Pickle-Flavored Ice Cream? PDF

Text 1 Pickle-Flavored Ice Cream? © Corbis/HIP by Ellie Court D id you know that some people are paid to eat ice cream? People called “flavor scientists” come up with new ideas for ice-cream flavors. Then, when a new ice-cream flavor has been made, someone called a “taste tester” tries a few spoonfu...

Text 1 Pickle-Flavored Ice Cream? © Corbis/HIP by Ellie Court D id you know that some people are paid to eat ice cream? People called “flavor scientists” come up with new ideas for ice-cream flavors. Then, when a new ice-cream flavor has been made, someone called a “taste tester” tries a few spoonfuls and decides whether people will love it. If not, the new flavor is sent back to the flavor scientist. The flavor scientist’s job is to fix that flavor by adding something new to it. Perhaps the ice cream needs a bit more chocolate, or some nuts, or even a whole different mix of flavors. Both taste testers and flavor scientists have jobs that involve being paid to eat ice cream. 1 5 Flavor Scientist Kristin Schimoler, a flavor scientist for Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream company, says that when she was young, she loved to mix foods together in weird and wonderful ways. “My brother and I would go into the kitchen and create Pickle-Flavored Ice Cream? ◆ page 10 1 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH). things,” she explains. When Kristin saw an ad in the newspaper for a flavor scientist to work at Ben & Jerry’s, she knew it was the job for her. Flavor scientists, also known as “flavorists,” develop new flavors of ice cream. They try to invent new, creative flavors that people will love. Developing a new ice-cream flavor is a long process. First, flavor scientists get an idea. They get ideas from seeing which kinds of ice cream sell the best in stores and from interviewing people. Next, flavor scientists experiment. They can’t be afraid to try new things. One flavor scientist tried to make a Coke- and popcorn-flavored ice cream. He has also tested flavors like nacho cheese and pickle ice cream. None of those experiments worked out, but sometimes a flavor that might not sound very good actually passes the test. After flavor scientists decide on a flavor that they think will be popular, it is sent to the ice-cream tasters. You would be surprised by the flavors that are created. One ice-cream company even sells tomato and basil ice cream! 15 20 25 Ice-Cream Taster Once a flavor scientist has designed a new flavor of ice cream, it goes to the ice-cream taste testers. Their job is to sample the ice cream and decide if others will like it. Most tasters work for big ice-cream companies. John Harrison, who works for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, has been tasting ice cream for thirty years. He starts his job at 7:30 in the morning. In the first four to five hours of his day, John often samples sixty spoonfuls of ice cream! When interviewed by Cooking Light magazine, he said jokingly, “[It’s] a tough job, but somebody has to do it.” Most tasters follow strict rules when trying a new flavor. First, the taster cuts the carton of ice cream in half using a knife. The taster does this to check the look, smell, and texture of the ice cream. Next, the ice-cream taster uses a golden spoon to put a small scoop of the treat on his or her tongue. Regular spoons, like the ones we use at home, can affect the taste of the ice cream. Finally, the taster swirls the ice cream around so that it touches all of the tester’s taste buds. Tasters like John must decide if they like the ice cream. Before John tastes a new flavor, he washes out his mouth. If you love ice cream, a job as a taste tester or a flavor scientist might be perfect for you. Pickle-Flavored Ice Cream? ◆ page 30 35 40 45 2 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH). Text 2 How Do Big Ice-Cream Companies Make Ice Cream? by Frida Peters A t big companies like Turkey Hill, Dreyer’s Grand, and Ben & Jerry’s, ice-cream making is serious business! It requires large amounts of ingredients, gigantic machines, many workers, and a lot of time. Follow the arrows below to see how it is done. 1 It All Starts with the Cows! Tens of thousands of cows are needed to produce enough milk to make ice cream in these factories. Milk is gathered from the cows and shipped by tanker trucks to the ice-cream factories. At the factory, the milk and cream are pumped into storage tanks. These tanks must be kept at thirty-six degrees to keep the milk fresh. Some tanks hold as much as 6,000 gallons of milk or cream. That’s as much as a small swimming pool! 3 Off It Goes! Once the ice cream is made, special machines fill up containers with the tasty treat so that it can be shipped to grocery stores and restaurants all over the world. 2 At the Factory Ice-cream factories are busy places! There are always flavor scientists, experimenting to make new ice-cream flavors. At Ben and Jerry’s, these people are called “Flavor Gurus.” To get ideas for new ice-cream flavors, they taste foods from around the world. They mix, chop, and blend ingredients until they come up with a perfect combination. When they decide on a new flavor, they write up the recipe so that others will be able to make large quantities of that new flavor. The mix master is a person who follows the recipe that the flavor scientist has decided upon earlier. The mix master combines cream, milk, and sugar. The mix master might also add egg yolks or chocolate flavors. Next, the ice-cream mixture gets poured into a machine called a “chunk feeder.” The chunk feeder is a big machine that adds chunks of cookies, brownies, nuts, and other ingredients to the ice cream. It is like a gigantic blender. How Do Big Ice-Cream Companies Make Ice Cream? ◆ page 1 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH). Text 3 A Recipe for Making Ice Cream at Home by Martha Sheffield M aking ice cream at home can be very easy. One of the easiest ways to make ice cream is using plastic zip-top bags. Follow these simple steps! Before you start, gather these ingredients: 1 Ingredients 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons of sugar ½ teaspoon of vanilla 2 cups of ice ¼ cup of rock salt (this is sometimes called “ice-cream salt” in stores) a plastic, quart-sized zip-top bag a plastic, gallon-sized zip-top bag any other ingredients you want to add (see step 4) 10 15 Step 1 Put the milk, sugar, and vanilla into the quart-sized zip-top bag. Zip the bag so that it is sealed shut and shake the mixture until it is mixed. Step 2 Put your rock salt and ice into the larger zip-top bag. Zip the bag to 20 seal it shut. Shake up the bag. Step 3 Put the smaller, sealed zip-top bag into the larger one and seal the larger bag. Now, gently move the larger bag back and forth in a rocking motion. Do this until the ice cream in the smaller bag becomes nice and thick. 25 Step 4 Be your own flavor scientist! You can add almost anything to your ice cream, so be creative and have fun! You might try chocolate chips, nuts, chopped fruit, caramel, cookie crumbles, or anything else you can think of. Step 5 Once your ice cream is thick and cold, it is ready to eat. You can put it into a bowl, but many people eat it right out of the plastic bag with a spoon! A Recipe for Making Ice Cream at Home ◆ page 30 1 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).