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Frozen Desserts
Frozen desserts are any of various desserts made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes even solids. It includes ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, frozen yoghurts, and non-dairy frozen desserts and comes in many different flavours and types with numerous delicious choices.
Classification of Frozen Desserts
Still Frozen
Desserts in which air infused by whipping the base or folding in whipped ingredients and are generally made from custards and mousses are known as still frozen desserets. Still frozen are not churned during the freezing process.
Parfait Glace, Souffle Glace, Semifreddos are examples of Still Frozen Desserts.
Churn Frozen
Churn Frozen Desserts are desserts that are constantly mixed or rotated while they are freezing to keep the ice crystals small and incorporates air into the dessert. If they were not churned, they would freeze into a solid ice block. They are generally made from milk and custard, or non dairy products like fruits, chocolate and other flavours churned together with sugar.
To churn frozen desserts, flavorings are added before freezing while additional solid ingredients like nuts, fruits, or chocolate are usually added after processing.
Ice cream and sherbet are examples of churn frozen desserts.
Types of Frozen Desserts
Frozen desserts come in many forms. Each of the following types has its own definition, and many are standardized by federal regulations:
Ice Cream
Ice Cream consists of a mixture of dairy ingredients such as milk and nonfat milk, and ingredients for sweetening and flavouring, such as extracts, fruits, nuts and chocolate chips. Functional ingredients, such as stabilizers and emulsifiers, are often included to promote proper texture and enhance the eating experience. By federal law, ice cream must contain at least 10 percent milk fat, before the addition of bulky ingredients, and must weigh a minimum of 4.5 pounds to the gallon.
Frozen Custard or French Ice Cream
Frozen Custard or French Ice Cream must also contain a minimum of 10 percent milk fat, as well as at least 1.4 percent egg yolk solids.
Sherbets
Sherbets have a milkfat content of between 1 and 2 percent and a slightly higher sweetener content than ice cream. Sherbet weighs a minimum of 6 pounds to the gallon and is flavoured either with fruit or other similar ingredients.
Gelato
Gelato has an intense flavour and is served in a semi-frozen state that is similar to “soft serve” ice cream. Italian-style gelato is denser than ice cream since it has less air. Typically, gelato has more milk than cream, if any, and also contains sweeteners, egg yolks and flavouring.
Sorbet and Water Ices
Sorbet and Water Ices are similar to sherbets but contain no dairy ingredients.
Quiescently Frozen Confection
A Quiescently Frozen Confection is a frozen novelty such as a water ice novelty on a stick (e.g. Popsicles).
Frozen Yogurt
Frozen Yogurt consists of a mixture of dairy ingredients such as milk and nonfat milk which have been cultured, as well as ingredients for sweetening and flavouring.
Novelties
Novelties are separately packaged single servings of a frozen dessert (e.g. ice cream sandwiches, fudge sticks and juice bars) that may or may not contain dairy ingredients.