Ice Cream Production

What is an Ice Cream?

Ice cream is a frozen blend of a sweetened cream mixture and air,
with added flavorings. A wide variety of ingredients are allowed in
ice cream, but the minimum amounts of milk fat, milk solids
(protein + lactose + minerals), and air are defined by Standards of
Identity in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 21
CFR 135.110 for ice cream, 21 CFR 135.115 for goat's milk ice
cream, and 21 CFR 135.140 for sherbet.
Composition of Ice Cream
Ice cream must contain at least 10% milk fat, and at least 20% total
milk solids, and may contain safe and suitable sweeteners,
emulsifiers and stabilizers, and flavoring materials. The finished ice
cream must weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon and there must
be at least 1.6 pounds of total solids (fat + protein + lactose +
minerals + added sugar) per gallon, thus limiting the maximum
amount of air (called overrun) that can be incorporated into ice
cream.
Composition of Ice Cream
There are well-defined labeling requirements for the types of
flavors used (natural and/or artificial) and for the presence of egg
yolks in the finished product (ice cream can be called custard or
"French" if the content of egg yolks is at least 1.4%). Ice cream
may also be labeled as reduced fat (25% less fat than the reference
ice cream), light (50% less fat than the reference), lowfat (less than
3 g fat/serving), or nonfat (less than 0.5 g fat/serving).
Types of Ice Cream
Ice cream is sold as hard ice cream or soft serve. After the
freezing process only a portion of the water is actually in a
frozen state. Soft ice cream is served directly from the freezer
where only a small amount of the water has been frozen. Hard
ice cream is packaged from the freezer and then goes through
a hardening process that freezes more of the water in the mix.
Ingredients
There is a wide range of ingredients and formulations (recipes)
that can be used in ice cream. The basic types of ingredients and
their functions are briefly described below.

Milk fat provides creaminess and richness to ice cream and

contributes to its melting characteristics. The minimum fat content
is 10% and premium ice creams can contain as much as 16% milk
fat. Sources of milk fat include milk, cream, and butter.
Ingredients
The total milk solids component of ice cream includes both the fat
and other solids. The other milk solids consists of the protein and
lactose in milk and ranges from 9 to 12% in ice cream. The nonfat
solids play an important role in the body and texture of ice cream
by stabilizing the air that is incorporated during the freezing
process. Sources of nonfat solids include milk, cream, condensed
milk, evaporated milk, dry milk, and whey.
Ingredients
Sweeteners are used to provide the characteristic sweetness
of ice cream. Sweeteners also lower the freezing point of the
mix to allow some water to remain unfrozen at serving
temperatures. A lower freezing point makes ice cream easier
to scoop and eat, although the addition of too much sugar can
make the product too soft. Sweeteners used include sugar
(sucrose) and corn syrups.
Ingredients
Stabilizers are proteins or carbohydrates used in ice cream to add
viscosity and control ice crystallization. Over time during frozen
storage small ice crystals naturally migrate together and form
larger ice crystals. Stabilizers help to keep the small crystals
isolated and prevent the growth of large crystals, which causes ice
cream to be coarse, icy and unpleasant to eat. Stabilizers used
include alginates (carageenan), gums (locust bean, guar), and
gelatins.
Ingredients
Emulsifiers are used to help keep the milk fat evenly dispersed in
the ice cream during freezing and storage. A good distribution of
fat helps stabilize the air incorporated into the ice cream and
provide a smooth product. Emulsifiers used in ice cream include
egg yolks and mono- and diglycerides.
A wide range of flavorings are used in ice cream. Flavorings include
natural and artificial flavors, fruit, nuts, and bulky inclusions such
as chocolate chunks and candies.
General Ice Cream Processing Steps
1. Blend Ingredients

2. Pasteurize Mix

3. Homogenize

4. Age Mix

5. Add Liquid Flavors and Colors

6. Freeze

7. Add Fruits, Nuts, and Bulky Flavorings

8. Package

9. Harden
1. Blend the Ice Cream Mixture

The milk fat source, nonfat

solids, stabilizers and
emulsifiers are blended to
ensure complete mixing of
liquid and dry ingredients.
2. Pasteurize Mix
Ice cream mix is pasteurized at 68.3°C for 30 minutes or 79.4C for 25 sec. The
conditions used to pasteurize ice cream mix are greater than those used for
fluid milk because of increased viscosity from the higher fat, solids, and
sweetener content, and the addition of egg yolks in custard products.
3. Homogenize
Ice cream mix is homogenized (2500 to 3000 psi) to decrease the milk fat
globule size to form a better emulsion and contribute to a smoother,
creamier ice cream. Homogenization also ensures that the emulsifiers and
stabilizers are well blended and evenly distributed in the ice cream mix
before it is frozen.
4. Age the Mix
Ice cream mix is aged at 5°C for at least
4 hours or overnight. Aging the mix
cools it down before freezing, allows
the milk fat to partially crystallize and
the gives the proteins stabilizers time
to hydrate. This improves the whipping
properties of the mix.
5. Add Liquid Flavors and Colors
Liquid flavors and colors may be
added to the mix before freezing.
Only ingredients that are liquid
can be added before the
freezing, to make sure the mix
flows properly through the
freezing equipment.
6. Freeze
The process involves freezing the mix and incorporating air. Ice cream mix can
be frozen in batch or continuous freezers and the conditions used will depend
on the type of freezer. Batch freezers consist of a rotating barrel that is usually
filled one-third to one-half full with ice cream mix. As the barrel turns, the air in
the barrel is incorporated into the ice cream mix. Ice cream freezers designed
for home use are batch freezers. Continuous freezers consist of a fixed barrel
that has a blade inside that constantly scrapes the surface of freezing barrel.
The ice cream mix is pumped from a bulk tank to the freezing barrel and the air
is incorporated with another pump just before it enters the freezing barrel. The
continuous freezing process is much faster than the batch freezing process.
6. Freeze
The addition of air is called overrun and contributes to the
lightness or denseness of ice cream. Up to 50% of the volume
of the finished ice cream (100% overrun) can be air that is
incorporated during freezing. The overrun level can be set as
desired to adjust the denseness of the finished product.
Premium ice creams have less overrun (approximately 80%)
and are more dense than regular ice cream.
6. Freeze
At the point of discharge from the
freezer (draw temperature), only
about 50% of the water in ice
cream is frozen. Soft serve ice
cream is generated at this point in
the freezing process.
7. Add Fruits, Nuts and Bulky Flavorings (candy
pieces, etc.)
Fruits, swirls, and any bulky type of flavorings (nuts, candy pieces,
etc.) are added at this point. These ingredients can not be added
before freezing or they would interfere with the smooth flow of
the mix through the freezer. The ice cream at this point is soft and
it is easy to mix in the bulky flavorings so they are uniformly
distributed throughout the ice cream. Mixing in bulky flavorings
after freezing also prevents damage to the pieces and allows them
to remain whole or in large chunks.
8. Package
As desired, depending on the product.
9. Harden
The ice cream is cooled as quickly as possible down to a holding
temperature of less than -25°C. The temperatures and times of
cooling will depend on the type of storage freezer. Rapid cooling
will promote quick freezing of water and create small ice crystals.
Storage at -25°C will help to stabilize the ice crystals and maintain
product quality. At this temperature there is still a small portion of
liquid water. If all the water present in the ice cream were frozen,
the ice cream would be as hard as an ice cube.
Flow scheme with mass flow controllers
The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) picture