How do they make dippin dots?

[Joools]

They sell these at baseball games out here in Seattle, and I’ve seen signs that indicate they sell them at McDonald’s too. You’ve probably seen it: it’s a bowl full of what look like ball bearings made out of ice cream.

Does anybody know how they make these? It seems like you’d need to make them differently from standard ice cream, which can safely melt a little bit and re-freeze and still maintain its overall texture. With these things, I imagine once they melted in the slightest, they’d melt together and the effect would be ruined.

I have trouble believing that McDonald’s would sell anything they couldn’t buy in a bottle or box and heat or cool on premises, so I imagine there’s some sort of machine you can have in the restaurant that cranks out these perfect little spheres of ice cream. My wife thinks otherwise, though, that they’re made in a factory and shipped in dry ice all over the country.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Your wife is right. Sorry.

They have one factory, in Paducah, Kentucky.

http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ic000410.html

Roughly (very) the process goes like this: Using liquid nitrogen at -320 degrees F, the system is chilled, and regular ice cream mix is poured into a hopper. It goes through a sieve-like plate and drops a few feet.

During that short drop, the change takes place that makes Dippin’ Dots the novel kind of ice cream it is. The mix isn’t just frozen, it’s super-frozen, instantly, and arrives at the bottom of the “shot tower” in little balls — or dots — about the size of baby peas.

Dippin’ Dots caught on, Curt patented the process, and the operation went from a family operation in a tiny garage to a business that sells ice cream in several countries around the world. Now located in a 26,000-square-foot building in Paducah, Kentucky, and looking to expand, Dippin’ Dots employs some 160 employees. About half the company’s workers live in southern Illinois.

Then they ship it out to their franchisees.

http://www.dippindots.com/dd_info.asp

…Dippin’ Dots are then flash-frozen using a special patented process. This super-cold freezing allows our products to maintain their individual “dot” consistency. Dippin’ Dots are then transported coast-to-coast and around the world by truck, train, plane and ship.

Our worldwide network of retailers sells the Ice Cream of the Future® at thousands of locations, including malls, amusement and water parks, stadiums, fairs and festivals.

http://www.irretailsolutions.com/newsroom/dippin.htm

BRIDGETON, MO (June 21, 2002) - From the early days of doing business out of a garage during the late 80’s, to being named one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing private company’s just a few years later, Dippin’ Dots has made a name for its reinvention of the dessert favorite, ice cream. The growth trend continues at a fast pace, as the company continues to experience annual double-digit increases in sales. The unique Dippin’ Dots, Ice Cream of the Future®, is now available in 31 states and is shipped to 15 countries around the globe. It can be found in thousands of shopping malls, amusement parks, water parks, fairs and festivals worldwide.

They can’t all have special ice-cream-freezing machines. They order it, and it’s shipped packed in dry ice.

You can order it for yourself, too.

http://www.dippindots.com/store/intro.asp

…*Your order will be delivered via FedEx next day service (FedEx Priority Overnight). This service typically delivers the next business morning, but delivery may not occur until the next afternoon depending upon your zip code. For similar reasons, we cannot guarantee the exact time your ice cream will be delivered. You may want to check with your local FedEx office for further details. Because ice cream is perishable, we only use overnight delivery service.

*Your order will be packed in dry ice (see dry ice handling instructions upon opening the box). The proper serving temperature cannot be maintained if removed from the carton and placed in your home freezer. Your ice cream will remain frozen as long as: a)there is adequate dry ice inside the box (approximately 24 hours after arrival), b) dry ice is kept on top of the ice cream and, c)the container is kept in an environment of 70°F or below. Dry ice will dissipate when exposed to air. For your safety do not remove dry ice from shipping bag.

*Eat Dippin’ Dots with plastic spoons (provided) only.

Straight from the factory freezer, it’s really really cold. You’ll hurt yourself if you eat it with a metal spoon.