Centrifugal ice cream freezer and method of use

An ice cream making apparatus for chilling a volume of solution, comprising:

• a freezer bowl having a thermally conductive interior surface for containing the volume of solution, the interior surface having a base and sidewalls being upwardly and outwardly sloping and having a generally circular planar cross section area, the volume of solution covering a static contact area of the interior surface when the solution is stationary;
• a heatsink thermally coupled to the interior surface for absorbing heat from the solution;
• and
• a drive mechanism for rotating the solution to centrifugally disperse the solution into a thin layer covering a dynamic contact area of the interior surface to increase the rate of heat transfer from the solution to the heatsink, the thin layer having an average thickness of less than or equal to 1.5 centimeters.

A method of making ice cream from a solution comprising the steps of:

• providing a freezer bowl having an interior surface for containing the solution;
• providing a drive mechanism for rotating the solution in relation to the freezer bowl;
• chilling the freezer bowl to a temperature below the freezing temperature of water;
• adding the solution to the freezing bowl, the solution covering a static contact area of the interior surface when the solution is not centrifugally dispersed;
• rotating the solution in relation to the freezing bowl to centrifugally disperse the solution into a thin layer covering a dynamic contact area of the interior surface, the dynamic contact area being at least 1.5 times the static contact area;
• providing a scraper element for adapted to scrape against at least a portion of the interior surface to separate the solution from the interior surface;
• scraping with the scraper element the solution from the interior surface as the solution is rotated until the solution temperature is reduced and aerated into an ice crystal mixture of the solution;
• and
• removing the ice crystal mixture of the solution from the freezer bowl.