Eli5: Why does melted ice cream turn solid when put into the freezer but unmelted ice cream remains at the “ice cream” consistency?
In: Chemistry
Ice cream gets its texture from air folded into the mix during the churning process. Kept frozen the air stays in the ice cream. Once melted the air pockets collapse and the ice cream freezes solid more like a normal liquid.
Air. When you make ice cream there is a certain amount of air added during the mixing process. When it melts completely, that air is lost and it refreezes at a different consistency.
It’s the size of the ice crystals in the mix. Small ice lends to a lot of the nice properties of ice cream – it flows, feels creamy, and melts gently. When it’s melted and refrozen, it freezes as a large block of ice. This loses all those good properties.
Latest Answers