The Science of Making Ice Cream

Making homemade ice cream can be fun, but you can get better results if you understand the science behind it. Some steps should not be skipped, and some substitutions can cause you to wind up with ice cream that is not as good as you might have hoped for. Here is a brief explanation of some of the scientific principles of ice cream making.

The type of dairy product you use in your ice cream will have a major impact on the final product. Grocery stores sell skim and whole milk, half and half, and cream. The difference is the amount of fat. Whole milk has 3.25 percent fat, and skim milk has almost none. Half and half is a combination of milk and cream, and heavy whipping cream has the most fat. Buttermilk is a low-fat type of milk that has a bacterial culture added. You can use buttermilk in your ice cream, but it will taste very different than ice cream made with milk or cream.

Using milk or cream with a higher fat content will give you creamier ice cream. Most milk is homogenized to distribute fat molecules evenly in other liquids. When you make ice cream, the fat molecules break apart and air is added. The fat clusters hold the air pockets in place and create smoother ice cream.

To get creamy homemade ice cream, you want small, evenly distributed ice crystals. Refrigerating the ice cream base before you freeze it will help you achieve this because the ice cream will freeze quickly. Using an ice cream base that is room temperature will cause large ice crystals to form, which can make your ice cream crunchy.

Most homemade ice cream recipes say to use salt. Salt lowers water’s freezing temperature and makes the ice and ice cream colder. Rock salt is typically used to make ice cream. It is processed less than table salt and is chunkier. You can also use table salt to make ice cream, but rock salt costs less.

Making homemade ice cream is a time-consuming process. If you don’t want to invest a lot of time and would like to enjoy your favorite ice cream flavor right away, stop in at Praline’s to sample some of our delicious frozen delights.