Ice Cream Products FAQ

There often be some problems in ice cream products. For example, the unusual coarse texture(icy texture), or fluffy texture like a spongy, even sometimes the ice cream product is crumbly. What is causing these problems? What can be done to prevent it? Let us summary the reasons.

1. Coarse / Icy Texture: The ice cream become coarse during storage.

When the coarseness is "gritty" and fails to go away when the ice cream melts in the mouth, it is more specifically, and quite aptly, called "sandy". It is caused by Lactose crystals, which do not dissolve readily and produce a rough or gritty sensation in the mouth. It may be caused by:

a) Insufficient total solids (high water content).
b) Insufficient protein.
c) Insufficient stabilizer or poor stabilizer.
d) Insufficient homogenizing pressure (due to its effect on fat structure formation).
e) Insufficient aging of the mix (stabilizer hydration, also fat crystallization and development of resulting fat structure).
f) Slow freezing because of mechanical condition of freezer.
g) Incorporation of air as large cells because of physical characteristics of mix or type of freezer used.
h) Slow hardening.
i) Rehardening soft ice cream.
j) Pumping ice cream too far from continuous freezer before hardening.
k) Fluctuating storage room temperatures.
l) The fluctuating temperatures during storage and distribution. It usually be the most likely cause!

The coarse,  icy or sandy texture can be prevented by many of the same factors that inhibit iciness:

a) Hardening the ice cream quickly
b) Maintaining low storage room temps.
c) Preventing temperature fluctuations, from manufacturer to consumer.

2. Fluffy Texture: It feels like a spongy or a marshmallow. The cause of this result may be:

a) Incorporation of large amount of air.
b) Low total solids.
c) Low stabilizer content.

3. The ice cream body is crumbly:

a) High overrun together with large air cells.
b) Low stabilizer or emulsifier.
c) Low total solids.
d) Low protein.

4. Gummy Body: This defect is the opposite of Crumbly in that it imparts a pasty or putty-like body. It is caused by:

a) Too low an overrun.
b) Too much stabilizer.
c) Poor stabilizer.

5. Weak Body: Ice cream lacks "chewiness" and melts quickly into a watery liquid. Gives impression of lacking richness. May be caused by:

a) Low total solids.
b) High overrun.
c) Insufficient stabilizer.

We can produce higher quality ice cream products, when we know the reason and solution. It is helpful to our ice cream business.

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