Curious About Ice Cream

PODCAST 193: CURIOUS ABOUT ICE CREAM

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  SUMMER IS QUICKLY APPROACHING, AND WHERE WE LIVE, IT’S GETTING WARMER AND WARMER.  THERE IS ONE THING THAT SEEMS TO TASTE BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON A NICE HOT SUMMER DAY.  

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HI JACOB AND OLIVIA, I LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND I AM A NEW PATRON!  I LOVED YOUR PODCASTS ON POPCORN, TICKLES, AND NAMES!  YOU GUYS MAKE LEARNING FUN WITH NEW AND INTERESTING TOPICS!  I WOULD LOVE IT YOU COULD DO AN EPISODE ON CAKE, ICE CREAM, OR COOKIES!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  

FROM JULES OF CLOVIS, CALIFORNIA”

VM: “HI, MY NAME IS ARIANNA.  I LIVE IN LONDON, UK.  I REALLY LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND EVERY TIME I GO TO BOURNEMOUTH, ME AND MY FRIEND ALWAYS LISTEN TO THEM WHEN WE GO TO SLEEP.  MY MOST FAVORITE TOPIC IS COMPUTERS AND MY FRIEND’S MOST FAVORITE TOPIC IS RATS.  I REALLY LIKE TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT ICE CREAM, BUT HOW DOES IT MELT AND HOW DOES IT TASTE SO SWEET?  THANK YOU, AND I REALLY LIKE YOUR PODCAST.  BYE.”

O:  THIS IS GOING TO BE SUCH A YUMMY EPISODE.  I CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ICE CREAM FOR JULES AND ARIANNA.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ICE CREAM.  

D:  YOU LOVE ICE CREAM, AND YOU ALSO HAPPEN TO LOVE CAKE AND COOKIES TOO, SO YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN THRILLED TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT ANY OF THE TOPICS SUGGESTED BY JULES.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT ARE THE 3 FLAVORS OF NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM?  IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM, IT HAS 3 LAYERS WITH DIFFERENT COLORS AND DIFFERENT FLAVORS.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE 3 FLAVORS ARE?  

D:  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN ALL ABOUT THE SWEET TREAT.  HOW DO WE MAKE  DELICIOUS ICE CREAM THAT COMES IN SO MANY AMAZING FLAVORS AND IS SO SOFT AND CREAMY STRAIGHT OUT OF THE FREEZER?  WELL, IT INVOLVES A LOT OF SCIENCE.  

O:  ICE CREAM IS AN EMULSION.  THAT MEANS THAT IT COMBINES DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS THAT USUALLY DON’T MIX TOGETHER - FAT AND WATER.

D:  THE FAT IN ICE CREAM USUALLY COMES FROM MILK.  IN ORDER TO GET THE FAT AND WATER TO MIX, AN EMULSIFIER IS USED.  AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, AN EMULSIFIER IS AN INGREDIENT THAT HELPS MAKE AN EMULSION.  EGG YOLK IS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT CAN BE USED AS AN EMULSIFIER.        

O:  SWEETENERS ARE ANOTHER IMPORTANT INGREDIENT.  SWEETENERS, LIKE SUGAR, ADD SWEETNESS, BUT ALSO LOWER THE FREEZING POINT OF ICE CREAM, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT IN KEEPING ICE CREAM CREAMY.

D:  IF YOU THROW WATER IN THE FREEZER, IT’S GOING TO TURN INTO ICE.  SINCE SOFT AND CREAMY ICE CREAM IS PREFERRED TO HARD AND ICY ICE CREAM, WE DON’T WANT OUR ICE CREAM TO FREEZE INTO AN ICY HARD MESS.  ADDING SUGAR TO THE WATER IN AN ICE CREAM MIX PREVENTS THE WATER FROM TOTALLY FREEZING OVER, AND AS A BONUS, IT MAKES THE ICE CREAM SWEET.  AND, THERE’S ONE OTHER KEY INGREDIENT IN ICE CREAM THAT HAS A VERY IMPORTANT JOB, AIR!!!

