Ice cream

Ice cream (originally iced cream) is a frozen dessert made from dairy products such as cream (or equivalents), combined with flavourings and sweeteners. This mixture is super-cooled by stirring while reducing its temperature to prevent large ice crystals from forming. Traditionally, the temperature has been reduced by placing the ice cream mixture into a container that is immersed in a mixture of crushed ice and salt. The salt allows liquid water to be below the freezing point of pure water, allowing the immersed container with cream to make better contact with the melted water/ice mixture.

Ice cream alternatives

The following is a partial list of ice-cream-like frozen desserts and snacks:

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• Ice milk: less than 10% milk fat and lower sweetening content, sold as low-fat ice cream in the United States.
• Frozen custard: at least 10% milk fat and at least 1.4% egg yolk and much less air beaten into it, similar to Gelato, fairly rare.
• Frozen yogurt
• Gelato: an Italian frozen dessert.
• Sherbet: 1-2% milk fat and more sweetener than ice cream.
• Sorbet: fruit puree and no milk products
• Pop: frozen fruit puree, fruit juice, or flavored sugar water on a stick or in a flexible plastic sleeve.
• Kulfi: brought to Pakistan and India by the Mughals from Persia during the 1500s, later brought to the West as the result of colonialism and immigration.

Some ice creams are made without milk. Soy ice cream and rice ice cream are made with soy milk or rice milk instead. A minority of non-dairy ice creams are based on nut butter.

Related Topics:
Soy milk - Rice milk - Nut butter

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