the world of ice cream

what is ice cream?

Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches.

Food colouring is sometimes added in addition to stabilizers. The mixture is cooled below the freezing point of water and stirred to incorporate air spaces and prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. It can also be made by whisking a flavoured cream base and liquid nitrogen together. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures (below 2 °C or 35 °F). It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases.

what is creme anglaise?

Crème anglaise ( French for 'English cream'), custard sauce, pouring custard, or simply custard is a light, sweetened pouring custard from French cuisine, used as a dessert cream or sauce. It is a mix of sugar, egg yolks, and hot milk usually flavored with vanilla. Crème anglaise can be poured over cakes or fruits as a sauce or eaten as part of desserts such as floating island. It also serves as a base ingredient for other desserts such as ice cream or crème brûlée.

how is ice cream typically served?

Ice cream may be served in dishes, eaten with a spoon, or licked from edible wafer ice cream cones held by the hands as finger food. Ice cream may be served with other desserts—such as cake or pie—or used as an ingredient in cold dishes—like ice cream floats, sundaes, milkshakes, and ice cream cakes—or in baked items such as Baked Alaska.

what is gelato?

Gelato is the common word in Italian for all kinds of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Gelato typically contains 35% air (substantially less than American-style ice cream) and more flavoring than other kinds of frozen desserts, giving it a density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams.

a brief history of ice cream

Ice cream's origins are known to reach back as far as the second century B.C., although no specific date of origin nor inventor has been indisputably credited with its discovery. We know that Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. Biblical references also show that King Solomon was fond of iced drinks during harvesting. During the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86) frequently sent runners into the mountains for snow, which was then flavored with fruits and juices.

Over a thousand years later, Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what is now called sherbet. Historians estimate that this recipe evolved into ice cream sometime in the 16th century. England seems to have discovered ice cream at the same time, or perhaps even earlier than the Italians. "Cream Ice," as it was called, appeared regularly at the table of Charles I during the 17th century. France was introduced to similar frozen desserts in 1553 by the Italian Catherine de Medici when she became the wife of Henry II of France. It wasn't until 1660 that ice cream was made available to the general public. The Sicilian Procopio introduced a recipe blending milk, cream, butter and eggs at Café Procope, the first café in Paris.

ice cream in the new world

The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. The first advertisement for ice cream in this country appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777, when confectioner Philip Lenzi announced that ice cream was available "almost every day." Records kept by a Chatham Street, New York, merchant show that President George Washington spent approximately $200 for ice cream during the summer of 1790.

Inventory records of Mount Vernon taken after Washington's death revealed "two pewter ice cream pots." President Thomas Jefferson was said to have a favorite 18-step recipe for an ice cream delicacy that resembled a modern-day Baked Alaska. In 1813, Dolley Madison served a magnificent strawberry ice cream creation at President Madison's second inaugural banquet at the White House.

the manufacturing of ice cream

Until 1800, ice cream remained a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly by the elite. Around 1800, insulated ice houses were invented. Manufacturing ice cream soon became an industry in America, pioneered in 1851 by a Baltimore milk dealer named Jacob Fussell. Like other American industries, ice cream production increased because of technological innovations, including steam power, mechanical refrigeration, the homogenizer, electric power and motors, packing machines, and new freezing processes and equipment. In addition, motorized delivery vehicles dramatically changed the industry. Due to ongoing technological advances, today's total frozen dairy annual production in the United States is more than 6.4 billion pounds.

the american soda fountain shop

Wide availability of ice cream in the late 19th century led to new creations. In 1874, the American soda fountain shop and the profession of the "soda jerk" emerged with the invention of the ice cream soda. In response to religious criticism for eating "sinfully" rich ice cream sodas on Sundays, ice cream merchants left out the carbonated water and invented the ice cream "Sunday" in the late 1890's. The name was eventually changed to "sundae" to remove any connection with the Sabbath.

