How to Make Instant Sorbet in a Baggie

Have you made instant ice cream in a baggie? You can take any ice cream recipe and quick-freeze it using freezing point depression by adding salt to some ice with some water. The same process may be used to quick-freeze sorbet.

Instant Sorbet Ingredients

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How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

The quantities of ingredients aren't critical. You can use any fruit juice or fruit drink for the sorbet. The mixture to freeze the sorbet is ice with about half as much salt and a bit of water.

• 1 cup fruit juice
• 2 cups ice
• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup water

How to Make Instant Sorbet

1. Pour the juice into a plastic baggie that has a zipper. Close the bag.
2. Add the ice, salt, and water to a much larger bag.
3. Place the bag of juice inside the baggie containing the ice, salt, and water.
4. Shake, shake, shake the bag until the sorbet is the consistency you want. Remove the inner bag, scoop out your frozen treat and enjoy!

How It Works

Salt or sodium chloride dissociates into sodium and chloride ions. These ions act as impurities in the water lower its freezing point. Energy is absorbed from the environment (the sorbet) as the ice changes its phase from solid to liquid water, which can't release the energy by solidifying back into ice. Therefore the sorbet keeps getting colder as the ice melts.