2 Little-Known Fun And Tasty Uses For Dry Ice

While you have likely heard of dry ice, you may not realize just how many uses it really has. Of course, it is a staple in the food shipping industry — dry ice can help keep frozen goods cold during the often-long shipping process much more efficiently and, of course, less messily than ice made of water can. It is also a staple in the medical industry today with dry ice "cold packs" being common in hospitals due to their convenience. However, dry ice has many fun and tasty uses, so read on to learn about two ways you can use dry ice to make your favorite treats quicker and easier. 

1. Dry Ice Ice Cream Requires No Ice Cream Maker and Little Freeze Time

If you have always wanted to make ice cream at home, but don't want to invest in an ice cream maker, then you can make ice cream quickly and easily with no special kitchen appliances needed when you make it with dry ice. Dry ice ice cream also virtually eliminates the "wait time" between when you make homemade ice cream and when you can eat it — after preparing the ice cream base of your choice, you don't have to wait hours for it to freeze in a traditional freezer; instead, you simply drop some dry ice into the base, mix it around, and it will freeze within a minute. 

However, even though this ice cream is fun to make, always be careful when handling the ice due to its extremely cold temperature that can damage your skin upon contact; dry ice is about -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit, so never touch it with your fingers or allow it to come into contact with any other areas of your skin. Also, never allow children to make this ice cream alone and make sure no one eats the ice cream until the dry ice is completely melted. 

2. You Can Turn Any Beverage Into Soda Pop with Dry Ice

If you love soda, but hate lugging the two-liters up the stairs of your home, then you may not realize that you can make your own soda at home with dry ice. It is much more affordable than expensive soda-pop makers, and when using dry ice to make soda, you can carbonate virtually any liquid. If you have always wondered how carbonated orange juice would taste, then you can make an all-natural orange juice soda with dry ice. 

You can even carbonate a thicker liquid, like chocolate milk. Since the dry ice will produce a "fog" as it melts, dry ice soda is fun to serve at parties in big punch bowls and doubles as a beverage and decoration. 

All you have to do is place the beverage you would like to carbonate in a bowl and add a few small chunks of dry ice. Then, stir it until the dry ice sublimates (melts) completely. Some ice will sublimate into the air and make "fog" and some will intersperse with the beverage to carbonate it. 

As when making and serving the ice cream, also make sure that your skin does not come into contact with the dry ice and that all dry ice is completely sublimated before anyone drinks the carbonated beverage. 

Dry ice has many uses, so remember these two fun and tasty uses for it next time you host a party or just want to have some tasty fun at home. For more information, contact local professionals like United City Ice Cube


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