A content creator recently took to TikTok to test a popular theory: Do Nestlé Drumstick frozen treats really not melt when exposed to room temperature?
According to Oliver (@olliebubs09) and some other content creators, they don’t. And they have the evidence to back it up. In a recent video, which has amassed more than 25 million views, Oliver placed a Drumstick Cookies & Cream cone on a table and left it out for nearly one day. Although some of the ice cream had melted, a great deal of it remained solid.
“What you’re looking at here is the aftermath of a Drumstick ice cream cone that has been sitting out for 22 hours now,” he explained.
Oliver said he put the frozen treat on the counter the previous day, around 6pm or 7pm. “It’s now 4:23pm the next day,” he said. “This is the outcome.”
In a previous video, Oliver documented how, after two hours, the ice cream “didn’t melt at all.” And it still had a ways to go before fully melting. This led Oliver to swear off buying treats from Drumstick ever again.
Why wont’t Nestlé Drumsticks melt?
Nestlé Drumstick isn’t the only brand failing the melt test. In another TikTok, one content creator tested a variety of frozen desserts from various stories, including Trader Joe’s and Target. After one day, several of the ice cream treats still weren’t fully melted.
“Just think: Your kids are eating this,” Oliver warned his followers. “Heck, I was eating it. But I will not eat it any longer. I will never eat these again.”
Before swearing off these frozen treats, though, there’s an explanation for why they’re failing to melt. According to at least one dietitian, additives in the treat might be preventing it from doing so.
“Why don’t you just look up the ingredients? Some are going to have more additives than others,” she explained. “It’s still ice cream. They all contain milk.”
In another video, a biomedical engineer and makeup artist said that Drumstick treats don’t melt because of how the dessert is formulated.
“Drumstick and, like, frozen desserts of that variety, contain a little bit more of an ingredient, which is known as an emulsifier,” she said. “And an emulsifier essentially allows you to mix two different phases together. So, oil and water don’t mix but if you add an emulsifier, they will.”
The same explanation goes for mixing fat and water, she said. But the addition of an emulsifier helps the dessert keep its structural integrity and prevents it from easily melting.
These explanations haven’t been enough to reassure buyers, though. In the comments of Oliver’s video, a number of viewers expressed their aversion to Drumstick products.
“The amount of chemicals to make that happen,” one user wrote.
“That’s actually scary,” another said.
@olliebubs09 What are they putting in our food? #fyp #drumsticks #icecream #foryou ♬ original sound – Oliver
“I’m going to finish off the ones in my freezer then I won’t buy anymore,” a third viewer added.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Oliver via TikTok comment and to Nestlé by email.
