willpower. Yeah, I guess you're right. I. You're one of them. I don't keep a. gallon of ice cream in my house. Yeah, but you got willpower to a large degree, I think. Yeah. Well, you're the guy who. quit smoking by just saying I'm not.

going to smoke anymore. Yeah, that's. true. You know. Yeah, I guess I do have. a degree of willpower. Um but I do not. So, we're now in the uh 19th century in. late 1800s and the professional soda. jerk at soda fountain shops pops up and. they make things called like root beer. floats and coke floats and soda floats, right? Which I haven't had one in a long. time. I used to love root beer floats. Yeah. But, um I don't know why. I just. is not something I see very much. anymore. Well, you have to go to the. trouble of putting it together yourself.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don't see floats. very often anymore. I'm sure there's. some places that sell them, but I They. were good, though. Oh, yeah, man. Root. beer and ice cream is a winning. combination. Yeah. I mean, I haven't had. one since I was a kid, probably. Coke. works, too. Yeah, Coke floats good, too. Root beer floats are the thing, though. I think you're right. Um, and then this. was for me the fact of the show. I did. not know about this. Uh, religious. criticism back then. They didn't like. you eating things that were so rich and. like gluttonous, I guess. They thought.

it was sinful. Yeah. Well, yeah. on. Sundays, that is. And so in response, they uh took out the the carbonated. water or the root beer or whatever, and. made a Sunday. And that's why I called. it a Sunday originally. But apparently. they were like, "Uh, are you mocking. us?" And the Soda Jerks Union said, "No, no." And they changed the spelling from. suddocking them, right? Yes. And they. were like, "This is their act of. retribution, changing the spelling of. Sunday." Uh and the other cool thing too.

was uh during World War II apparently it. was uh the armed forces were all trying. to uh outstep one another in providing. ice cream to the troops in new and. exciting ways cuz it was such a morale. booster of course to get ice cream when. you're at war, right? You know, a little. taste of home and uh I think the was it. the Navy that had the ship? Yeah, the. world's first floating ice cream parlor. That's awesome. In the Western Pacific. Well, even before that, in World War I, ice cream was deemed an essential food,

and so ice cream manufacturers got. rations of sugar. Um, so they could keep. making ice cream during the war, even. though everything else was being. rationed. Yeah. And Ed points out that. during, uh, the depression, everything. kind of slowed down, uh, that was a. non-essential, um, including ice cream, but it never went away. And, um, through. the years, it's it's pretty much gained. in popularity. Uh, I think in the 70s is. when you started to see a little more. health conscious efforts. Yeah. Like the. frozen yogurts and the like. Fro yo. Fro.

yo, right. Emily loves the fro yo. It's. good stuff. Like the new stuff that's. really like from the Greek yogurt, you. know, that's tangy. Changes everything. Not like I think this can't be yogurt. growing up. Was that even yogurt? That. was just like soft serve ice cream, wasn't it? Is it this campy? I thought. it was the country's best yogurt. TCBY. We heard it was This can't be yogurt. Huh. Maybe it was different. I wonder. Uh, it had to be the same. Yeah. TCBY. Yeah. No, TCBY was great. I don't know.

what it was. I think it's still around. It had to be yogurt cuz they couldn't. call it that, but it wasn't definitely. not the tangy stuff that you see like at. uh Pink Berry and stuff like that. So. good. Yeah. I'm not the hugest fan. I. love that stuff. Each bite is just like. it's just a trip through a flowery. meadow. Every bite of Really? Yes. Do. you get the vanilla and add your stuff. to it or I get the the regular like the. Yeah. Just the I guess plain version.

Yeah. And then you throw in a little. mango, some blueberries. Oh, look at. you. The white yogurt chips on top. That's a good combination. Or if you. want to go a different route, there's. like, you know, a chocolate crunch and. maybe some other kind of um chocolatey. delicious treat on top. Man, I want some. ice cream so bad. All right. Well, we'll. get we'll get to the uh science of ice. cream um which is decidedly less yummy. sounding right after these messages.

