Supreme ice cream foams

Ice cream consists of ice crystals, air bubbles and fat globules, surrounded by sugars, proteins, salt and unfrozen water. The unfrozen ingredients are emulsified to a premix, which will be further processed by a freezing and an aeration step, forming the desired microstructure. The microstructure of the ice cream is crucial to have a high-quality product, with an optimized melting behaviour and a smooth and creamy texture. The size of the ice crystals should be as low as possible to avoid a sandy texture of the ice cream. Fat droplets mainly determine the melting behaviour and the shape retention of the ice cream. Incorporation of air helps to increase creaminess and mouthfeel. Small and homogenous air bubble sizes influence the stability and the perception of the ice cream quality. The network of ice crystals, fat droplets and emulsifier result in the stabilization of the foamed structure. The ice crystals and the emulsifiers stabilize the interface of liquid to air, whereas the fat droplets stabilize the lamella between air droplets to avoid recoalescence and collapse during meltdown of the ice cream. The quality of ice cream can be quantified determining the rheological behaviour of melt-down ice cream, as depicted in Figure 1. The viscosity should be low at low temperatures to have a soft impression of the ice cream and a good scoopability. During melting, the slope of viscosity decrease over time is low, resulting in a reduced coldness impression of the ice cream. Shape retention with higher viscosities gives a creamy and supreme feeling at higher temperature. Kinematica provides with the MT-MM the technology and a solution for natural, supreme quality of ice cream with the desired microstructure.