O:  WAIT A SECOND, AIR?  AS IN THE AIR WE BREATHE?  HOW CAN AIR BE AN INGREDIENT… IT’S JUST AIR!

D:  AIR IS TOTALLY AN INGREDIENT IN ICE CREAM, AND A VERY IMPORTANT ONE AT THAT.  AIR ACTUALLY MAKES UP ABOUT HALF OF THE TOTAL VOLUME OF ICE CREAM.  HAVING PLENTY OF AIR IN THE ICE CREAM HELPS KEEP IT SOFT.  IT ALSO HAS ANOTHER GREAT BENEFIT - IT HELPS LOWER THE NUMBER OF CALORIES IN EACH SCOOP OF ICE CREAM.  

O:  FOR ICE CREAM THAT’S REALLY RICH AND CREAMY, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AIR IS USED.  FOR A SOFTER AND LIGHTER ICE CREAM, THE AMOUNT OF AIR IN THE MIX IS MUCH HIGHER.  

D:  SINCE ICE CREAM CONTAINS AIR IN A MIXTURE OF LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS, IT’S NOT ONLY AN EMULSION, BUT ALSO A FOAM.  HOW NEAT IS THAT?  

O:  THAT’S REALLY NEAT.  LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM.  

D:  GREAT IDEA.  IT’S HARD TO DETERMINE WHO GETS CREDIT FOR INVENTING ICE CREAM, BECAUSE IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE ICE CREAM IN THE FIRST PLACE.  AS LONG AGO AS 500 BC, PEOPLE OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE MADE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED ICE CREAM.  THEY POURED A GRAPE FRUIT CONCENTRATE OVER SNOW, AND ENJOYED THE COLD GRAPE TREAT THAT WAS FORMED.

O:  SOUNDS DELICIOUS, BUT IT ALSO SOUNDS MORE LIKE ICES THAN ICE CREAM TO ME.  I THINK ICE CREAM NEEDS TO BE CREAMY, BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL A LOT LATER THAN ICE CREAM BECAME SOFT AND CREAMY BECAUSE MILK WAS USED TO MAKE IT.  

D:  THAT’S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.  IT WASN’T UNTIL ABOUT THE YEAR 200 THAT THE CHINESE STARTING MAKING A CREAMIER ICE CREAM FROM A FROZEN MIXTURE OF MILK AND RICE.  

 O:  AROUND THE YEAR 800, THE ARAB PROPLE STARTED MAKING THEIR ICE CREAM USING MILK AND SUGAR, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS LIKE FRUITS AND NUTS.  

D:  IN THE LATE 1200’S, MARCO POLO RETURNED TO ITALY AND INTRODUCED THE ICE CREAM HE DISCOVERED IN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST TO THE ITALIAN PEOPLE.  FOR THE NEXT FEW CENTURIES, ITALY WOULD BECOME THE CENTER OF THE ICE CREAM UNIVERSE.   

O:  THE RECIPE FOR ICE CREAM DIDN’T REALLY MAKE IT OVER TO THE UNITED STATES UNTIL THE MID-1700’S.  

D:  EVEN THOUGH MANY COUNTRIES ENJOYED ICE CREAM FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE IT BECAME POPULAR IN THE UNITED STATES, ONCE WORD OF THE FROZEN TREAT MADE IT’S WAY TO THE UNITED STATES, THE POPULARITY OF ICE CREAM EXPLODED.  

O:  THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, GEORGE WASHINGTON, SPENT ABOUT $200 ON ICE CREAM IN THE YEAR 1790.  THAT TRANSLATES TO OVER $5,000 IN TODAY’S DOLLARS.  

D:  THE THIRD PRESIDENT, THOMAS JEFFERSON, INTRODUCED VANILLA TO THE UNITED STATES AFTER A VISIT TO FRANCE.  

