Make & Take Lessons – Ice Cream in a Bag

Shake up a sweet treat of ice cream in a bag!

Garner Interest

  1. Ask youth, “Where does milk come from?”
    • Expected responses: Milk comes from a cow, specifically a dairy cow.
  2. Reply with the explanation that milk is used to make many products we enjoy every day. It is used to make items such as butter, cheese, yogurt, and even ice cream! Students can learn how to make their own ice cream in this activity.

Conduct Activity

  1. In the sandwich sized bag add milk, sugar, and vanilla. Seal bag tightly.
  2. In the quart sized bag add the ice and salt.
  3. Place the sandwich sized bag into the quart sized bag and seal the quart sized bag tightly.
  4. Shake the bag as hard as you can without letting it open. (General time for shaking is 5 minutes or until the smaller bag reaches the consistency of ice cream.)
    *Tip! Use a hand towel wrapped around the bag to keep hands from getting too cold.
  5. Once the ice cream consistency is reached, remove the sandwich sized bag

Make a Connection to Agriculture

While all mammals produce milk, dairy cattle are the most common producers in America. Ice cream begins as milk from a dairy cow on a farm. On average, a dairy cow produces eight gallons of milk each day. Farmers care for cattle every single day so we can enjoy tasty products like ice cream!

Materials

  • ½ cup whole milk, half and half, or cream
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 tbsp sea salt or ice cream salt
  • 2 cups of ice
  • Sandwich sized sealable bag
  • Quart sized sealable bag
  • Spoon
  • Sprinkles
  • Hand towels

Tip

Use hand towels to wrap bags for ease in shaking up the ingredients!