Jan 14, 2005
Inside Ice Cream Quality: The Difference Between Fresh and Not So Fresh Ice Cream
By Jason Lexell

Visit any ice cream business today whether it be a franchise or an independent business and you will find the key to the most successful shops is fresh ice cream.

"We prided ourselves on making everything fresh. It does taste better. We had soft ice cream machines and from the soft ice cream we'd make our hard ice cream," said Paul an ice cream franchise veteran.

So what's the difference? I eat ice cream from the freezer section of my local grocery store all the time and I love it. I know it wasn't made that day, but it tastes fine to me.

Keeping it cool

Paul asked, "Have you ever had ice cream that had crystals in it?"

"Actually yes," I said with a nod.

"This can happen to ice cream when the water in the ice cream liquefies and separates and then freezes again. This rarely happens when you make it on the premises since transportation isn't necessary. Other ice cream shops get their ice cream pre-made and pull the top off a tub. It can still taste good, but keeping it cool during transportation is very important," was Paul's reply.

Avoid old ice cream

Paul continued, "Since ice cream is a dairy product it does have an expiration period. Old ice cream can taste old and chewy in addition to having less flavor."

Air content

He went on to advise, "Ice cream quality also has a lot to do with air content. The denser the ice cream the higher quality the product. Half a gallon of one ice cream can weigh substantially less than another. An ice cream that weighs less, costs less, and is lower quality because there is more air in it."

Butter fat

Finally, high quality ice cream usually has a higher butter fat content. Butter fat offers a richness to your ice cream. Butter fat can fluctuate in price, so a company may skimp on this to save money, but it sacrifices taste.

Most ice cream businesses, shops and franchises will want to focus on a quality product since there are so many places where consumers can buy their ice cream. Serving fresh high quality ice cream is the key to running a successful ice cream business.