Extreme Ice Creams

Extreme ice creams are ice creams you invent yourself and freeze in seconds with liquid nitrogen. You learn a little flavour science, choose your own combination of ingredients and stir them into a creamy base. Then the liquid nitrogen goes in, a big cloud of fog rolls out and your mix turns into ice cream right in front of you. Science has never tasted so good.

Liquid nitrogen is the gas nitrogen, which makes up most of the air we breathe, cooled until it becomes a liquid. It's incredibly cold, at around minus 196 degrees Celsius. When it's poured into a stirred ice cream mix, it boils away almost at once and takes the heat of the mix with it.

Because it freezes so quickly, only tiny ice crystals have time to form, so the ice cream is extra smooth. The nitrogen disappears into the air, leaving no taste behind. The white fog is actually water in the air turning into tiny droplets as it meets the cold, a bit like your breath on a frosty morning.

Our tongues pick up five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (a rich, savoury taste). The tastiest flavours balance a few of them. A pinch of salt makes sweet things taste sweeter, a squeeze of lemon makes fruit taste brighter and a little dark chocolate stops things getting too sugary.

Smell matters just as much. Try holding your nose while you eat and see how much flavour vanishes. That's why herbs, spices and fruit zest are so handy for new ideas. Some surprising pairings really work, like strawberry with a little black pepper or chocolate with orange. Children are often brilliant at this, because they're happy to try the unexpected.

Your Activity Leader starts with a quick, fun introduction to flavour science and a few tastings to get everyone thinking. Then it's time to experiment, choosing ingredients and mixing up your own creation, as weird and wacky as you like. Finally, your Activity Leader adds the liquid nitrogen, the fog swirls and your ice cream is ready to enjoy.

Yes, it's a lovely mix of science, creativity and a sweet treat at the end. Children get to be the inventors, making real choices about flavour and seeing the results straight away. Grown-ups tend to get just as excited when the fog appears. It's a great way to spark conversations about why food tastes the way it does, long after the last spoonful.

You might also like Ice Cream Tasting, The Science of Sweets and Explosive Science.

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