[Music]. So buddy, you said that um all of that. stuff is frozen dairy treats, right? But. not necessarily ice cream because. there's a definition, correct? Yes. So. ice.

cream is a colloid, right? Yeah. which. is a an unusual and complex substance. And actually quicksand is a colloid. It's a colloidal gel. Yeah, technically. I remember that. Um but ice cream is a. colloid. And a colloid is a substance. where you have things that don't. normally mix that are mixed together, right? And in this case, you have fat. and sugar and milk mixed together with a. little bit of air thrown in. And what.

you need to um create a colloid is. something called an emulsifier. That's. the bonding agent that holds everything. together. These things that don't. normally mix. And in the earliest cases, egg yolks were the emulsifier that held. everything together. And of course, if. you're making ice cream at home, you can. still use egg yolks as an emulsifier. It's an easy go-to thing. But if you're. manufacturing it on a large scale, you're probably using something like. zanthan gum or something else to. emulsify and stabilize the whole thing. to hold it together. But yes, ice cream.

specifically is a colloid that has. undergone a very specific manufacturing. process. And if you take or add. different ingredients or different steps. in the process Yeah. then you have. something different like frozen yogurt. or soft serve ice cream or sherbet. Yeah. Because frozen yogurt isn't just. yogurt that they freeze, which I never. knew. It's actually during the ice cream. making process, they'll put in the the. yogurt cultures to make it frozen. yogurt. Yeah. You don't start with. yogurt. You make yogurt during. Yeah, I.

didn't know that either. Pretty cool. Agreed. Which is why every time I just. throw the yogurt in the freezer, it. doesn't taste anything like I wanted. Really cold yogurt. Gross. Uh the USDA. actually has a um ingredient standard. for it to be labeled ice cream, which. has to it has to be at least 10% milk. fat and a minimum of 6% nonfat milk. solids like casins. And a gallon has to. weigh 4.5 pounds. I think that's neat.

Yeah. Sure. Because the federal. government can't get its act together. and anything, but it can define ice. cream. Yeah. And the reason they have. the minimum uh or the Yeah. the minimum. poundage is because, as we mentioned. earlier, um lighter ice cream is. generally uh cheaper because it's means. there's it's just more air whipped in. there, right? And that's why a Ben &. Jerry's pine is like a brick in your. stomach. Yeah. And um the grabster who. wrote this points out that that's. usually a general rule of thumb that the.

heavier the ice cream, the higher. quality it is. Yeah. But he points out. to be fair, you need to compare like. types. Sure. Like you can't compare. something that's loaded down with like. brownies and Snickers with like a plain. vanilla. Yeah. Because you know the. brownies and Snickers are going to add. weight and throw off your judgment. That's right. In more ways than one. Yeah. Uh so milk fat, there is a um a. range of milk fat you can use. Uh. premium ice creams max out at about 16%.

At the most um but generally they're. about 14%. Uh and ice cream in general. is a minimum of about 10%. And butter. fat, which is another name for it. Delicious. Sounds so great. Both of them. sound great. Um butter fat makes it. taste good and it makes it creamier and. richer. But um it's interesting that. they found that uh 16% is about as high. as you want to go though. It's not like. oh just make it 50% cuz that'd be even. better. Um you just vomit after every.

bite. Well, you would. And people they. point out Ed points out you wouldn't. people wouldn't eat as much, right? Uh. because it is so rich and it is so. calorie rich as well. And so they found. that perfect combination of enough to. make you plow through that pint and want. to get another one the next night. Yeah. about 14 to 16%. Yeah. Yeah. That sounds. pretty good when you're talking butter. fat. 10% for the cheap stuff that like. Ned Flanders would eat, you know. Yeah, totally. Um, so like I said, ice cream.

is a colloid and it's um created by. adding egg yolk to milk fat and uh. sugar. And I think that's a custard if. you use the egg yolk, right? I think you. used more egg yolk. Yeah. 1.4% at least. Something like that. Yeah, I thought it was higher than that. Yeah, frozen custard is at least 1.4%. egg yolk solids. Okay. So So they're. even that's even worse for you, right? So that's just like Well, not. necessarily. Well, cholesterol- wise, sure. Um but the the the ice cream.

