Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?
--
Tim Mitchell

In article ,
Tim Mitchell wrote:

Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

Try adding a little bit more sugar syrup or get some glycerol (decent
cake supply shops will have some or see your local chemist). You need
something to lower the freezing point of the solution so it will be less
solidly frozen at the temp of your freezer. The trick of course is to
use something that will do the job without introducing unwanted
flavours. Thinking about it you could use some of the lighter flavoured
non creamed honeys too, though I don't know how the waxes in it will
react to the low temps.

Or make alcoholic ice lollies ;-)

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

"Tim Mitchell" wrote in message
...
Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

Add shockingly large amount of sugar?

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 10:36:00 +0100, Tim Mitchell
wrote:

Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

AFAIR, you need something very cold to freeze them more quickly, and
you shouldn't store them for long once frozen. We make them in the
freezer, not the fridge, and place the mould directly against the
metal wall of the evaporator.

Commercial ones probably have some noxious goop in there that makes it
easy.

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 11:43:21 +0100, "Austin"
wrote:

"Tim Mitchell" wrote in message
...
Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

Add shockingly large amount of sugar?

Ah, that probably explains why frozen strong made-up squash comes out just
fine. (Not the low-cal varieties, obviously. Spit.)

--
John

Tim Mitchell wrote:
Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

Liquid nitrogen van be used to make great icecream, can't see why you
couldn't try using it for lollies too. LN is cheaper than beer !

Steve

In article ,
Tim Mitchell writes:

If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you end
up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

As has been pointed out, flash freezing is a strategy. You may
find that conventional ice cream making technique helps, in that
as it freezes you whisk it to break up the crystals and fill it
into the mould as a slurry before the final freeze. For another
strategy, you might find that a sorbet mix will produce a softer
lolly because of the egg white. For ice cream proper, The fat
content should be high (so there goes the diet!) as this both
makes the ice cream softer at minus 18, but it also has a much
lower specific heat then water so that it softens faster at room
temperature. Again, proper freeze-and-beat cycling helps as does
entraining plenty of air. The commercial advantages of entraining
air into a product sold by volume are fairly obvious.

John Schmitt


--
If you have nothing to say, or rather, something extremely stupid
and obvious, say it, but in a 'plonking' tone of voice - i.e.
roundly, but hollowly and dogmatically. - Stephen Potter

In article ,
Tim Mitchell writes:

Thanks for all the replies. I reckon slowness of freezing is my main
problem. I will try freezing some in the bottom of the freezer with bags
of frozen peas packed round them. Unfortunately I don't have a handy
supply of liquid nitrogen.

A shame. http://www.affection.net/~jamesc/cooking.html

is but one example.

John Schmitt


--
If you have nothing to say, or rather, something extremely stupid
and obvious, say it, but in a 'plonking' tone of voice - i.e.
roundly, but hollowly and dogmatically. - Stephen Potter

In message ,
Tim Mitchell wrote:

In article , Steve
writes
Tim Mitchell wrote:
Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.
If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you
end up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly,
the ice is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily.
Does anyone know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them
like this?

Liquid nitrogen van be used to make great icecream, can't see why you
couldn't try using it for lollies too. LN is cheaper than beer !



Thanks for all the replies. I reckon slowness of freezing is my main
problem. I will try freezing some in the bottom of the freezer with bags
of frozen peas packed round them. Unfortunately I don't have a handy
supply of liquid nitrogen.

Some freezers have a "fast freeze" switch which lowers the temperature
of a part of the cabinet specifically so you can freeze things better.
If not, adjusting the dial so that the compressor is on continuously for
a while has a similar effect. Don't forget to put it back to the normal
position once everything's frozen though!

Mind you, if you've a combined unit like ours, there's only one dial and
that does both fridge and freezer - separate compartments but the same
compressor and radiator. Turning the dial up to lower the temperature in
the freezer does the same to the fridge...

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove (it's Cornish for "Smith") - ARM/Digital SA110 RPC
See the Aber Valley -- http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/abervalley.html
.... Life. Hate it, or ignore it. You can't like it.

