Dippin’ Dots is an ice cream novelty created by flash freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen through a proprietary process. The end result is a number of small pellet-shaped “dots” of ice cream which can be scooped into a serving bowl and eaten with a spoon or poured directly into one’s mouth. Dippin’ Dots is heavily promoted as the “Ice Cream of the Future,” and is generally available only in approved Dippin’ Dots franchises.
Dippin’ Dots began as an experiment in the effects of flash freezing on food. An engineer used a canister of liquid nitrogen to super freeze a batch of ice cream base, and the result was a beaded ice cream which retained all the creaminess of regular ice cream, but with the portability of small pellets. Servers of Dippin’ Dots would not have to endure the stress and strain of dishing up ice cream with a traditional scoop. Dippin’ Dots can be served with dry measuring scoops from containers stored in a specially designed super freezer unit.
There are a number of different base flavors for Dippin’ Dots, including the traditional chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Exotic flavors such as banana, mint and pina colada can also be created through the flash freezing process. Customers can choose specialized blends such as chocolate mint or strawberry banana, or select any number of base flavors to mix. Dippin’ Dots also can be made from a frozen yogurt base or a flavored syrup base to create frozen yogurt or frozen ice beads.
There are also alternative frozen treats which feature Dippin’ Dots ice cream, including a version of the traditional ice cream sandwich with Dippin’ Dots beaded ice cream poured between two cookies. Dippin’ Dots can also be used as sprinkles on other ice cream novelties, such as sundaes or banana splits.
Although billed as the “Ice Cream of the Future,” Dippin’ Dots has not made a significant dent in the ice cream market to date. Because of a flaw in the original patent application, other companies can legally produce a flash frozen ice cream product similar to Dippin’ Dots, and at least one brand has already made it onto retail grocery store shelves. For now, Dippin’ Dots can mostly be enjoyed at amusement parks, shopping malls and some free-standing franchises.