itself is specifically just this. combination of um. different types of ingredients with. other agents that hold the whole thing. together that's put through this. process, right? So, when you have your. sugar, when you have your cream, Yeah. your milk, and you have your uh eggs or. whatever you're going to use as a. stabilizer or emulsifier. Sure. You put. the whole thing together and what you. have right there is an ice cream mix. Yeah. And no matter whether you're.

making it at home or if you just bought. a factory or inherited it from your rich. uncle who just died and left it to you, um then you're going to be following. pretty much the same process using. virtually the same ingredients. Yeah, I've got um an ice cream machine which. um when I looked at the process of. making ice cream, it's pretty much what. goes on in this little thing, right? Like you freeze the canister, which I. found out the hard way. That's how you. do it, right? Because I was like, man,

it's not getting solid. Oh, no way. You. did it without freezing the can? I had. no idea. Like, you just used it at room. temperature. At room temperature. And it. How long did you try that for? Oh, it. spun for quite a while before I realized. what was going on. We luckily figured. that out um from the get-go. Made some. pretty killer lemon gelato once. Yeah. So, you freeze the thing and then it's. uh the canister actually spins and they. have a like a blade in there, right, that disrupts it, introduces the air. bubbles, which is key Yeah. um to making. ice cream nice and rich and creamy. And.

it also is acts as a scraper to keep ice. from forming, which is exactly what. happens in big factories. Uh it's pretty. much the same process, right? Or if. you're using the hand crank thing, that's what you just said, the Johnson. crank, right? Yeah. What you just said. listed off all of the um necessary. components to making ice cream. you've. got um something that's cooling it that. whether that little drum that you put in. the freezer or you have ammonia filled. tubes that are freezing a tube that your.

mix is in. Yeah. Um so you've got that, right? Yeah. You have um and the ammonia. tubes, we should point out there's no. ammonia. It's just making the tube cold. Right. The ammonia is not being. introduced to the ice cream. Not at all. It's just Yeah. The tube is up against. the tube that the ice cream is in. That's right. Um, or if you are making. it at home using a Johnson crank, you're. going to use rock salt, right? That's. right. So, I was kind of I I didn't. understand what the point of using rock.

salt was. So, I looked into it. Yeah, we. covered a little bit within the salt. episode, but not like super in-depth. Okay. So, basically, the reason that you. would add rock salt to ice is because if. you just used ice, the freezing point of. ice is um 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, it takes more than that or more degrees. than that. Let me put it a different. way. Milk freezes at a lower temperature. than ice. Yes. Right. So, when you add. salt, you actually lower the freezing.

point of that ice. Oh, okay. Because. when you're using ice, it's a freshwater. mixture. Salt water ice has a lower. freezing temperature. So, you're melting. it and it's melting and refreezing. And. as the ice melts, the way that it's. melting is by drawing heat from. something else. In this case, your ice. cream mixture. Right. Right. So when you. add salt, it has to draw more heat to. melt because it has a lower freezing. point, freezing temperature. Yeah. So. that's why you add salt. It actually.

lowers the freezing point, which allows. you to to cool your ice cream faster. Ah, right. So it it it lowers the. freezing point. Yeah. Milk has a lower. freezing point. And it makes the it. draws the heat out more quickly so those. ice crystals don't form on the side. Just that simple little thing is the. magic that makes it happen. Yeah. Yeah. We had a um electric ice cream maker. growing up that was the same as the. Johnson crank version, but you just plug. it in. Not like the new one that I have.

today, which is much different. Right. Which you definitely plug in. Yeah, definitely plug in. And you got to. freeze that thing apparently. That's so. funny. But my church, one of my favorite. memories growing up is my church would. have ice cream socials where everybody. would bring their own homemade ice. creams and there would just be a table. with like 30 of those steel uh. containers. You know, the people just. take it right out of the old uh you. know, ice rock salt bin, right? And just. set it on the table, right? And you.