In article ,
(Huge) wrote:

Martin Angove writes:

[23 lines snipped]

Some freezers have a "fast freeze" switch which lowers the temperature
of a part of the cabinet specifically so you can freeze things better.
If not, adjusting the dial so that the compressor is on continuously for
a while has a similar effect. Don't forget to put it back to the normal
position once everything's frozen though!

The "Fast Freeze" switch on freezers just shorts out the thermostat and makes
the compressor run continuously.

Exactly, which means the temperature ramps down faster after opening the
door and placing something warm inside. Mechanism isn't important, only
the endpoint. Which is why I have been known to throw dry ice into a
-70C freezer that was failing to maintain the temperature while a better
solution arrived.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

Huge wrote:
Peter Ashby writes:

In article ,
(Huge) wrote:


Martin Angove writes:

[23 lines snipped]


Some freezers have a "fast freeze" switch which lowers the temperature
of a part of the cabinet specifically so you can freeze things better.
If not, adjusting the dial so that the compressor is on continuously for
a while has a similar effect. Don't forget to put it back to the normal
position once everything's frozen though!

The "Fast Freeze" switch on freezers just shorts out the thermostat and makes
the compressor run continuously.

Exactly, which means the temperature ramps down faster after opening the
door and placing something warm inside.


How does running the compressor make things get colder faster as opposed
to running the compressor?


because the tstat is usually limited to around -40 C. The compressor and
gas charge will usually evaporate even lower, so you can have more
cooling "left over". If you switch to "super" before loading it, the
thing starts at -50 ish and cools commensurately faster.

Steve

In message , Andy Dingley
writes
On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 10:36:00 +0100, Tim Mitchell
wrote:

Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

AFAIR, you need something very cold to freeze them more quickly, and
you shouldn't store them for long once frozen. We make them in the
freezer, not the fridge, and place the mould directly against the
metal wall of the evaporator.

Commercial ones probably have some noxious goop in there that makes it
easy.

They probably also agitate them during the freeing process
--
geoff

In message , Steve
writes
Tim Mitchell wrote:
Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.
If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you
end up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly,
the ice is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily.
Does anyone know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them
like this?

Liquid nitrogen van be used to make great icecream, can't see why you
couldn't try using it for lollies too. LN is cheaper than beer !

Not in my local it's not

What's the minimum quantity you can buy?
--
geoff

In article ,
geoff writes:

Liquid nitrogen van be used to make great icecream, can't see why you
couldn't try using it for lollies too. LN is cheaper than beer

Not in my local it's not

If they sold it it would be. Depending on who you are less than
20p a litre. It's a bit like the spoil from a goldmine as far as
BOC are concerned. In the successive liquefaction of air,
ignoring water,oxygen comes out first about 20% then the
nitrogen 79% or thereabouts then there's argon about 0.9% which is
the gold. Somewhere the carbon dioxide comes out, but it is
basically waste as there are far easier ways to do dry ice.
Finally neon and krypton and xenon which are the platinum, rubies
and diamonds of the process.

What's the minimum quantity you can buy?

Probably 25 litres. You'll have to do it through a company,
because nanny doesn't like people to have such dangerous toys.
Your best bet is to find a local college (one with an electron
microscope is a good bet) and take a thermos along and cadge
some. The dewars lose a reasonable amount, so a litre here or
there won't be noticed.

John Schmitt



--
If you have nothing to say, or rather, something extremely stupid
and obvious, say it, but in a 'plonking' tone of voice - i.e.
roundly, but hollowly and dogmatically. - Stephen Potter

Thomas Prufer wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 10:36:00 +0100, Tim Mitchell
wrote:

If you buy an ice lolly, the ice
is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily. Does anyone
know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them like this?

Children's program on the telly showed one way they are made
commercially: The mix is filled in metal molds. These are suspended
in racks moved over a very cold water-salt mix. So they are freezing
rapidly outside-in, with radial needly ice crystals. The stick is
inserted when the lolly is slushy enough to support it.

Thomas Prufer

Why do they cost nearly a quid apiece? It is a ridiculous price.

