Culver teacher with viral TikTok following talks science of ice cream

CULVER, Ind. (WNDU) - A Culver Academies chemistry teacher, with millions of TikTok followers, is serving up something sweet: the science of ice cream.

On Wednesday, Phil Cook showed 16 News a special way of making ice cream in a lab, using liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream instead of incorporating rock salt.

Note: Cook urges viewers not to try the experiment at home due to the precautions required with liquid nitrogen use; Cook is a trained professional.

For the Wednesday demonstration, Cook mixed half-and-half, vanilla flavoring, cane sugar, and liquid nitrogen.

“The clouds that you see, is water vapor from the air that is condensing around the ice cream as it freezes,” Cook described.

Liquid nitrogen has a temperature of -196 °C, causing the mixture to become ice cream within seconds.

On Wednesday, May 17, Cook is teaching a free online course about the science of ice cream. He will teach people how to make the frozen dessert at home using a rock salt method.

The course can be replayed on the Varsity Tutors YouTube page.

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