Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Why Add Rock Salt To Ice For Ice Cream







If an ice cream maker requires ice, add salt to it


Without rock salt to lower the freezing point of the ice, it would not be possible to make ice cream in a hand-cranked or traditional electric ice cream maker. Ice naturally melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which is too warm to create ice cream.


Process


According to sendicecream.com, rock salt forces the ice surrounding the can of ice cream to melt, creating a brine solution that lowers the ice cream's temperature to help it freeze.


Temperature


Without adding rock salt, the ice would melt at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The ice cream must be at least 27 degrees Fahrenheit in order to freeze. The ice lowers the melting point of the ice to between eight and 12 degrees Fahrenheit.








Ratio


According to sendicecream.com, you need one cup of rock salt for every five cups of ice in your ice cream maker.


Table Salt


Some scientists who participated in the the "Ask a Scientist" column at newton.dep.anl.gov believe table salt can be used instead of rock salt to make ice cream. One scientist, however, suggested that table salt may lower the brine temperature too quickly, causing ice crystals to form in the ice cream.


No Salt


If an ice cream maker requires ice, you must use salt. If the ice cream maker does not use ice, it lowers the temperature of the ice cream automatically without a salt brine.

Tags: cream maker, rock salt, degrees Fahrenheit, According sendicecream, cream maker requires, make cream