Ice cream became an edible morale symbol during World War II. Each branch of the military tried to outdo the others in serving ice cream to its troops. In 1945, the first "floating ice cream parlor" was built for sailors in the western Pacific. When the war ended, and dairy product rationing was lifted, America celebrated its victory with ice cream. Americans consumed over 20 quarts of ice cream per person in 1946.

In the 1940s through the ‘70s, ice cream production was relatively constant in the United States. As more prepackaged ice cream was sold through supermarkets, traditional ice cream parlors and soda fountains started to disappear. Now, specialty ice cream stores and unique restaurants that feature ice cream dishes have surged in popularity. These stores and restaurants are popular with those who remember the ice cream shops and soda fountains of days past, as well as with new generations of ice cream fans.

the science of ice cream

If you think about it, an ice cream is actually quite a complex and multi-faceted composition – it should be solid, yet soft, and should preferably stay that way while melting slowly. If you would simply put a batch of cream in the freezer, you would not end up with ice cream, but with a block of hard-frozen, solid cream. The reasons for the delicate and mesmerising nature of ice cream is ultimately a matter of food chemistry!

Molecular gastronomy has become quite popular in recent years. Understanding at least something about the physical and chemical aspects which turn your ingredients into delicious ice cream will not only add to your general knowledge about the world, but will also give you something to talk about over your next scope of ice cream. Most importantly, however, it will help you to prepare your own ice cream in a better, more mindful way, drastically increasing your success-rate in the kitchen!

the basic components of ice cream

Most ice creams consist of a successful frozen emulsion of five basic components:

ice crystals

Created when the water-content in the base starts to freeze; they put the “ice” in “ice cream”, giving solidity and body. The size of the ice crystals largely determines how fine, or grainy, the ice cream eventually turns out. The main objective (apart from the freezing itself) is therefore to keep the size of the ice crystals down as much as possible.

fat

Often in the form of butter (milk) fat; adds richness, stabilises the base mix, improves density and the smoothness of texture and generally increase flavours.

sweeteners

Generally different sugars, honey or syrups. Adds sweetness but also improves texture and body. Also lowers the freezing point of the mix, ensuring that the ice cream does not freeze rock-solid. In other words, reducing the sweeteners (for health- or dietary reasons, for example) does not only affect sweetness but could also jeopardise the “build” and stability of the ice cream.

air

The invisible (and cheapest) ingredient in ice cream. The tiny air cells whipped into the base mix are largely responsible for the general consistency of ice cream, and greatly affect texture and volume. “Over-run” is the technical term used to indicate how much air an ice cream holds; since air is free and increase the volume, non-premium commercial ice creams could well have an overrun sometimes even exceeding 100 %. Having one scope of ice cream with low over-run could therefore equal the actual content of 2-3 (or more …) scopes of ice cream with high over-run.

other solids

Usually so-called non-fat milk solids, such as proteins and mineral salts, and flavourings such as cookie-crumbles. While adding flavour and (possibly) sweetness, they also contribute to the body, texture and smoothness. Broadly speaking, more solids means less “free-roaming” water in the ice cream – which in turn usually means less unwanted, large ice crystals in the ice cream. With too little solids, the ice cream often tends to become unpleasantly icy. Too much solids, however, may bring about an unpleasantly sandy-like sensation.

Putting it all together – building the ice cream

Looking at these base components highlights what is truly fascinating with making ice cream: It is mainly a matter of making a successful emulsion – the process of combining different substances which under normal circumstances would separate from each other (like oil and vinegar) and instead turn them into a smooth, lightly thickened mixture – the ice cream base!

To bring about this emulsion, emulsifiers are usually added to the ice cream base – one or more ingredients that help the other “unwilling” ingredients to combine. “Emulsifiers” may give frightful associations to various strange artificial chemical products, but in your kitchen they probably most often come in the mundane form of egg yolk. In commercial ice cream production, the emulsifiers are often various extractions from oils. Monoglycerides and Diglycerides (E 471) are such examples. Another popular commercial emulsifier is Polysorbate 80 (“Tween 80”), derived from sorbitol.

