Make Freeze Dried Ice Cream

Make freeze dried ice cream at home! — I can hear Grandma now asking, "What will they ever think of next?" Grandma never envisioned space travel, let alone space ice cream.

While it's easy to make delicious ice creams using Grandma's homemade ice cream recipes, there's no way you could ever send it into outer space without it disintegrating the instant it was opened.

And even if it were served within the pressurized International Space Station, there's no way an astronaut could eat ordinary ice cream under weightlessness conditions. It would get pretty messy to say the least.

But, if you freeze dry your ice cream, it can go into orbit or travel anywhere else for that matter.

How Do They Make Freeze Dried Ice Cream?

Here's the scoop on vacuum dried ice cream. (Sorry, but I couldn't resist a pun.) Since the early Apollo flights, astronauts have enjoyed a wide variety of space foods and ice cream has always been a favorite treat.

Astronaut ice cream is real ice cream that has been quickly frozen to about minus 40°C (-40°F) and then placed inside a vacuum chamber to remove all the moisture crystals, leaving only the ice cream particles.

So, what does it taste like? Believe it or not, it actually tastes just like ice cream! It's dry and crunchy when you first bite into it, but it quickly dissolves in your mouth leaving a deliciously creamy taste, and it comes in several popular flavors.

This novelty food item is the perfect dessert idea for a kid's birthday party, but it makes a superb snack for trail hiking or camping.

Really, space ice cream is great for snacking on at any time. No refrigeration is needed, and you can eat it right out of the sealed pouch it comes in.

How to Make Freeze Dried Ice Cream at Home in Your Own Kitchen

Occasionally, someone writes to ask whether ice cream can be freeze dried at home. The answer to that question surprisingly is a definite YES.

With a home freeze dryer appliance, you can dry and preserve your homemade ice cream along with most other foods in your own kitchen.

In the following short YouTube video, a lady demonstrates how she freeze dries her homemade ice cream for snacks and long-term storage.

With a Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer (not an affiliate link) and Grandma's homemade ice cream recipes, you can easily freeze dry your favorite ice creams to take on camping and fishing trips.

But, if you don't yet have the luxury of a home freeze dryer appliance, freeze dried ice cream can be purchased ready to enjoy.

You can find it for sale at many hiking outfitter stores and specialty shops both local and online, so be sure to try it. Grandma would have loved it!