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Ice Cream
By definition, to be labeled ice cream, the butterfat of the frozen dairy
treat must be at least 10 percent (on the low side) and up to 16 percent
butterfat (on the high side). It costs the manufacturer much more to produce
a higher butterfat ice cream.
The amount of air in ice cream is called overrun. The greater the overrun
(more air) in a scoop of ice cream naturally means a smaller amount of
ice cream. If you purchase high overrun ice cream, you are paying for
air. Air is required in ice cream; so do not perceive it as a negative.
There is nothing wrong with a 90 percent – 100 percent overrun ice
cream. You have been eating it for years! Most supermarket ice creams
are 90 percent – 100 percent overrun. It costs more to produce a
low overrun product (less yield) but the product possesses a better texture
and more intense flavor. More ice cream touches your tongue and, consequently,
less air. Therefore, you taste more of the product.
Great ingredients translate into a great product. To test a company's
commitment to great ingredients, check the ingredients. For example: Strawberry
– does the manufacturing process include real strawberries OR a
strawberry flavor (and probably no strawberries)? Strawberry ice cream
should always have visible strawberries in it.
Custard
Custard is usually 10 percent butterfat (but it can be a higher butterfat)
with a minimum federal requirement of 1.4 percent egg yolks. The egg yolk
does not turn the product yellow in color. The color of 1.4 percent egg
yolk is insignificant, therefore vanilla custard is white – not
yellow. The color, yellow, occurs because U.S. Certified color Yellow
is added to the mix.
Custard has an overrun of about 18 percent, so it is a dense product.
Ingredients for flavors are insignificant because most sales of custard,
by far, are vanilla or chocolate.
How custard is manufactured is the key to its success. Custard is manufactured
slowly in a custard machine and the product rolls down a chute into a
dipping cabinet. There, it is scooped in a semi-frozen (soft) state. Custard
should not be bucketed into tubs, frozen, and then scooped. This is how
ice cream is manufactured and dispensed. Too often custard storeowners
freeze the custard, then scoop the product the next day, thus invalidating
custard’s most significant criterion – HOW IT IS MADE. The
shelf life of custard is only four hours. Consequently, it must be frozen
into pints or quarts for re-sale or thrown away. So, inherently, custard
stores need to be high volume and managed properly. The "experience"
of visualizing the custard rolling down the chute and being scooped is
a necessary criterion of being labeled as a custard shop.
If a custard shop is scooping frozen custard from a tub, the product is
merely a 10 percent butterfat ice cream with 1.4 percent egg yolk. That
is a minimum standards product – so make sure the price per scoop
is minimum. To my knowledge, the only true custard shop is Milwaukee Joe’s
Custard in Southlake. Joe Libowsky is a fantastic owner, so visit him.
Gelato
Gelato is not Italian ice cream. Gelato is gelato. It is its own category.
But, people often misname it “ice cream.” And in fact, Italian
ice cream is called Spumoni.
Gelato is a low overrun product (about 20 percent) with intense ingredient
flavoring. The butterfat is about 5 percent and that is why gelato is
not ice cream, because Federal Standards require ice cream to be at least
10 percent butterfat. So is gelato then considered "low fat"
(5 percent butterfat)? Not really – although, gelato is sometimes
mis-marketed that way. Remember, gelato is denser than ice cream. So,
in a single serving one is actually consuming twice as much gelato (20
percent overrun), compared to ice cream (90 percent - 100 percent overrun).
Also, gelaterias will argue that their fat is derived from milk, thus
the term "milk fat."
Gelaterias then compare "milk fat" to ice cream's "butterfat."
This sounds very good in theory, but graze the wording. Fat is fat –
no matter if it is derived from milk or cream. Do not be fooled into believing
that "milk fat" means nutritionally valid. Gelato is often mis-marketed
as 70 percent less fat than Super Premium Ice Cream. In theory this is
true; but in reality, it is not true.
Perhaps the greatest properties of gelato are the intense taste and the
way in which it is displayed in the Italian dipping cabinets. Also the
commitment by the owner is often fantastic. Mr. Ugo Ginatta, of Paciugo
Gelato, has done an excellent job of marketing gelato in the Metroplex.
Please visit him.
His commitment to gelato is unique. Others have copied him. Unfortunately
there is small sign outside the Plano location that says, "Italian
Ice Cream," referring to gelato. He had better watch out for the
ice cream police. Gelaterias are often creatively marketed with beautiful
furniture and Cantoni-like lighting. While they may look great, remember
you do not eat the light bulbs!
Summary
Still confused? Well, at least you are more knowledgeable. The customer
is eventually the judge of great frozen dairy products – no matter
what medium they are frozen into. 2004 will be a challenging year, but
at the very least, support the entrepreneurs who put their passion into
their work and serve it up as a scoop. Ice cream, custard, gelato –
you can decide; but remember, only ice cream makes you pretty!
In the earnest attempt to educate the consumer, I am willing to: debate
anyone on the topics, be part of a presenting forum, be interviewed on
the radio, present a lecture, appear on Oprah, appear on 60 Minutes, speak
at the NICRA convention in November in Orlando, be a backup speaker at
the Plano Forum in May, and/or debate other store owners.
Henry Gentry is the owner of Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream in Plano.
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