‘Instant Ice Cream’ Developed by Cornell Indian American Food Scientist Receives Patent

Syed Rizvi of Cornell received a patent for his instant ice cream maker. (nationalacademies.org photo)

"A scoop of ice cream in about three seconds"

Following a half-decade application process, Cornell University food science professor Syed Rizvi has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for his instant ice cream.Cornell explains that Rizvi, a professor of food science engineering, along with Michael E. Wagner, received their patent April 21.

With Rizvi and Wagner’s newly patented process – where pressurized carbon dioxide does all the work – anyone can make any ice cream at any time, the May 28 report suggests.“Of course, you’ll need the liquid ice cream mix,” Rizvi said in the report. “The mix can be made commercially, locally or you can make it at home. It’s very simple, and this machine converts the mix into a scoop of ice cream in about three seconds,” the Insaid.

In the traditional method of making ice cream, the dairy-based mix flows through a heat-exchanging barrel, where ice crystals form and get scraped by blades.

With this new method, highly pressurized carbon dioxide passes over a nozzle that, in turn, creates a vacuum to draw in the liquid ice cream. When carbon dioxide goes from a high pressure to a lower pressure, it cools the mixture to about minus 70 degrees C – freezing the mixture into ice cream, which jets out of another nozzle into a bowl, ready to eat, the report said.

Instant ice cream can be served right on the spot, all without the challenges of commercial transportation “cold chains,” in which the product must be frozen and maintained at minus 20 degrees Celsius.

To guard against failing spots in the cold-temperature transportation chain, commercial ice cream makers add stabilizers and emulsifiers, Cornell’s report notes.

“Consumers today want a clean product,” Rizvi said. “They don’t want undesirable ingredients thrown into it.”

What’s more, Rizvi said, the cold chain requires a lot of energy. But if you could make ice cream without stabilization ingredients, commercial entities could avoid the cold chain altogether, according to the report.
The device can take any liquid and give it frozen features. “You can make a slushy out of soft drinks,” he said, while noting that the new process is suited for on-demand and point-of-use applications like vending machines, parlors and home use.“You can convert water into carbonated ice instantly, too. Any liquid drink that can be partially frozen can be used,” he said in the report.Cornell’s Center for Technology Licensing is currently exploring licensing opportunities, the report adds.

Rizvi has a Ph.D. from Ohio State University, an M. Eng. from the University of Toronto and a B. Tech. from Panjab University in India.He teaches courses related to engineering and processing aspects of food science and role of food processing and value addition in international development.His teaching has been recognized by several awards, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Professor of Merit Award.

Rizvi's research focuses on experimental and theoretical aspects of supercritical fluid processes, extrusion, physical and engineering properties of biomaterials and other novel food processing and value addition technologies.He is a co-author/editor of six books and over one hundred research publications, holds seven U.S. patents and serves on the editorial board of several journals.

Rizvi is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists and was awarded the prestigious Marcel Loncin Research Prize for his research in food process engineering. He also received the International Research Award in Dairy and Food Processing.

Source; IW