Learning All About Ice Cream

By Marquerite Velasquez


The average American eats approximately 20 quarts of ice cream every year according to statistics, and this can be due to the fact that ice cream is one of the most popular sweet treats in the country. There are wide varieties of these ice cream products available in your local ice cream shops and also in the grocery stores in your locality, and the following are some facts about these products.

Ice cream, to be officially labeled as such, should contain 10 percent and can even be more, of milk fat. Sweeteners make up an additional 12-16 percent of the ingredients in this product, but one of the ingredients found in ice cream, and can be considered the main ingredient, is actually air. A similar product, labeled as ice milk, is a treat that will contain less than 10 percent of milk fat in it. This is a product that often is called low fat ice cream product, and is not only low fat but also often a lower priced product. Sugar and other sweetener content in ice milk is the same as that in ice cream, so while the fat might be lower, the calories are about the same.

Sherbet, on the other hand, is another popular frozen treat, and like ice milk, sherbet contains less milk fat than ice cream, but more sweetener or sugar than either ice milk or ice cream. Sorbet is another treat you might find at the local ice cream shop, but this is a frozen dessert made from frozen fruit juice or fruit puree that has been sweetened. While it isn't ice cream, it's a nice option for those who do not eat dairy.

Frozen custard is also a nice alternative for ice cream, and this is also an interesting frozen treat that is similar to ice cream. This product contains eggs in addition to containing also cream and sugar just as you would find in ice cream. The product is denser compared to ice cream and tastes somewhat different. This is a product found to have improved texture and also found to stay cold longer, and the eggs are what make these alterations, as discovered by two ice cream vendors in Coney Island who invented this product in the early 20th Century.

A product that is a favorite in Italy for long is gelato, and this is also a product loved by Americans. In Italian, gelato is the actual word for ice cream and is also similar to American ice cream, but this is a product with less air. Egg yolks are sometimes added, making the product more of custard that is frozen and there are versions such as zabaione, a gelato-type product containing sweet wine.

If you are searching for the Southland's best frozen treats, check out the ice cream sandwiches in Culver City at YoKuMon. This unique Culver City ice cream shop offers a gourmet $2 ice cream cookie sandwich. Not only is the ice cream rich and creamy, the cookies that make the sandwich are freshly baked throughout the day. There are many different varieties of cookie and you can pair the cookies up with any flavor of ice cream.




About the Author: