Ice cream: Science with a chocolate topping
London Regional
Group Event review
 On 29 January 2008, in
conjunction with University College
London’s Chemical and Physical
Society, SCI’s London Regional Group
held a rewarding event revealing the
secrets behind the production – and
consumption – of ice cream, from the
perspective of Unilever, the worlds
largest ice cream manufacturer.
Unilever represents around 17%
of global ice cream production, and
with annual world-wide production
in excess of 5 billion litres, this is
big business, requiring an impressive
investment in science. The methods
and techniques of ice cream
production were outlined, but some
of the most interesting facts were
the social and post-production
elements.
Guest speaker Dr Andrew Cox
discussed unpredictable differences
between markets, such as Sweden
and Spain. One might assume that
Spain, with its hot climate and busy
tourist industry would consume
considerably more per capita than
its cooler north European
counterpart. However, thanks to the
higher use of dairy products in
Northern Europe, it is in fact Sweden
that consumes a greater amount.
However, no surprise that top of the
ice cream league is the US, where
per capita consumption is in excess
of 20 litres per year.
Dr Cox also spoke about some of
the unusual transport issues facing
ice cream distributors in the US. For
example, taking ice cream across
the Rocky Mountains involves
travelling at altitudes in excess of
2000 metres, which leads to the
expansion of the ice cream due to
reduced air pressures. Since ice
cream is 50% air, a great deal of the
dairy product can be spoilt in transit.
Dr Cox opened this dilemma to the
floor, hoping to find a solution that
would not increase the cost of
transportation (so no tunnels
through the Rockies!). Unfortunately,
the audience were stumped.
There was even time for Dr Cox
to try and break the world record
for ice cream production, currently
held at 18 seconds, using liquid
nitrogen. Although failing in his
attempt, his time of 34 seconds was
still very respectable and the final
product looked fantastic (mostly).
The event concluded with much-appreciated
free samples.
This well-organised event was
one of the highlights of SCI’s London
Group calendar; a great example of
what is on offer from your SCI
Regional Groups.
David Cosway
SCI London Regional Group
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