You probably know by now that KiwiCo has a subscription line for just about every age, but did you know they also offer fun one-time boxes in their shop? They have interactive toys, educational kits that are similar to their monthly boxes, and even some fun holiday-themed boxes. As a mom, I am always intrigued by these boxes, but before I buy, I like to know exactly what I'm getting. This series will provide you with a review of some of these unique one-time boxes and hopefully help you make an informed decision about your own purchases. If there's a box you'd like to see reviewed from their shop, drop a line in the comments and we'll see what we can do!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This is a review of KiwiCo's Science of Cooking: Ice Cream box (recommended for ages 5+) for $29.95.
First Impression
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My son asked me the other day about making our own ice cream, so I knew this box would be a fun way to learn about the science of ice cream while getting a chance to make our own sweet treat! The box arrived with a sleeve that showed the contents inside and while they included a lot of great materials, I knew I'd have to do a bit of grocery shopping for the food items. Fortunately, it was a shortlist, the most difficult to find being the rock salt, however, this was easily ordered online!
What's Inside the Science of Cooking: Ice Cream Box?
Everything was packaged up neatly inside and the materials seemed to be high quality.
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Our instructions came in the form of a booklet that had both educational information, experiments involving ice, salt, and stabilizers, and several recipes for treats like sorbet and ice cream.
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We received a lab notebook where we could record our recipes and experiments.
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We also received some plastic measuring cups, some tin canisters, a large plastic container, a metal ice cream scoop, a whisk, and a microfiber towel.
Lemon Sorbet
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Our booklet had so many experiments and different recipes to try. This lemon sorbet seemed simple and required just sugar, lemons, and water, so I thought it was the perfect way to start!
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The steps were super simple. We used the measuring cups that they provided and added some sugar and water to our canister and whisked it together for two minutes. Then we added our lemon juice and zest and whisked it again.
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Then we replaced the lid and put our canister in the fridge for about an hour. Then we just had to keep checking on it every hour and whisking the icy layers together. I was a little worried at first because ours didn't seem to be freezing, but once I put it in our spare freezer which is much colder, it began to work a lot more quickly!
Here is our tasty lemon sorbet! It wasn't quite as pretty as the one in the book, but it definitely tasted good. Although our lemons were very tart!
Ice Cream with Mix-ins
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Of course, we had to try to make our own ice cream. While I am much more of a chocolate girl, we thought it would be fun to make the vanilla recipe and add some cookies to it!
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We added our milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract to the canister and whisked for a few minutes.
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Then our canister went inside the large jar with some crushed ice and some rock salt. We put the towel on the outside of the jar to keep our hands from getting cold, and then came the tedious part! Rolling the jar back and forth for 15 minutes was definitely a bit tiring, and of course, mom and dad did most of the work, but our ice cream did freeze up pretty well.
It was a bit soupy the first time we checked it, but I scraped the icy bits from the sides of the container and then we put it back inside the jar with fresh ice to roll it some more.
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It was supposed to be the consistency of soft serve and ours was a little bit soupy still and melted very quickly, but we added our crushed cookies and threw it in the freezer for later.
Here is our ice cream all scooped up. It was still a bit soft, so we probably should have rolled it for longer, but it wasn't so soft that anyone had trouble eating it all up!
Value - Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $29.95 + free shipping
I loved that this box contained so many different experiments and recipes, plus they provided all of the tools we needed to make our ice cream. I would have liked to see a small packet of rock salt included, but since I was easily able to find my own, it didn't hinder our experience at all. I think that given all of the materials they provided and how educational they managed to make this box, which was already so fun, it was a pretty great value!
Key Takeaways
I would not recommend this method for everyday ice cream making, but as some fun experiments, it was definitely a cool and somewhat quick way to whip up a tasty treat! We only ended up making two of the recipes inside, but that was two days' worth of activities and there is still plenty more for us to explore in our booklet! This was another great project with the right mix of fun and education to appeal to kiddos.
To Wrap Up:
Is this box still available? Yes, as of now the Science of Cooking: Ice Cream kit is still available!
Have you tried any of the boxes from the KiwiCo shop? Let us know in the comments below!
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