| Ice Cream & Gelato |
Ice Cream
Ice cream is a wonderful treat. Usually referred to as a frozen dessert, ice cream is made from dairy and non-dairy products like milk, cream, soy, or rice milk and combined with sugars, flavors and food items to create an unlimited amount of choices for your palate.
Like microbrewers, artisan cheesecrafters and breadmakers, ice cream attracts passionate individuals. Ice cream quality varies depending upon the ingredients used, the percentage of butter fat, and the amount of air infused into the product during production. Cheap ice cream can be as high as 50 percent air, while quality ice creams have between 3 percent and 15 percent.
Ice cream is one of life’s ultimate indulgences. It’s up to you whether or not you want to splurge and eat the richest, creamiest, most decadent concoction you can find, or go half-way and find an ice cream that works for your diet. You don’t have to overload on sugar and saturated fat; try some non-fat and “slow churn” alternatives. If you are worried about your weight or health, there are five things to look for on an ice cream label per serving:
- 4 grams of fat or less
- 15 grams of sugar or less
- Less than 150 calories
- 3 grams or less of saturated fat
- No more than 10 milligrams of cholesterol (Baskin Robbins chocolate chip regular scoop has 60 mg)
If you want to put a positive spin on ice cream, calcium is a wonder nutrient because it never stops working in your body. Calcium helps control blood pressure, reduces the risk of certain cancers, reduces PMS, and may lower the chances of developing kidney stones.
Gelato
Gelato is Italian ice cream. Milk-based gelato originated in northern Italy, while the fruit and water-based sorbet (or sorbetto) – higher in sugar content, but lower in fat – came from southern Italy. The difference between most U.S. ice creams and gelato are:
- Gelato is usually made from whole milk, eggs, sugar and cream and contains between 4 percent and 8 percent butter fat, while ice cream is usually made with cream and has a much higher fat content, ranging from 10 percent to 26 percent. With gelato’s lower butter fat, it is less frozen than ice cream.
- Gelato has a much higher density than ice cream, Most ice cream manufacturers add air to their ice cream while no air is added to gelato. Gelato’s ingredients are not homogenized together like ice cream, and the result is that gelato melts faster.
Gelato is kept and served from a forced-air freezer, allowing it to keep its semi-frozen consistency, while ice cream is kept and served from a regular freezer. Gelato is served between 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream, which can give it a smoother creamier taste.
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| melsQuiz answer |
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| melsBuzz |
- There are so many good ice creams and ice cream alternatives that are not as fattening as your traditional ice cream brands. Experiment and find the one that tastes good to you. For dairy lovers, try your favorite ice cream brand’s version of frozen yogurt. I love Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie yogurt. For non-dairy lovers, try Rice Divine — an ice cream made from rice that comes in flavors like mud pie and carrot cake. Once you taste it, you’ll never go back.
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| melsAdvice |
- If you are going to have ice cream, buy good, premium ice cream
- If you are going to make ice cream, use organic, ripe fruits
- When making ice cream at home, remember that the more sugar or sweetener you put into your mixture, the slower the mixture freezes. The faster the freeze, the smoother the texture
- When traveling, stop by local gelato or ice cream stores that specialize in unique flavors
- Enjoy your favorite frozen treat with a hot tea or coffee
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| DidYouKnow? |
- The Top 5 most popular ice cream flavors are:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Butter pecan
- Strawberry
- Neapolitan
- Ben and Jerry’s Top 5 most popular flavors are:
- Cherry Garcia
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Chocolate Fudge Brownie
- Chunky Monkey
- Half Baked
- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, total U.S. production of ice cream and related frozen desserts amounted to approximately 1.55 gallons and sales reached nearly $23 billion
- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2006, California produced the largest volume of ice cream followed by Texas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Minnesota
- There are so many good ice creams and ice cream alternatives that are not as fattening as your traditional ice cream brands. Experiment and find the one that tastes good to you. For dairy lovers, try your favorite ice cream brand’s version of frozen yogurt. I love Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie yogurt. For non-dairy lovers try Rice Divine – an ice cream made from rice that comes in flavors like Mud pie and carrot cake. Once you taste it, you’ll never go back.
s, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Minnesota
- Ice cream first appeared in America in 1744, but ice cream origins are known to date back to the 2nd century BC.
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| melsTips |
- Never let ice cream melt and refreeze
- Ice cream is best stored between -5 and 0 F
- Make sure your ice cream container is sealed because ice cream will absorb other flavors
- If you are going to have ice cream, take your time and savor it
- Every ice cream brand is slightly different. Sample varieties of ice cream until you find the brand for you
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| melsQuiz |
- How much ice cream does the average American eat per year?
- It takes how many pounds of milk to make a gallon of ice cream?
- What’s the best temperature to serve ice cream?
- How much of the world’s vanilla bean used for ice cream is grown in Madagascar?
- The most popular topping for ice cream is?
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| melsQuiz Answers |
- 6 gallons – approximately 19,200 calories
- 12 lbs
- 8 degrees F
- 80%
- Chocolate syrup
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