Ice Cream from a Factory
June 2, 2014
Ice cream is delicious. We can all agree on that statement.
There are many ice cream recipes, far too many for us to list here. We all love the taste of homemade ice cream and ice cream made with the best, all-natural ingredients. It’s also hard to argue that point.
Yet we also know that for everyone to be able to enjoy the sweet treat that is ice cream, some ice cream (okay, a lot of ice cream), needs to be mass-produced. This means ice cream that is made in (gasp) a factory.
All is not lost. Much of the ice cream we enjoy comes from the grocery store freezer section. This means ice cream that has been mass-produced. It’s ice cream on a truck that’s come from miles away. Yet, despite this travel time, the ice cream usually remains delicious.
Mass production of ice cream used to be impossible. Back in the day, before refrigeration, ice cream was mainly a treat for the wealthy, especially those in cooler climates. The development of ice harvesting and the invention on insulated ice houses in the 19th century helped bring ice cream to the masses. A hand-cranked ice freezer was later developed and also helped with production.
So what happens in an ice cream factory? What goes into the mass production of America’s favorite frosty dessert?
To start, the ingredients of the ice cream are weighed out and measured. Ingredients are then mixed. After that, it’s time for the mixture to be pasteurized. Pasteurization helps kill off any harmful bacteria.
The mixture is also homogenized. This breaks down fat globules in milk and cream to make them smaller. This will make the ice cream smoother and allow for easier whipping. This also keeps the ice cream from melting too fast.
The mix is then left alone for several hours to let the fat cool and form into crystals.
Flavors and colors are then added and the whole mix is pumped through a special barrel freezer which freezes some of the water in the ice cream and whips air into it at the same time.
The ice cream is then packaged. From there, before it leaves the factory, it goes into a blast freezer. This is where more of the water in the ice cream is frozen, making the ice cream harder.