Stabilisers likewise improve the structure, but also the texture (by keeping down the growth-rate of the ice crystals; see above) of ice cream, and reduce the melt-down speed of the ice cream. Their effect is, roughly speaking, very much like that of sponges: they both absorb and immobilise the liquid in ice cream. A traditionally well-known stabiliser for ice cream, also readily available for home production is Gelatin (derived from animal products). Starch is another one (read more about ice cream bases with starch here). and there are also others which may be considered at home (like Agar agar and pectine).

Today, most commercial stabilisers often tend to be various vegetable gums. Some well-known stabilisers are Agar-agar (derived from seaweed; check here for an example of its use in sorbets), Guar gum (from the Guar bush), Locust Bean gum, Xanthan gum (a by-product of fermented cornstarch and a bacteria found in cabbage), Gellan gum (from fermented bacteria), and Carrageenan (from moss and other red algea). There also exist different ready-made stabiliser mixtures composed of one or more of the mentioned stabilisers.

the basic steps of ice cream making

preparing the liquid ice cream base

While there are a lot of variations, some recommended typical balanced proportions for the base would be around 60 % water (including the water you’ll find in milk and cream), about 15 % sugar, about 10 % non-fat milk content, and somewhere between 10-20 % milk-fat content.

Roughly speaking, quality ice creams tend to contain more fat and less infused air, making for a denser, richer ice cream. Cheaper industrial ice creams, on the contrary, tend to go for less fat, more stabilisers and sometimes up to 100 % infused air, making for a more fluffy end-product.

Pasteurisation

Next is heating the ice cream base so that dangerous bacteria are destroyed. Essential for commercial ice cream production and an important part of any preparation of raw eggs in custard-based ice cream. Usually, the base is heated to about 85° Celsius (185° F) and stirred (hereafter, the base should be chilled rather quickly). In industrial settings, batch pasteurisation can be used to heat up the base to about 65° Celsius (149° F) and keep it there for a period of 30 minutes. Also popular is so-called High temperature – Short period pasteurisation.

homogenisation

Homogenisation is essentially the breaking up of, and better dispersing of, fat droplets in order to enhance the emulsion of fat into the ice cream base (thereby avoiding that the water and the fat in the ice cream separate). This is usually done by churning the base at heightened temperatures. More evenly distributed fat molecules will give a thinner base, which in turn will be able to capture air better. The improved capacity to hold onto air will add to the body and make the ice cream both more stable and smoother. In industrial production, the mixture of water and fat is typically forced through a narrow slit at high pressure, breaking up the fat droplets and dispersing them in a size of less than one thousandth of a millimetre.

aging/ maturing

There's a bevy of conventional wisdom about why you should follow this step. Aging bases (the custard) cools the base down, and the colder a base is before it goes into the churn, the creamier the resulting ice cream will be. Aged bases are noticeably thicker than freshly made, un-aged bases, and thicker bases tend to churn faster and creamier. Plenty of flavored liquids taste better the next day, or so it's said about every stew you've ever made.

freezing

If you have an ice cream maker, this is the stage where you will use it. During the churning, the base is being frozen whilst air simultaneously is whipped into it by the dasher and “trapped”, and certain flavouring solids are added (such as cookie crumbles or chips of chocolate, for example).

Commercial ice cream freezers generally operate in a similar way. The ice cream base is pumped into a metal barrel, surrounded by a very cold refrigerant. Simultaneously, a stream of air is introduced into the barrel. Inside the barrel, a high speed dasher churns the mixture. Modern fully automated freezers can produce thousands of ice cream tubs per hour.

hardening

After the freezing, you have created ice cream! However, fresh out of the churning-step, ice cream is actually only about half-frozen and may need some further time in a freezer to gain more stability (the “dryness” of the ice cream). Some consider final temperatures between – 10 and -12 degrees C to be ideal, with the ice cream now being firm enough to scoop well and yet still smooth.

