National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
Today is one of my favorite of the National days. I think I am in good company on this one.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson took a fancy to ice cream while living abroad as the Ambassador to France during the 1780’s? It is very likely that he is responsible for bringing this delicious frozen treat to America!
Did you ALSO know that the United States produces around 1.6 billion gallons of ice cream each year. That is amazing.
We are going to add to that number today, because we are going to make our OWN ice cream. To me, the best part of this, is watching kids eyes when they see it start to turn from milk to a wonderful hard substance. I always make it outside, under a tree, in the hottest part of the day. The contrast of the heat and the coldness of the ice make it delightful and refreshing. The recipe is for vanilla, so you can add the chocolate before you shake it, or after. It is your creation and thus your choice. Note: If you don’t have half and half, I have used milk or canned milk and it works well.
Chemical Reactions
Once you are nice and full from your ice cream, I’ve got a fun experiment. Last week we talked about Lemon Volcanoes and how the acid from the lemon reacted with the baking soda. As the chemicals mixed they formed a gas that bubbled out of our lemons. But what if we did it again, but this time we CAUGHT the gas.
For this experiment you will need baking soda, vinegar, a balloon and a water bottle. The video below gives great instructions on just what is going on as we mix the two and what is formed when we do.
A. Pumpkin Recommends…
