Nestlé's ice cream truck-favorite treat has been trending on social media, with users sharing comments theorizing about why the ice cream giant’s Drumsticks melt so slowly. A biomedical engineer, identified only as Savannah, decided to dispel some of the myths about the hard-to-melt treats. Her short answer is that it’s in the way the Drumstick is formulated versus regular ice cream. Invented in 1928, the Drumstick cone is an ice-cold dessert, but it’s not ice cream. Savannah says that Drumstick cones, as well as other “frozen desserts of that variety,” contain a little bit more of an ingredient that's known as an emulsifier than traditional ice creams do. Emulsifiers are chemical additives that encourage the suspension of one liquid in another. The additives are used to mix oil and water, not only in ice cream products but also other fridge and pantry staples, such as margarine, shortening and salad dressings. In frozen desserts like Drumsticks, it’s used to mix fat and water, far more than regular ice cream out of the carton. It helps the frozen dessert keep its structural integrity, which is why it doesn’t melt, or melts very, very slowly.
