Ice Cream

Ice Cream, popular frozen confection made from fat, milk solids, and sugar. Ice cream probably originated in China around 2000 bc. The recipe for water ices was first brought to Europe by the Italian traveller Marco Polo in the late 13th century, with ice cream becoming popular in the 17th century. English colonists took the recipe to the United States in the early 18th century.

Early production methods consisted of placing the ingredients in a metal container, surrounded by a freezing mixture of ice and coarse salt, and mixing them until smooth. In modern plants the basic ingredients are poured into a tank, where they are mixed and pasteurized. The mixture is then homogenized to break up particles of butterfat, cooled, piped to a freezing tank, and beaten until smooth; at this stage nuts or fruits are sometimes added. The ice cream emerges from the freezing tank partially frozen and is packed into containers that are stored in a refrigerated room until hard.

Some European countries permit the use of non-milk fat to produce ice cream; if milk fat is used the end product is termed dairy ice cream. According to United Kingdom regulations, ice cream must contain at least 5 per cent milk fat and 7 per cent other milk solids. Stabilizers such as carboxy methylcellulose, gums, and alginates are included, as well as emulsifiers such as polysorbate and monoglycerides. A portion of dairy ice cream provides calcium and vitamin B₂. The fat content is 70 per cent saturates and 25 per cent monounsaturated, while that of non-dairy ice cream is about 50 per cent saturated and 40 per cent monounsaturated.

Several forms of ice cream are made. French ice cream is enriched with egg yolks; parfaits and mousses are ice-cream preparations that have not been beaten during the freezing process; biscuit tortoni is a rich ice cream sprinkled with powdered almonds or macaroons; and spumoni is a mousse-like ice cream to which fruits and nuts have been added. Soft ice cream, made of the same ingredients as ordinary ice cream, is sold as it comes from the freezer before hardening. An ice lolly is frozen ice cream or water ice on a stick.