Skip to main content

How to Turn Astronaut Ice Cream Into a Grown-Up Dessert

A legendary treat among ’90s kids (largely because it had to be specially ordered from a catalog and couldn’t be found at grocery stores), the foil-wrapped blocks of magic known as “astronaut ice cream” may have represented the ultimate special occasion during our childhoods … but it’s rare to find a grown-ass adult who still eats these novelties (or their close cousins, the amusement-park concession icons called Dippin’ Dots) on a regular basis.

astronaut ice cream
Hanif Jackson/The Manual

But could there be more upscale ways to utilize these uniquely textured desserts? According to some pro pastry chefs, the answer is yes. Read on for a full primer on freeze-dried and flash-frozen ice creams and a couple of specific suggestions for giving astronaut ice cream a high-end makeover.

Recommended Videos

What is the difference between “astronaut ice cream” and flash-frozen ice creams (like Dippin’ Dots)?

During astronaut ice cream’s popularity peak, many consumers used that catchy term pretty loosely. Yes, “astronaut ice cream” did refer to the solid bricks of ice cream that were marketed as desserts served to actual NASA employees (although that myth now finds itself thoroughly debunked). However, similar products — like Dippin’ Dots, the semi-solid ice cream pellets — also laid claim to the “astronaut ice cream” moniker, at least in colloquial terms.

So what’s the deal? Is “astronaut ice cream” a different product than Dippin’ Dots and its ilk? In the simplest terms: Yes, absolutely. The version made by Astronaut Foods and other astronaut-ice-cream purveyors involves a freeze-drying process, which removes all moisture from the ice cream and transforms it into an item that’s completely shelf stable. Astronaut Foods claims that its ice cream has a “three-year shelf life, more than enough time to travel to Mars and back.” 

dip n dots
Karl Gehring/Getty Images

Dippin’ Dots, on the other hand, isn’t officially “astronaut ice cream” because it’s not freeze-dried and can’t stay intact at room temperature for any period of time (anyone who’s ever carried a Dippin’ Dots bowl around a Six Flags amusement park at the height of summer can attest to that). Instead, according to its website, Dippin’ Dots consists of “flash frozen beads of ice cream that, because frozen stuff can still melt, are stored at extremely cold temperatures.” While flash freezing does remove some water content from the ice cream, it doesn’t completely dehydrate, so melting can (and will) still occur.

If you want to make a room temperature-stable ice cream cake or pastry, then the freeze-dried stuff is your best friend.

Perhaps the biggest downside to an ice cream cake involves that dessert’s precarious lifespan. Once you remove the cake from the freezer and serve it on a table at room temperature (or, if you’re a real risk-taker, outdoors on a warm July afternoon), you’re operating on borrowed time.

To avoid this tragic fate, pastry chef Azeez Yusuf of Sugar Factory River North likes to swap out conventional ice cream for a freeze-dried equivalent, in both cakes and in other pastries and desserts that benefit from the addition of temperature-stable ice cream. “Freeze-dried ice cream’s unique texture and composition allows it to be used in more versatile ways than traditional ice cream. It can be used to make room temperature-stable ice cream cakes, [and it can also be] used as a filler for chocolate spheres and candies. [For example,] a chocolate cigar stuffed with dessert filling such as mousse/pastry cream [and] dipped in freeze-dried, powdered red velvet and vanilla ice cream at the tip and [served] surrounded with freeze-dried powdered charcoal ‘ash’ ice cream,” Yusuf suggests.

Use the freeze-dried ice cream capsules to upcycle the sprinkles on an ice cream sundae.

While most astronaut ice cream comes in the form of an edible “brick” (often in Neapolitan flavors) or an ice cream sandwich, some companies produce freeze-dried astronaut ice cream capsules, which are very similar to Dippin’ Dots, albeit a shelf-stable rendition. These freeze-dried treats work beautifully as additions to a typical “sprinkle” garnish on an ice cream sundae, according to corporate executive chef David Mullen of Davidson Hotels and Resorts: “I suggest a red velvet cake ball hot fudge sundae, made the classic way with whipped cream, a cherry, and wafer cookies. [But then, I’d] add strawberry freeze-dried ice cream (like this one) to the chocolate sprinkles [topping off the sundae], and voila! A delicious, elevated dessert.”

Topics
Taylor Tobin
Taylor Tobin is a freelance food, drink, and lifestyle writer based in Brooklyn. She's contributed content to publications…
Coffee shops, it’s time to add decaf nitro cold brew to the menu
A missing piece at every coffee shop
Nitro cold brew

Nitro cold brew remains one of my all-around favorite coffee drinks to order. It's truly never disappointed me. Every sip is smooth, creamy (without any actual cream), and has the perfectly velvety texture. When I'm out running errands or traveling, I love treating myself to nitro cold brew because I don't make it at home. Unlike an iced americano or a regular cold brew, which I make at home, making nitro cold brew requires the infusion of tiny nitrogen bubbles.

As much as I love nitro cold brew, I've identified one major problem. The caffeine in nitro cold brew hits hard -- especially if you slurp it down as fast as I do. This drink's smooth and velvety nature makes it so easy to drink quickly. The average nitro cold brew contains between 200 and 300 mg per serving, more than enough to make you feel jittery. Even as a caffeine addict, I find the caffeine in a nitro cold brew to be a bit too much (especially if I've already had another coffee that day). After experiencing the caffeine jitters from nitro cold brew one too many times, I've wondered: Why isn't decaf nitro cold brew a thing? I've searched dozens of coffee shop menus and have never found decaf nitro cold brew on a menu.

Read more
Is there really such a thing as the best merlot wine?
The objective answer is no, but the subjective answer is yes
Merlot being poured into a glass

Those of a certain age might remember Paul Giamatti’s character in the 2004 movie Sideways ("If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving."), and the subsequent tanking of that particular varietal expression. Was that fair or accurate? No. Are there garbage merlots? You better believe it. But merlot is a fantastic grape, wonderful on its own and fabulous in a blend -- and this leads to the question: Is there such a thing as the best merlot wine?

If you asked me, I’d say it was a toss-up between two famous producers from Bordeaux’s "right bank" -- in other words, wines made primarily with merlot. My first response would be any wine produced by Château Pétrus, especially a Grand Cru. Pétrus, famous since the 19th century, is located in Bordeaux’s subregion of Pomerol. It makes stunningly good wines solely from merlot grapes grown in its blue clay terroir: a wine that’s lush, voluptuous, and silky -- with a hint of earthy truffle.

Read more
Don’t be afraid of using Scotch in cocktails – these bartenders show you how
Beatnick on the River

As today is National Cocktail Day, lots of us will be reaching for our home bars to try out something new. That could be working with a new spirit or an unusual liqueur -- or even digging in the garden for some fresh herbs to add to a mixing glass. But there's one spirit which plenty of people enjoy drinking but rarely mix with, and that's Scotch.

Scotch is most often enjoyed neat, and it used to be the case that even thinking about mixing with it was considering wasteful and unsophisticated. But that time has passed, and now plenty of bartenders and experts are interested in what this powerful, smokey whisky style can add to a cocktail.

Read more