View the German version of this article exist Science spectrum.
People have been enjoying ice cream for hundreds of years.
But we have never enjoyed so many flavors now. From sweet to savory, the wonderful variety of ice cream is due to chemistry.
Ice cream is a heterogeneous mixture of liquid and finely dispersed solids. This is why it is called a complex colloidal system.
Each part of this system has an important function. Air bubbles usually account for 30% to 50% of the final volume of the mixture. They reduce the feeling of cold and provide softness.
If the air content is too low, the ice cream will harden. If it is too high, the snack will become too frothy and lose its flavor.
The fat droplets make the ice cream creamy. The protein in milk is formed around the fat, and this combination helps to separate the droplets and stabilize the mixture.
Liquid sugar surrounds insoluble particles. They determine the sweetness and softness. In food science, sweetness is used by a name called “Good night“(“Sweetener”) or POD. The contribution of sugar is obvious.
What is less obvious is that sugar lowers the freezing point of water, thereby reducing the amount of ice formed in the mixture. So it has “freezing resistance”, also known as “Anticoagulant,” or PAC.
Sucrose sets the standard for PAC, which corresponds to the degree of freezing point reduction, for example, one pound of sucrose is dissolved in 100 pounds of water. Ice cream manufacturers use more sugar. The lower the serving temperature, the more sugar the creamy ice cream requires.
The serving temperature of professionally produced ice cream is 12.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This corresponds to a PAC value of approximately 270.
In terms of food, the serving temperature of ice cream has dropped to 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, the PAC value must be higher to obtain perfect softness. The recommended PAC is between 400 and 420, which basically affects the sugar content.
For 2.5 pounds of ice cream, we recommend this recipe. The result is a PAC of 390 and a POD of 320 at the service temperature.
But your spoon contains more than sugar, fat, ice and air. In addition, there are neutral ingredients such as emulsifiers and stabilizers. They combine solid ingredients or fats with water, thereby affecting consistency.
Locust bean gum and xanthan gum are the most commonly used. The latter is obtained during the fermentation of sugar-containing substrates and is used as a thickener and gelling agent.
For a long time, the ice cream industry has expanded the palette of flavors. The focus now is on the low-calorie and low-sweetness mixture. To achieve this, sugars are replaced by polyols and fats are replaced by inulin.
So far, the production of these new ice cream varieties is limited, but they are expected to mature soon.
This means the greatest happiness!