The Heritage Fair is officially underway, and Newswatch 16’s Anthony Bordanaro stopped by to test out a sweet experiment.
LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — “It’s hot, and we’re ready to roll, and it’s gonna be a good time,” said Jason Geake, Rita’s Dickson City owner.
Vendors are busy setting up shop at the Lackawanna County Heritage Fair atop Montage Mountain in Scranton all preparing for a long weekend of fair food and rides
“I really love it here. It’s really nice people coming out to support Lackawanna County and the heritage of Lackawanna County,” said Chris Coolican, Scott Township.
There are plenty of delicious treats at the fair.
“Honestly, the grilled cheese chili dog. Our dog style fries. They’re the biggest thing that sells. The grilled cheese chili dog is my all-time favorite,” said Maddy’s Doghouse.
With the warm weather this weekend, you may want to stop by and have a scoop or two of ice cream from one of the local vendors at the fair, but is there a way to slow down the melting process of ice cream? Like ordering chocolate vs vanilla or soft serve vs hard serve? Newswatch 16 asked some fair goers.
“Vanilla, because I love vanilla,” said Andy of Kindy’s Craft.
“Vanilla. They are both made of the same thing, so it just depends on the color at this point,” said Maddy’s Doghouse.
“I know which one I eat faster, which is chocolate. So evidently it melts faster,” said Jerry Smurl of Scranton.
“White reflects like more, so if you’re absorbing more light, more heat, it’s going to melt faster,” said Chris Coolican.
That’s part of it, but it is a little more complicated than that.
Ice cream expert Jason Geake, owner of Rita’s Italian Ice in Dickson City, helped put it to the test.
“So, right now, what we’re looking at is vanilla vs chocolate and which melts faster, and we’re learning that chocolate is melting faster due to the higher sugar content in the chocolate,” said Geake.
The fat content in both custards is the same. The higher sugar content in the chocolate lowers the freezing point, making the chocolate custard melt a bit quicker.
But as Geake explains, ice cream with higher fat content melts more slowly, “The reason why it is custard is because of buttermilk and egg yolk. Ours, compared to 10% milk fat, will melt slower in general because of the content.”
Geake says the higher quality stuff usually has more fat content, and that works to your benefit.
He says soft, airy ice cream will melt quicker too.
No matter your preference, there is plenty of both at the Lackawanna County Heritage Fair. You can come get a scoop of your favorite now through Sunday. For more information, click here.