Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze ice cream during the production of Dippin’ Dots®.
Dippin’ Dots® is an ice cream novelty created by flash freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen through a proprietary process. The end result is a series of small scoop-shaped “dots” of ice cream that can be placed in a bowl and eaten with a spoon or poured directly into the mouth. Dippin’ Dots® is heavily marketed as the “Ice Cream of the Future” and is generally only available at approved Dippin’ Dots® franchisees.
Dippin’ Dots are often found at amusement parks.
Dippin’ Dots® began as an experiment on the effects of flash freezing on food. An engineer used a can of liquid nitrogen to freeze a batch of ice cream base, and the result was a pearl ice cream that retained all the creaminess of regular ice cream, but with the portability of small pellets. Dippin’ Dots® servers wouldn’t have to put up with the stress and strain of serving ice cream with a traditional spoon. Dippin’ Dots® can be served with dry measures from containers stored in a specially designed super-freezer unit.
There are several different base flavors for Dippin’ Dots®, including traditional chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Exotic flavors such as banana, mint, and pina colada can also be created through the flash freezing process. Customers can choose from specialty mixes like Chocolate Mint or Strawberry Banana, or select any number of basic flavors to mix. Dippin’ Dots® can also be made from a frozen yogurt base or flavored syrup base to create frozen yogurt or frozen ice pearls.
There are also alternative frozen treats including Dippin’ Dots® ice cream, including a version of the traditional ice cream sandwich with Dippin’ Dots® pearl ice cream poured between two cookies. Dippin’ Dots® can also be used as sprinkles in other ice cream novelties, like sundaes or banana splits.
Although heralded as the “Ice Cream of the Future”, Dippin’ Dots® have not made a significant difference in the ice cream market thus far. Due to a flaw in the original patent application, other companies can legally produce frozen instant ice cream similar to Dippin’ Dots®, and at least one brand has already hit supermarket shelves. For now, Dippin’ Dots® can be enjoyed primarily at amusement parks, shopping malls, and some independent franchises.