Bill Sias MPHC, Pn1, FMSC2, YBT, FCS, M-CPT
Please watch the videos that are Parts 1 and 2 of our drumstick melt story before reading this. You can find Part 1 and Part 2 at the links.
Welcome back…
All of this is my opinion. You eat what you want.
I want to dive into the ingredient list in the order listed on the box. As usual, the ingredients are listed in order by quantity in the product. Each ingredient has its role, either enhancing flavor, texture, or both. I am eliminating components of the cone and the shell. Here’s the scoop on what each brings to the party:
- Skim Milk: A low-fat base that gives ice cream its fundamental dairy character without adding the heaviness of fat. It’s the canvas upon which all other flavors and textures are painted.
- Sugar: The sweet spot of ice cream. Sugar not only sweetens the mix but also lowers the freezing point, helping to prevent the ice cream from becoming too hard in the freezer.
- Whey: A protein-rich byproduct of cheese making, whey adds nutritional value and can help improve texture.
- Corn Syrup: Acts similarly to sugar by sweetening and lowering the freezing point, but it also adds to the smoothness, preventing crystallization for a creamier texture.
- Palm Oil & Palm Olein: These fats are stable at room temperature, helping to stabilize ice cream’s texture and keep it scoopable.
- Soy Lecithin: An emulsifier that helps mix fats and water-based ingredients, ensuring a uniform texture and preventing separation.
- Soybean Oil: Another fat that helps in creating a smooth, creamy texture. It can also carry flavors.
- Cream: The heart of what makes ice cream… creamy. It adds richness and body, along with the characteristic mouthfeel.
- Guar Gum: A thickening and stabilizing agent that helps prevent ice crystals from forming, keeping the ice cream smooth.
- Monoglycerides: Another emulsifier that helps blend fats and water-based ingredients smoothly together.
- Milk: Adds to the creaminess and dairy flavor base of the ice cream, providing a more intense dairy flavor than skim milk alone.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor profile, making the sweet flavors pop.
- Natural Flavors: These are added to give the ice cream its intended vanilla flavor.
- Carob Bean Gum: Similar to guar gum, it’s used for thickening and stabilizing, helping to ensure a smooth texture.
- Annatto Color: A natural food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree, used to give ice cream a particular color, often a warm yellow or orange hue.
Each ingredient plays a specific role, from flavor and color to texture and stability. Another factor in the slow melt time is the fact that the mixture is churned longer than normal to introduce more air into the mixture.
Bottom Line:
The gums, monoglycerides, and air form a matrix that holds its shape at room temperature. When it “melts” the other ingredients turn liquid and drain out of the matrix, we saw that as the liquid in the bowl that I referred to as a “petroleum product”. The matrix stays behind looking like ice cream. I was not going to taste it to verify it.
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