How is Ice Cream Made?

by Meghan Martinson, UNL Nutrition 453

You are about to indulge in the hot fudge sundae that you have been drooling over when suddenly, you stop and think - how is ice cream made?

The first step in creating ice cream is blending liquid ingredients with dry ingredients. The liquid ingredients are milk, cream, syrups and contain varying quantities of milk fat and non-fat milk solids. The liquid ingredients are heated and dry ingredients such as sugar, dried eggs, or dried milk are added. This is called the "ice cream mix." The mix is pasteurized, destroying the bacteria that may be present in the mixture.

The ice cream mixture is now ready to be homogenized. Homogenization is the process of breaking down the fat drops found in the milk or cream to a smaller size and will then have a smooth, creamy texture. The fat found in ice cream also contributes to the smooth texture and creaminess of ice cream. Flavoring is now added to the ice cream and the ice cream mixture is ready to become a frozen delight. The mixture must constantly be stirred, or agitated, while being frozen. Agitating the mixture incorporates air and creates the crystals that make up ice cream. Air makes up a large portion of ice cream. At this stage, the ice cream is "soft serve" ice cream.

To harden the ice cream, the mixture is chilled rapidly at around -30 C in a blast chiller. Ice cream can also be made using an ice cream maker, where the ice cream mixture is surrounded by a mixture of ice and salt and a hand crank is turned while the ice cream is freezing. The ice cream is packaged and distributed to consumers, who look forward to this frosty and delicious treat all year round.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9041961/ice-cream
http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/icmanu.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream
http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/findsci.html