There is a difference in the way that ice crystals form in a fridge or
a freezer. With the slow cooling capacity of a fridge the crystals
formed are large. With a faster freeze the crysals are smaller. That
is why the food frozen in a fridge turns to pulp.

It is a good way to produce apple juice and whatever else. Defrost,
filter, chill; perhaps add a drop of glycerine to taste (or wine??)
Then pop it in the freezer to make slabs of fruit ice. Or make your
own wine with it. (Don't freeze that though, as the apple-jack -or
whatever, alcohol will be full of a poison called fusel oil.)

geoff wrote:
In message , Steve
writes

Tim Mitchell wrote:

Ok, this is probably a bit off topic but it is DIY.
If you make ice lollies by freezing fruit juice in lolly moulds, you
end up with a hard lump of ice on a stick. If you buy an ice lolly,
the ice is much softer and you can bite off little chunks easily.
Does anyone know what they do to commercial ice lollies to make them
like this?


Liquid nitrogen van be used to make great icecream, can't see why you
couldn't try using it for lollies too. LN is cheaper than beer !

Not in my local it's not

What's the minimum quantity you can buy?

We got ours from the local heat treatment company - they quench metals
in it. It was free !

Steve

In article ,
parish parish_AT_ntlworld.com writes:

/fusel oil/? Can you elaborate please? Does this apply to any frozen
alcohol drink, or just apple-based ones?

It applies to *any* alcoholic drink. I suspect it also applies to
de-alcoholised alcoholic drinks too. I always found that the low
alcohol beers made by reverse osmosis gave me a very satisfying
hangover without any of that awful feeling of relaxation and
well-being. Fusel oil is a relatively undefined term but is a
collection of poisonous chemicals which give you a hangover.
Concentrating alcohol by freezing only makes it volumetrically
easier to take a "fatal" dose. It is of course illegal to
concentrate alcohol by any means without an excise licence.

John Schmitt


--
If you have nothing to say, or rather, something extremely stupid
and obvious, say it, but in a 'plonking' tone of voice - i.e.
roundly, but hollowly and dogmatically. - Stephen Potter

Michael McNeil wrote:

Thomas Prufer wrote in message . ..
Or make your
own wine with it. (Don't freeze that though, as the apple-jack -or
whatever, alcohol will be full of a poison called fusel oil.)

/fusel oil/? Can you elaborate please? Does this apply to any frozen
alcohol drink, or just apple-based ones?

parish parish_AT_ntlworld.com wrote in message t...
Michael McNeil wrote:

Thomas Prufer wrote in message . ..
Or make your
own wine with it. (Don't freeze that though, as the apple-jack -or
whatever, alcohol will be full of a poison called fusel oil.)

/fusel oil/? Can you elaborate please? Does this apply to any frozen
alcohol drink, or just apple-based ones?

I'm no expert by any means. My homebrew comes out of a can. I don't
even have a fridge. But:

I believe it is produced in all fermentations but is especially prone
to be present in root crop ones where there is insufficient yeast
nutriment -unless you add it (ammonium phosphate I think it's called.)
It is the sort of liquor extract that also produces cloudy musts (from
too much pectin) although that will drop using the fridge to pulp your
fruit or veg instead of boiling it.

Brewmasters know when to stop the ferment before distilling or recycle
the first percentage of alcohol produced. That can't happen with
freezing the cider to produce applejack. The oil and the alcohol
separate from the ice formed and the drinkers get a bad head or in bad
cases can go blind. Apples, like root crops don't have enough
nutriment for the yeast either. I believe scrumpy gets to be so strong
because of the presence of certain creatures in the windfalls.

Again this all unsupported rumour.

In message , Frank
writes
From what I can gather this only aplies to fermented drinks, not distilled
ones

I've been drinking vodka and poteen straight from the freezer for years with
no problems

Aah, but that's already been distilled, so the higher alcohols have been
more or less removed. Freezing it would make little difference - as
opposed to simply freezing wine or beer where the water would freeze out
leaving the whole alcohol mix liquid
--
geoff

Hamish Marson wrote:


The CO2 comes out first (After the water of course ... -72C IIRC. What
would be easier than that to do dry ice?



-72 you can do with two stage conventional refrigeration


Steve