Science of Frozen Desserts (I)

choi

(1) Christina Morales, Plant-Based Ice Creams Keep Getting Better. New York Times, July 12, 2023 at page D4.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/ ... egan-ice-cream.html
("dairy-free ice cream * * * the options for both soft [serve] and hard versions have vastly improved

Note: "In Bakersfield, Calif, * * * Alejandro Ocampo * * * pays homage to his heritage with options like Mexican vanilla, passion fruit and horchata."
(a) passion fruit (fruit)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_fruit_(fruit)
in Taiwan refers to "purple passion fruit (fruits of Passiflora edulis Sims)."
(b) horchata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horchata
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Over the last decade, as dairy-free ice cream gained a foothold in the commercial market, its flavors were limited, its texture was often watery and its taste could be questionable.

Today, many of these ice creams are smooth and creamy. They can twirl like soft serve and pack into scoops for waffle cones. And the options for both soft and hard versions have vastly improved as the plant-based milk and creamers used to make them have gotten better.

At Morgenstern’s Bananas, a nondairy soft serve shop that opened this year on the Lower East Side, Hanna Darnell filmed herself in May trying a cup of dairy-free salted peanut soft serve topped with sesame Chex for a TikTok video.

“It was just as creamy as regular soft serve,” said Ms. Darnell, 26, who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “I was shocked.” She said she doesn’t eat a plant-based diet, but since posting that video, she has gone back to the shop three times.

Sales of plant-based foods in the United States surged in 2020, when the pandemic got many people thinking harder about their health, according to the Plant Based Foods Association, a trade group representing more than 350 plant-based food companies. Many turned to eating nondairy ice cream, which accounted for $437 million in sales last year. Shops dedicated solely to dairy-free ice cream have proliferated as more Americans adopt plant-based diets or seek desserts that accommodate their allergies and dietary restrictions.

The industry is still growing, but at a slower rate, said Julie Emmett, the vice president of marketplace and development for the trade association. Her colleague Linette Kwon, a data analyst, added that improvements in plant-based milks — especially oat milk, which is creamier and has a natural sweetness — have cleared the way for better-tasting dairy-free ice cream.

The new shops use a variety of milks — like almond, coconut, soy or cashew — for their ice cream bases. Soy milk, for example, has more protein than some other plant milks, and produces a smoother texture. Like oat milk, cashew milk is creamy.

Consumer research from the trade group also indicated that people who don’t eat vegan or vegetarian diets tend to prefer brands that use the phrase “plant-based” to describe alternatives to dairy ice cream, Ms. Emmett said. The term “vegan,” she said, can be polarizing.

For people with multiple food allergies, shops like Vaca’s Creamery in Chicago focus on the ingredients and reducing cross-contamination with allergens.

“It’s a safe space,” said Dylan Sutcliff, who owns the business with his partner, Mariana Marinho. “People don’t have to watch their backs for allergies or dietary restrictions.”

The couple opened their second location late last year. Between both shops, they make about 150 gallons a week — most of it made with oat milk — in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, tahini, lemon, strawberry with olive oil and blueberry with lavender.

All 20 of their toppings are made in-house, and many are designed for people with food sensitivities. The most popular include miso caramel, a chocolate hard shell, gluten-free brownie bites and waffle cones that taste like churros, made with cinnamon and sunflower butter.

In Bakersfield, Calif., where there are many dairy farms, Alejandro Ocampo opened his vegan ice cream shop in April after realizing that there weren’t any places for him and his twin daughters, Adaline and Belen, to get frozen desserts that catered to their plant-based diet.

“It’s ironic that we have a plant-based creamery in the middle of California,” said Mr. Ocampo, the owner of Double O Creamery.

He uses vegan creamers made with oat and coconut milk to make ice cream flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and mint. This base helps eliminate an aftertaste that plant-based ice creams often have. He also pays homage to his heritage with options like Mexican vanilla, passion fruit and horchata.

Like many other vegan scoop shops, Mr. Ocampo’s does not add mix-ins to his ice cream, so people with allergies can choose their own additions — toppings like chocolate or carob chips.

While these vegan treats are relatively new, they can call up the same kind of memories as traditional ice creams.

At the Creamy Spot, in Atlanta, which opened in March as walk-up window with outdoor seating, Wendy Golding is creating creamy and nostalgic flavors like brownies with caramel ripples, and peach cobbler with crumbles, using a base made with cashews and oat milk. It took her about 15 attempts to land on the mixture she now uses.

Ms. Golding also works with local minority-owned farms to get fruits as they come into season.

“I really missed eating ice cream,” said Ms. Golding, who eats a plant-based diet. Her new business, she added, “was a no-brainer.”

choi

some varieties of frozen desserts:
(2) soft serve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_serve
(section 1 History: ~1926)

section 2 Characteristics: "Soft serve is generally lower in milk-fat (3 to 6 percent) than ice cream (10 to 18 percent) [these are requirements found in federal laws in US] and is produced at a temperature of about −4 °C (25 °F) compared to ice cream, which is stored at −15 °C (5 °F). Soft serve contains air, introduced at the time of freezing. The air content, called overrun, can vary from 0 to 60 percent of the total volume of the finished product. The amount of air alters the taste of the finished product. Product with low quantities of air has a heavy, icy taste and appears more yellow. Ice cream with higher air content tastes creamier, smoother, and lighter and appears whiter. * * * Ice cream and similar products -including soft serve] must be frozen quickly to avoid crystal growth [the emphasis is on avoiding 'growth;' ice cream always has ice crystal, which is the smaller, the more creamier]. Moreover, when the soft serve is stored below freezing temperature after dispensing [from soft serve machine] for a substantial time, it will soon freeze solid. Thus, to sell and consume soft serve in its most palatable state, it must be prepared by a special machine at the point of sale. Pre-mixed product is introduced to the storage chamber of the machine where it is kept at 3 °C (37 °F). When the product is drawn from the draw valve, a fresh mix combined with the targeted quantity of air is introduced to the freezing chamber by gravity or pump. It is then churned, quickly frozen, and stored until required." (footnote omitted)

(3) frozen yogurt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_yogurt
("Frozen yogurt is a frozen product containing the same basic ingredients as ice cream, but contains live bacterial cultures.   Usually more tart than ice cream (the tanginess in part due to the lactic acid in the yogurt), as well as lower in fat (due to the use of milk instead of cream), it is different from ice milk and conventional soft serve. Unlike yogurt, frozen yogurt is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but is regulated by some U.S. states, such as California")  (footnotes omitted)

(4) Emma Hiolski, What's Ice Cream, and Why Do We Scream for It? Innovations in food science continually improve on this classic sweet treat. C&EN, Vol 96, Issue 31 (July 25, 2018)
https://cen.acs.org/environment/ ... cream-for-it/96/i31
("Additional emulsifiers—for example, mono- or diglycerides—destabilize the fats so they partially coalesce [something desirable to create the following effect:], creating a branching network of fat globule clusters that surround and support air bubbles throughout the ice cream. * * * Because [in low-temperature extrusion] the ice cream freezes more rapidly and uniformly in the extruder than [traditional making of ice cream], only small ice crystals have a chance to form—and they stay small. The kneading motion of the extruder also decreases air bubble size and distributes fat more efficiently, contributing to the enhanced smoothness [enabling reduced fat, to have the same level of smoothness and creaminess as traditional ice cream; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyer's ("large ice crystals, which gives the ice cream a grainy texture," opposite of smooth or creamy) ]

Note: "Chemical & Engineering News is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society." from the Web.