O:  BELIEVE IT OR NOT, VANILLA IS THE MOST POPULAR FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM WORLDWIDE.  I WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT WAS CHOCOLATE.

D:  ME TOO.  I’LL TELL YOU WHICH FLAVORS ARE CERTAINLY NOT THE MOST POPULAR.  WHILE DOING RESEARCH FOR THIS EPISODE, WE CAME ACROSS BACON FLAVORED ICE CREAM, CHEETOS FLAVORED ICE CREAM, AND GARLIC FLAVORED ICE CREAM.  WOULD YOU TRY ANY OF THOSE?  I SURE WOULDN’T.  WELL ANYWAY, DOLLY MADISON, THE WIFE OF THE FOURTH PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON, SERVED ICE CREAM AT THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL BALL IN THE YEAR 1813.  THAT’S THREE OF THE FIRST FOUR PRESIDENTS THAT HAVE SOME ICE CREAM RELATED HISTORY. 

O:  THE FIRST HAND CRANKED ICE CREAM MAKER AND PORTABLE FREEZER WAS INVENTED BY NANCY JOHNSON RIGHT HERE IN NEW JERSEY.  SHE RECEIVED A PATENT FOR HER INVENTION IN 1843.

D:  AND HER INVENTION MADE ICE CREAM ACCESSIBLE TO SO MANY MORE PEOPLE.  

O:  THE ICE CREAM CONE WAS INVENTED IN THE YEAR 1904 IN ST. LOUIS.

D:  AND THE STORY BEHIND THE FIRST ICE CREAM CONES IS AWESOME.  IN THE YEAR 1904, THE WORLD’S FAIR TOOK PLACE IN ST. LOUIS.  THE WORLD’S FAIR ATTRACTS LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE.  WELL, AN ICE CREAM VENDOR AT THE WORLD’S FAIR RAN OUT OF BOWLS TO SERVE HIS ICE CREAM IN.  THAT’S WHEN HE ASKED A NEARBY WAFFLE VENDOR BY THE NAME OF ERNEST HAMWI FOR HELP.  THANKFULLY, MR. HAMWI STARTED USING HIS WAFFLE BATTER TO MAKE AN EDIBLE HOLDER FOR ICE CREAM, THE ICE CREAM CONE.  THAT’S A MAGICAL STORY.  ICE CREAM CONES ARE SO DELICIOUS, AND THEY MAY NOT EXIST IF NOT FOR ONE FATEFUL MOMENT IN ST. LOUIS BACK IN 1904.          

O:  IN 1939, LOTS OF ICE CREAM WAS SENT TO EUROPE FOR OUR TROOPS FIGHTING IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

D:  THAT’S WHEN AMERICAN ICE CREAM WENT WORLDWIDE.  BETWEEN THAT, AND THE INVENTION OF THE FIRST AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL FREEZER JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER, ICE CREAM THAT WAS ONCE RESERVED FOR THE WEALTHY AND WASN’T WIDELY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE BECAME WILDLY POPULAR ALL OVER THE WORLD.  

O:  IN 1984, PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN ANNOUNCED THAT THE MONTH OF JULY WOULD BE NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH.

D:  THAT, AND THE 3RD SUNDAY OF JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY.  SEEMS LIKE A GOOD TIME OF YEAR TO BE CELEBRATING ICE CREAM.  

O:  BEFORE WE GET TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK, CHECK OUT THESE INCREDIBLE NUMBERS.

D:  THE RECORD FOR MOST ICE CREAM EATEN IN JUST 6 MINUTES IS HELD BY MIKI SUDO, WHO ATE 16.5 PINTS OF ICE CREAM.  THAT’S CRAZY!

O:  THE AVERAGE COW MAKES ENOUGH MILK TO MAKE SEVEN AND A HALF THOUSAND GALLONS OF ICE CREAM.  MIND BLOWN!

