Watermelon Slushie Recipe for Kids | America's Test Kitchen Kids

recipe

Transform fresh watermelon into the “coolest” drink around!

Print Recipe

Prepare Ingredients

10 cups

1-inch seedless watermelon pieces (3 pounds)

¼ cup

lime juice, squeezed from 2 limes

2 tablespoons

Simple Syrup

⅛ teaspoon

salt

Gather Cooking Equipment

Large plate

Blender

Dish towel

Glasses

Start Cooking!

1

5 cups

1-inch seedless watermelon pieces (1½ pounds)

On large plate, spread 5 cups watermelon pieces into single layer. Place in freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

2

5 cups

1-inch seedless watermelon pieces (1½ pounds)

¼ cup

lime juice, squeezed from 2 limes

2 tablespoons

Simple Syrup

⅛ teaspoon

salt

3

Add frozen watermelon pieces to blender. Replace lid on top of blender and hold lid firmly in place with folded dish towel. Turn on blender and process until thick and slushy, and no large chunks remain, 30 to 60 seconds. Stop blender.

4

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Food for Thought

The Chilly Science of Brain Freeze

It happens: You’re slurping an ice-cold slushie or taking a big bite of ice cream. Suddenly, you feel a jolt of pain in your head—brain freeze! What makes something so delicious suddenly so painful?

When you eat or drink something very cold, the quick drop in temperature in your mouth causes a cluster of blood vessels on the roof of your mouth to tighten. This triggers nearby nerves to tell your brain: “Something painful is happening!” For reasons that scientists don’t quite understand, your brain registers that pain near the top of your head, instead of in your mouth. Weird, right?

Now, for the good news: Brain freeze—also known as ice cream headache—is very common. According to one study, at least 75 percent of people experience it. And it’s not permanent. The pain usually goes away after less than a minute.

The not-so-good news? It doesn’t look like there’s a way to prevent brain freeze, except for not eating cold treats—and that’s no fun! One study did show that if you eat cold things slowly, you’re less likely to get brain freeze, but there’s no guarantee it won’t happen.