would just go berserk, you know, as a. child. We had a a Johnson crank. Yeah. Yeah. Growing up. And you probably had. to do it, right? Because the parents are. always like, "That's the fun part." I. don't I I'm sure I did. I don't really. remember. I just remember the wooden. bucket thing with the crank on top. Yeah, that's what I remember. And like a. bag of rock salt. That's right, man. That we also use for the driveway, too. Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah. Of course, we did. in in Atlanta, but um I remember when I. saw that rock salt come out. It was a. special evening at the Brian house.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Um so, I mentioned the. the little paddle. Um, it's called a. dasher, which is the blade inside the. tube. And this is if you're in an ice. cream factory. And like we said, it. whips it up, uh, introducing those air. bubbles, and that's what gives it the. structure. And like I said, also. prevents the ice crystals, larger ice. crystals from forming because you don't. want that. No, you want it cold, but you. don't want ice. And we should say by. this time, you you've got your ice cream. mixture, but you've already added what. whatever flavor you're going to add, right? But if you're adding chunks of.

stuff, which you should, you're not. doing that quite yet. No. So, you're. freezing it. What you've what you've. just created is a frozen ice cream. mixture. Yeah. But it's not technically. USDA standard ice cream yet. If you. stopped right here and even if you added. the Snickers or the brownies or. whatever, or both, what you would have. is soft serve ice cream. Yeah. The ice. cream still has another step to go. through to become regular old ice cream. And that's the hardening process. Yeah. The hard freeze. Yeah. And that's. basically all it is is you take that.

soft serve and you have to get it down. super low at least to 0°. But um when. you're in an ice cream factory, you're. going to pump it down even lower because. you're going to be shipping it and. packaging it and that you want it to. stay nice and hard throughout that whole. process. Yeah. And um Yeah. And that. that's how you do it. That's pretty much. it. That's pretty much making ice cream. It's It's a great great thing that. everyone should try making ice cream.

Sure. Sure. Yeah. Well, actually, that's. funny that you say that because whether. you have a hand crank or one of those. awesome electric ones that you are that. you have to freeze the drum ahead of. time. You You can also just make it at. home with like basically nothing. Yeah. Just using a a couple of bags. Baggies. Yeah. Like a bigger baggie, a smaller. baggie, and make a little rock salt. mixture. And um well, I won't go through. the whole recipe, but if you go to how. stuff works and look up how ice cream. works, there is a recipe for 5 minute.

ice cream that makes just a little bit. using nothing but plastic bags and the. ice cream ingredients. Yeah. And I don't. think we mentioned that. Um it's. pasteurized along the way, too, which is. an important step. Yeah. Pasteurization. keeps you from getting salmonella. Yes. And if you're making your own mix at. home, you can even do that yourself with. a double boiler. So, um, we'll talk a. little bit about just how much everybody. loves ice cream right after this. [Music].

All right, buddy. Um, we will finish. this out with some stats and the like. But first, we should talk about. overrun. Uh, because that's an important. part of ice cream because, uh, when. you're making ice cream, the there's. going to be an increase in volume as you. go, uh, because you're whipping all that.

air into it. Yeah. And that increase is. called overrun, right? And it's. indicated by a percentage. Yeah. So if. you're if the volume goes from one. gallon of ice cream mixture to a. completed one and a half gallons of ice. cream, yeah, it's a 50% overrun, which. is good. But um what the the pros shoot. for like our friends at Blue Bell with. the great great commercials. Yeah, they. do make fantastic ice cream. They Yeah, it is really good. So, if you are a.

professional ice creamier, you might. have as much as 100% overrun, but the. premium ice creams um are more dense, so. they have less overrun, right? Which is. why they're heavier. Yes. But you can. also get into a. a situation where your ice cream is. dense because you're not using much um. stabilizer or emulsifier. So, that's not. good. No, because it makes your ice. cream chewy. Oh, no. So just really. dense ice cream is not necessarily the. best thing, right? You want a mixture.

between the two of somewhat dense but. not totally dense but not super light. ice cream. There's a there's a balance. that you want to achieve. Yeah. Because. the air, like we said, is what gives it. the structure that you appreciate. And. you know, it's familiar, right? You get. some chewy ice cream, that's no good. No. No. Uh and Chuck, we were remiss in. not mentioning um ice cream cones. Yeah. I'm not a cone guy. Are you? Yes. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. So, when you go to. like you go out, you get it in the cone.

every time? No. Just sometimes? Yes. Do. you get the waffle cone? If I get a cone, I like I like it all. except the the I don't know what they. call the non-s sugar cone one. You know, the cheap styrofoam. Yeah, that's. definitely the lowest on my list, but. that one's fine. Um, but yes, I guess it. does go waffle sugar cheap cone. Okay. Um, as far as order of preference goes, sure. But no, waffle cone obviously.

