Cool Tech
FROZEN TREATS IN A SNAP
The Coldsnap looks awesome … but does it play Greensleeves?
A new machine brings Mr Whippy into your home. Ice‑cream lovers rejoice – a high-tech version of the soft-serve machine will soon be within the reach of the average consumer. Inventor Matthew Fonte has developed the Coldsnap, an ice‑cream maker that instantly whips up frozen dairy desserts in the comfort of your own home. You don’t have to mess around with ingredients or spend hours waiting for the ice‑cream to freeze. Better yet, the machine also makes frozen coffee, frozen yoghurt, frozen cocktails, smoothies and slushies. Fonte developed the Coldsnap based on his daughters’ idea for a home ice‑cream machine, faithfully captured in their invention journals. Using patented technology guided by compressor/ condenser refrigeration principles, the machine
removes heat from the pod to create a cooling effect. A small part inside the pod churns the mixture while air is sucked in to help loft the contents. “We’re taking all the cold that it’s generating and we’re harnessing it and isolating it right around the pod, and we’re effectively pulling heat out of the pod and putting it through this refrigeration system,” Fonte says. “What really makes this exciting is it’s never been done before.” The Coldsnap works pretty much like a Nespresso or Keurig capsule coffee machine. You put a single‑serving pod – a tall aluminium canister – into the machine, select your dessert of choice, then wait roughly 90 seconds for your treat to freeze and dispense. Afterwards you simply toss the pod out – no clean-up necessary.
The pods are shelf stable, last up to a year, and are recyclable. They can be shipped at ambient temperature too. According to Sigma Phase, the company behind the innovation, the pods will result in a 25 to 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions associated with making and distributing ice cream through the normal cold chain. The appliance snagged the Innovation Award Product at CES 2021, an influential tech innovation event held in the US. It will undergo a smaller beta launch later this year, before launching fully in 2022. While prices have yet to be finalised, the Coldsnap is expected to cost between US$500–1,000 (AU$645–1,290), with pods costing US$2.99 (AU$3.80) each. There are no plans as yet to bring the product to Australia. ■
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April–May 2021
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