Classification of Ice Cream

Ice cream is often called "The Great American Dessert". Although the product is typically American, the U.S. cannot claim its origin. Very little is known of the early history of ice cream; however, the product is definitely known to have been introduced from Europe. The ice cream industry as we know it today, however was wholly developed in the United States.

The types of dairy products that can be made and served directly from dispensing freezers are endless. There are literally hundreds of formulas for ice cream mixes, ranging from plain vanilla to parfait (an extremely rich mix, high in butterfat content and also containing fresh eggs). In addition, there are mixes for custard, sherberts, sorbets, frappes, souffles and milkshakes. All of these products can be made in the standard soft ice cream or milkshake dispensing freezer.

In the development of mixes for products to be used and served directly from the freezer and eaten in the higher temperature ranges, it was recognized that the same taste, flavor, sweetness and richness could be obtained by using smaller quantities of these ingredients. As a matter of fact, smaller quantities were necessary to prevent the finished product from being too rich or sweet. However, because of these regulations concerning minimum quantities of butterfat for ice cream, the finished product cannot legally be called ice cream unless it contains minimum percentages of butterfat as shown for that State. Technically, it would be referred to as "Ice Milk".

The soft-serve industry is gradually discontinuing the use of the term "Ice Milk" because it is not a good descriptive phrase for the product. Also, this term has resulted in the formation of general opinion that "Ice Milk" or soft-serve is an inferior product to ice cream. However, they are both a complete food because they are composed of a mixture of fat, protein, carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins, but actually "Ice Milk" (soft-serve) is superior as a food because it contains lesser quantities of fat and sugar than does ice cream and high quantities of milk solids non-fat which are almost pure protein. Because "Ice Milk" is not a good descriptive term for this low-fat product, it is now common practice to refer to any semi-frozen dairy product regardless of its fat content, served fresh from the freezer, as "soft ice cream" or just "soft serve". (sweden freezer)


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