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Slowing Down the Melting of Ice Cream… WITH SCIENCE!

Photo Credit: BESTWORK/ISTOCKPHOTO

Science will save the Summer!

There are not too many things better than a delicious ice cream on a hot summer day. The only problem is that you have to eat it with rapid speed before having a mess on your hands. But, there may be a solution to our sticky problem: Banana plant extract.

Engineers found that tiny particles from ground up stems of banana plants can slow down the melting process of ice cream. The fat droplets that are mixed in while making ice cream determine the speed at which it melts.

If you are watching your figure, you may choose to go with a low fat ice cream selection. Low fat ice cream will have less fat, which will lead to fewer fat droplets. This means it isn’t being held as tight, so you can expect a quicker mess. The fat droplets make it harder for water and ice crystals to melt.

Despite using this as an excuse to buy ice cream with more fat in it, the hot weather, regardless, is still going to speed up the process and you’ll still be messy. Here is where the power of banana plants can help.

Banana plant stalks are rich in cellulose, which helps to make plant cells stiff. Cellulose molecules have a tendency to stretch themselves out and take up more space as they dissolve in water. As a result, the liquid thickness will greatly increase.

Chemical engineer Velasquez Cock used a special machine to extract little pieces of cellulose from the banana stalks. Alongside a co-advisor and a food scientist from the University of Guelph in Canada, they added the pieces to ice cream. And, as expected, it worked! The ice cream lasted longer before melting into a soupy mix.

The researchers explained that they need to make the process more efficient before really pushing forward with adding it to all ice cream. Cool changes are coming, but the delicious ice cream will always remain!

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