As most freezers at home keep a lower temperature than that, home-made ice cream typically freezes harder than it would if kept in the dedicated ice cream freezers of an ice cream parlour. In other words, don’t be too hard on yourself if your ice cream freezes ‘too hard’ – it might be because of your freezer, not the ice cream recipe you have been following.

videos on ice cream

The Cool History of Ice Cream | The Ice Cream Show

Isaac explores one of America's best ice cream cities - Philadelphia! He digs into ice cream history and tries the founding father's favorite flavors.

Modern Marvels: How Ice Cream is Made (S14, E18) | Full Episode | History

From the gelato of Italy, to the French Pot process of the 1800s, to the numerous assortments of frozen delights being served up today, learn the history of this delicious dessert. See more in Season 14, Episode 18, "Ice Cream."

Two brothers and a dream| The History of Baskin' Robbin'

Baskin Robbins is one of the world's largest ice cream chains with over 8,000 global locations today in nearly 50 countries. In nearly 50 countries, Baskin Robbins operates globally. Apart from the United States, Japan and Korea, with almost 1,200 sites each, form part of Baskin-Robbins' largest markets.

This is the story of the founders Burton "Burt" Baskin and Irvine "Irv" Robbins who had a mutual love for ice cream and a great desire to make it available to the public in a variety of flavors made with the best ingredients paired with a fun, relaxing atmosphere. They wanted their shop to be a place where one could enjoy ice cream and have a great time.

How Traditional Italian Gelato Is Made | Regional Eats

In the small Italian town of Ruvo di Puglia, siblings Giuliana and Vincenzo Paparella carry on a 180-year-old family tradition making gelato from only three ingredients: milk, sugar, and eggs. It all started in 1840 when Uncle Luigi brought the art of gelato making from the royal courts of Naples to his hometown, Ruvo, and gave it a home.

Fast-forward four generations, and the original 1840 recipe, the King's Cream, has been joined by seven other flavors: pistachio, almond, chocolate, quince, nougat, gianduia, and hazelnut. Behind each and every one of them, the two siblings will transform every ingredient but sugar, from crushing cocoa beans to sourcing vanilla pods from Mexico. We follow Giuliana while she shows us the preparation behind the almond flavor.

How I Built A $300,000-A-Day Ice Cream Empire Called Van Leeuwen

Over the past 15 years, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has grown from a single ice cream truck to a nationwide chain of scoop shops. Leading this mission was none other than the co-founder and CEO, Ben Van Leeuwen, armed with a vision to completely shake up the ice cream industry with freshness and top-notch quality.

Discover the Story Behind Vanilla Ice Cream

This video gives you just a brief history of Vanilla ice cream and we also make 2 types, a French Vanilla Custard ice cream and Philly style Vanilla ice cream.

I much prefer the custard version, it's rich and full of body and flavour and I highly recommend you try making it.

in conclusion

While ingredients can vary from recipe to recipe or brand to brand, ice cream (whether homemade or commercial) includes at least three ingredients: milk (and/or cream), sweeteners and flavorings/mix-ins. Commercially made ice creams also include stabilizers and emulsifiers.

Of course, the main ingredients in ice cream come from milk–and the most important part of that is milkfat, which gives ice cream its smoothness and creamy texture. In fact, in order to be called ice cream, the USDA requires it to contain at least 10 percent milkfat, which can come from milk or cream.

When it comes to sweetening ice cream, ingredients can range from cane or beet sugar to sweeteners or even honey. Stabilizers, such as plant-based gums (e.g. guar gum) are sometimes used to help prevent the formation of ice crystals and to give the ice cream its smoother texture. Similarly, emulsifiers (originally egg yolks) keep fat and water together and make ice cream more uniform as it freezes.

And ice cream just wouldn’t be ice cream without your favorite flavorings and mix-ins. From vanilla to green tea, there’s no limit to how you can flavor your ice cream!

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