there that like just adds to the whole. thing. Smelling like freshmade waffle. cones being made while you're ordering. ice cream. Really? I always get the cup. I just always do just for like just to. be healthier. Yeah. While I'm eating ice. cream. Well, no, but I mean that's a. decision. Yeah, for sure. You know, but. it is preferable in a waffle cone. I. think they're delicious. I might start. getting a cone every now and then. Um, so there's a there's an origin story to. the waffle cone and a lot of people. place it at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. That's right. And um, that is.

probably not where ice cream cones were. invented, but that is where they were. popularized. Yeah. I mean, if you're at. a World's Fair, there's going to be some. waffling going on, some waffle making. There definitely was some waffles being. made. Um, but there was also some ice. cream being served. That's documented. That's right. And the story goes that. the ice cream makers ran out of plates. or bowls or whatever they usually use. Um, and they turned to the waffle makers. who said, "Hey, we can help you out for.

a fee." Yeah, let's turn these things. into some sort of cone. And bam, that's. what happened. But it turns out that the. person who actually invented the ice. cream cone was an Italian immigrant to. America uh named uh Italo Mar. Please go. ahead. You mean Italo Mariani, right? Yeah. And he also invented the ice cream. screa. A you screamer. A we all screamer. for ice cream. Nice. I think he was the. first one to coin that term. He was into. ice cream big time. Yeah. But he.

actually filed a patent for the cone. making machine a full year ahead of the. fair. Yeah. So they he generally gets. credited with the invention of the ice. cream cone. Although just because you. patent the machine doesn't necessarily. mean that you were the first person who. thought of the cone. No. Supposedly, there's French cookbooks that date back. to the 1840s that um have recipes for. ice cream cones. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, and we also didn't mention uh Jacob. Fusil. We'd probably uh need to mention. that guy cuz he was the first um he.

opened the first wholesale manufacturing. operation in the United States in. Baltimore. And he like um some of the. greatest success stories in business. sort of got into it by accident because. he was just a dairy guy, right? Who had. too much cream and was like, "Well, I. guess I can try this ice cream thing out. and before you knew it, he was selling. more ice cream than he was anything. else." Yes. Good for him. Good for us. Good for That's true. Good for all of. us. So, if you want to become like a. Jacob Fusil type, you can actually go.

depending on where you are in the. country to your local major university. and they may or may not, depending on. the size of their dairy program. Yeah. Offer like a real ice cream course. Yeah, Penn State is known for one. Correct. Uh yeah, Wisconsin has one. Oh, of course. Actually, Penn State. graduated Ben and Jerry back in 1977. Really? Yep. An ice cream crearyy. Yes. Ah, I thought you were going to say like. no, they were architects. No, one of. them would tried to get into med school. He graduated and couldn't afford med.

school. Yeah. The other one just dropped. out of college, but both of them went. together to Penn State's ice cream. course and graduated. Well, I saw um I. went to their website to look at some of. their facts, and they um I think they. said they started their initial business. with like $4,000. I saw 12 Oh, 12 grand. Yeah. Well, either way, that's cheap. I know. You. know, it is. Uh I do have some other. stats, though. Lay them on us, Chuck. Uh. yeah, it's been a while since we've had. a stat run.

Uh, the majority of US ice cream and. frozen dessert manufacturers have been. in business for more than 50 years, and. many are still family-owned. This is why you see like the Blue Bells. and stuff like that, right? You know, there's not a lot of. upstarts, like uh, you know, like uh, extreme ice cream, right? Made with. Mountain Dew, Code Red. Oh god. Uh, US. dairy approximates uh, this is a few. years ago, 20 uh, quarts per capita.

Um, what that the US eats every year? No, produced. Oh, wow. Yeah, they produce 20 quarts. per capita. What's interesting though is. the United States isn't the leader in. ice cream consumption. Did you know. that? Who is? New Zealand. No way. Yeah, New Zealand. Um, per capita, I guess. Obviously. Yeah. Well, yes. Yeah. So, the average New Zealander eats seven and. a half gallons of ice cream a year. Wow. Americans eat five and a half gallons. Huh. Yeah. Uh apparently uh Asia, the.

