Most people like ice cream. A recent survey found that 97 percent of Americans love or like ice cream! Favorite flavors include vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. What makes ice cream so good? The combination of ingredients (materials used to make something) gives ice cream its taste and texture (how something feels when you touch it). Some ingredients also help ice cream stay stable (not easily changed) when it is stored.
Let’s take a look at the main ingredients in ice cream and how they add to its taste and texture.
- Fat from the milk or cream gives ice cream its smooth texture. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that ice cream has at least 10 percent milkfat to be able to be called “ice cream.”
- Sweetener, such as sugar or honey, makes ice cream taste sweet. It also lowers the freezing point (the temperature at which water freezes) of ice cream. This keeps ice cream from turning into a block of ice in the freezer.
- Air is mixed as the cream and sugar are churned. Air makes ice cream soft. Ice cream with more air is softer. The machines that make soft serve ice cream add air, making soft serve softer than regular ice cream.
- Stabilizers are added to help stop ice crystals (a tiny piece of frozen water) from getting larger when ice cream is stored in the freezer. They also add smoothness and slow down melting. Stabilizers may be egg yolk or gums that come from natural sources.
Ice cream sold in shops and stores is made using machines that churn the ingredients. But, you can make ice cream at home without one of these machines. The simplest way uses three main ingredients—heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.
Using a mixer to whip cold, heavy cream adds air. The cream changes from a liquid to a solid. Mixing the condensed milk and vanilla extract into the whipped cream adds sweetness and flavor. It also helps make the ice cream smooth. It helps prevent ice crystals from increasing in size during the last step—freezing the mixture for at least 8 hours. Once the ice cream is frozen, enjoy!
What Do You Think? Why is it important to add air when making ice cream?
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