Inside Ice Cream

Anyone who loves ice cream knows very well what are the ingredients required to make an ice cream. I will give a brief account of each ingredient and the role played by it and the effect it creates in the ice cream. The major ingredients in the ice cream are Milk protein, Water, Fats,Sugar and ...AIR. Minor ingredients are  Emulsifiers, Stabilizers, Colors, Flavors and Mix-Ins. It is very helpful to know about the effects and role played by each ingredient so that one can know which to add and how much to add to get a delicious and tasty ice cream.

Milk Protein used in ice cream can be obtained from Whole milk, Heavy Cream, Skimmed Milk Powder or Butter Milk. There are two important functions of milk protein in ice cream. Firstly they stabilize the water emulsion and foams formed in the ice cream during churning and secondly they contribute to a characteristic dairy flavor. If butter milk is used it impart a distinctive, fresh flavor to the ice cream.

Sugar used in ice cream can come from milk, fruit or kitchen sugar. The two main functions of sugar in the ice cream are to impart sweetness and to control the amount of ice and hence the softness of ice cream. The more the amount of ice the harder is the ice cream. Sugar lowers the freezing point of the mixture and so results in lesser ice in the ice cream making it softer and easy to scoop.