When you walk into a restaurant, ice cream shop, frozen yogurt shop or other frozen concoction shop do you really understand what you’re ordering? Here are some terms and descriptions to help.

Butterfat:   Or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.

Over Run:  The amount of air that is whipped into the ice cream mixture. For example, an overrun of 100 percent would mean for every gallon of ice cream mix, you get two gallons of finished ice cream. Without this air, the frozen ice cream mix would resemble an ice cube, the same as if you were to freeze milk or any other liquid. This would make the ice cream pretty difficult to scoop and very icy to eat.

Ice Cream:

Super Premium = Contains about 14-16% butterfat and typically 30 – 50% over run.

Premium = Contains about 12-14% butterfat and typically 40 – 70% over run.

Economy = In the U.S. is the minimum standard and has to contain at least 10% butterfat and less than 1.4% egg yolks and typically 90 – 100% over run.

Home Made Ice Cream:  Often contain around 18 – 20+% butterfat with little to no air over run.

Ice Milk:  Is about 3.5% butterfat, the same as whole milk and typically 70 – 100% over run.

Frozen Custard:  Is similar to ice cream, and is defined by the same FDA regulation as ice cream. It also must contain at least 10% butterfat, but must also have at least 1.4% egg yolks. It’s made with a machine that adds less air (20 – 30% over run), so it tastes more dense, and served fresh at a higher temperature so usually softer than ice cream.

Sorbet:  Contains no dairy at all, and is usually just frozen fruit juice, sugar, and water with little to no over run.

Sherbet:  Is defined by the same regulation as ice cream in the U.S., and must contain 1-2% butterfat and 20 – 30% over run.  Typically consisting of cream, water and sugar.

Frozen Yogurt:  Is a frozen dessert made with yogurt and sometimes other dairy products. It varies from slightly to much more tart than ice cream, as well as being lower in fat (due to the use of milk instead of cream). It is different from ice milk (more recently termed low-fat or light ice cream) and conventional soft serve. Unlike yogurt, [1] frozen yogurt is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[2][3]but is regulated by some states.[4][5] Frozen yogurt may or may not contain live and active bacteria cultures. [3]  May contain  20 – 30% over run.

Gelato:   Is not regulated in the U.S., usually about 3-8% butterfat and often contains more stabilizers to compensate for a lack of cream and eggs. And like frozen custard, it’s also made with less air (20 – 30% over run) and served warmer, than ice cream.

Soft Serve:  Typically 3 – 6% butterfat with 10 – 20% over run.  DQ is 5% as example.

To be continued…

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfat

http://www.icecreamgeek.com/?p=113

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=135

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_yogurt

Contact Darryl to open your own ice cream or gelato shop.

Darryl David
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