INSTANT ICE CREAM WITHOUT REFRIGERATION
If you’re able to buy ice cream from a vending machine one day — even the same machine that dispenses coffee and other hot beverages — it may partly be a result of Syed Rizvi’s research.
Rizvi, professor of food science at Cornell University, and Michael E. Wagner, who earned a Ph.D. from Cornell in 2015, were recently awarded a patent for a process that uses pressurized carbon dioxide to make instant ice cream.
“Of course, you’ll need the liquid ice cream mix,” Rizvi said. “The mix can be made commercially, locally or you can make it at home. It’s very simple, and this machine converts the mix into a scoop of ice cream in about three seconds.”
As reported by the Cornell Chronicle, the prototype machine developed by Rizvi and Wagner cools the ice cream mixture by moving carbon dioxide from high pressure to a lower pressure. Within seconds of operation, the ice cream shoots out of a nozzle and is ready to eat.
Instant ice cream eliminates the need to store and transport ice cream at freezing temperatures. Commercial ice cream makers have to add stabilizers and emulsifiers to their products to protect them from any accidental warming in the cold-temperature transportation chain.
“Consumers today want a clean product,” Rizvi said. “They don’t want undesirable ingredients thrown into it.”
The patented machine can instantly give frozen qualities to any liquid. “You can make a slushy out of soft drinks,” he said. “You can convert water into carbonated ice instantly, too.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? We would love to hear from you about Chai Time. If you have contributions, please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