Caribbean, and Mexico, and Latin America. all import ice cream as well to a large. degree. And um the most popular flavor. is still vanilla, which I had to explain to Emily was a. real flavor. She thinks it's an absence. of all flavors, like white light. White. Yeah. I was like, "No, vanilla is a. thing." Yeah. And some people love it. Vanilla's still good. She thinks it's a. waste of calories to eat anything that's. just plain vanilla. There are really. good vanillaas out there that you're. just like this is this is all that's.

needed. Oh yeah, I agree. Like super. creamy like vanilla bean. Yummy. Yeah. Uh and then chocolate chip mint and. cookies and cream followed as the next. most popular. I'm surprised plain. chocolate is not on the list. Um I saw a. GrubHub survey. They did uh most popular. ice cream flavors by flavor ordered and. vanilla was number one. Wow. Um. surprising. Green tea was number two. Hm. And I I was thinking about it and. it's probably because uh like at a.

Japanese restaurant Yeah. you don't. really have any other options besides. Oh, sure. You know, green tea. Yeah. I've never had the green tea ice cream. Is it good? Oh my god. Yeah. Really? Yeah, dude. I don't eat dessert in. restaurants. It's so good. Yeah. I'm. going to have to start eating. If you go. to a good Japanese restaurant, they. bring it out whether you ask for it or. not. It's part of the meal and it'll be. like green tea or um red bean is another. one too. That's a pretty good ice cream, but green tea definitely has it.

destroyed. That sounds delicious. Yes, it is. I'm hungry. Yeah. So, if you want to. know more about ice cream and to get. this awesome, really easy 5minute ice. cream recipe, go to howstuffworks.com. and type ice cream in the search bar. And since I said search bar, it's time. for listener mail. Uh, I'm going to call this first of two. um scientific method emails. So, you're. going to hear one here and then one in. the next one. Awesome. Because these are.

great. We I was super proud of that one. And we got a lot of kudos from. scientists, which is always nice. Hey. guys, my name is Danny. I'm 23 and. recently graduated with a degree in. astronomy and physics. Now work at an. aerospace company in LA on a space. mission concept called the Star Shade. Way to go, Danny. I know. The star shade. is a really awesome piece of tech that. allows uh will allow us to image planets. around other stars and ultimately search. for life outside of our solar system. I'm writing because I was just listening.

to the podcast on the scientific method. and as someone whose job regularly. involves the scientific method. I want. to express my appreciation for you guys. recording such a great discussion on the. subject. Uh it's extremely important to. give the public the opportunity to learn. about science. I think that your podcast. is a great vehicle by which this is. achieved. So thanks. Uh, I remember once. in the show you guys let it slip that. you get a few hundred emails a week. So, statistically speaking, I'm twice as. likely to become a millionaire than to. get my email read on the show. I saw. that and I felt like he was baiting us.

Oh, he totally was and it worked. Uh, but in the case that some miracle. happens and you do read it, I'd love if. you could plug the Astrophysics blog my. friends and I have. It's called. Astrophysics Unleashed and can be found. online at astrophysics-uned.tumblr.com. tumblr.com and it's a place where we. seek to expose the beauty hidden within. astronomy and modern science. It's a. great place for the inquiring mind to. find food for thought or to ask. questions. So, uh that is from Danny and. he said, "I wanted to shout out to.

Jerry, J E R I, but I was afraid I'd. spell her name wrong. Hopefully that is. right. Tell her that I have no idea what. she's like at all, but I'd be willing to. bet that she's really cool." Oh, that. was nice. Man, usually people have like. a a better chance of getting struck by. lightning than spelling Jerry's name. correctly, but he nailed it. Well, and. here's a spoiler. The other scientist um. said the exact same thing about spelling. her name wrong, and he spelled it right. Wow. So, how about that, man? Scientists. are smart. Uh, if you want to get in.

touch with us, you can send us an email. to. stuffodcast@ouseuffworks.com and you can. join us at our home on the web, stuffyou. know.com. Stuff You Should Know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts of. iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. listen to your favorite shows. [Music].