D:  THAT’S CRAZY, CONSIDERING IT TAKES 12 GALLONS OF MILK TO MAKE JUST ONE GALLON OF ICE CREAM.  

O:  AND, THAT’S THE SCOOP ABOUT ICE CREAM.  ENJOY ICE CREAM, BUT DON’T EAT IT TOO QUICK, OR YOU MIGHT GET BRAIN FREEZE.

D:  HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRAIN FREEZE BEFORE?  IT DOESN’T FEEL GREAT.  WE ACTUALLY DISCUSSED BRAIN FREEZE A BIT IN THE EPISODE CURIOUS ABOUT THE BRAIN.  WHEN SOMEONE GETS BRAIN FREEZE, WHAT’S HAPPENING IS THAT HAVING A FROZEN FOOD COME IN CONTACT WITH THE ROOF OF THE MOUTH CAUSES BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN TO NARROW, OR CONSTRICT.  THEN, THE BODY TRIES TO SEND MORE BLOOD TO THE AREA TO PROVIDE WARMTH, CAUSING THOSE BLOOD VESSELS TO QUICKLY SWELL.  IT’S THE RAPID CONSTRICTION AND THEN SWELLING THAT CAUSES THE DISCOMFORT OF BRAIN FREEZE.  IN EPISODE 150, WE GIVE TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BRAIN FREEZE AND HOW TO MAKE IT END QUICKER IF IT DOES HAPPEN, SO CHECK IT OUT.  OKAY, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT 3 FLAVORS CAN BE FOUND IN NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM?

O:  NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM IS MADE UP OF VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, AND STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM.  THOSE ARE 3 YUMMY AND VERY POPULAR FLAVORS.  MY FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVORS ARE COOKIES AND CREAM, COOKIE DOUGH, AND CHOCOLATE.

D:  AND MY FAVORITE FLAVOR IS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  193 - ICE CREAM.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB JULES AND ARIANNA FOR THE CHILLY BUT VERY YUMMY EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  EPISODE 200 IS ONLY 7 WEEKS AWAY.  IF YOU WANT TO CONGRATULATE OLIVIA ON 200 EPISODES OF THE PODCAST AND MAYBE GET YOUR RECORDING INTO EPISODE 200, SEND A RECORDING OVER TO CURIOUSKIDPODCAST@GMAIL.COM.  PLEASE SEND THE E-MAIL WITH A SUBJECT OF “EPISODE 200 RECORDING” AND LIMIT YOUR RECORDING TO 30 SECONDS OR LESS.  SEND IN YOUR RECORDINGS NO LATER THAN JUNE 30TH.  OLIVIA IS GOING TO BE SO EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU.  BEFORE WE GO, WE HAVE A FEW AMAZING PEOPLE TO THANK.

O:  THANKS TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, SIDDH G. AND SARAH N.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO SIDDH AND SARAH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT.  WE HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE EXCLUSIVE MONTHLY CURRENT EVENTS EPISODES, EARLY ACCESS TO OUR REGULAR WEEKLY EPISODES, AND FREQUENT POSTS LETTING YOU KNOW WHAT WE’RE UP TO AT CURIOUS KID PODCAST HEADQUARTERS INCLUDING NEWS ABOUT WHAT WE’RE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT MONTHS FROM NOW.

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME MARTIN GIRLS FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  THE REVIEW SAYS “BEST PODCAST EVER.  DEAR JACOB AND OLIVIA, I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I TRY TO LISTEN TO YOU AS MUCH AS I CAN.  I LOVE LEARNING ABOUT DIFFERENT TOPICS, AND THEIR FUN FACTS.  FROM ELIZA, LOLA, AND DAISY.

O:  THAT WAS AN AWESOME REVIEW SENT BY 3 SUPER SPECIAL LISTENERS IN AUSTRALIA.  WE LOVE YOU TOO, ELIZA, LOLA, AND DAISY.  

D:  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE FOR A LISTENER IN ALBERTA, CANADA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.