If you ask any American family which dessert item they have most frequently in their home, the answer is likely to be ice cream. And considering 90% of American households report indulging in these frozen delights on a regular basis, this comes as no surprise.
At its most basic, ice cream is a glorified (and delicious) science experiment, comprised of a few key ingredients: cream, sugar, ice and air. Although the last two don’t have distinct flavor, ice and air help to create that luscious, creamy whipped quality that makes ice cream so smooth and irresistible.
To better understand it, try to think about the process of making whipped cream. Before any handling, whipped cream is simply heavy cream, vanilla, and a few tablespoons of granular sugar. What creates that irresistible, velvety texure? Air. The same goes for custom ice cream cups, creating a texture so smooth that you can’t help but like the bottom of your ice cream cups and tasting spoons.
The next magic ingredient is the ice. When paired with the air, the cream eventually becomes frozen, until you can no longer “whip” the ice cream, and instead, must “churn it”. When it comes to ice cream, the smaller the ice crystals are, the smoother the ice cream will be. After the churning process, ice cream typically has 50% more air than it originally had.
Once ice cream is ready to eat, then the fun really starts. From custom ice cream cups to waffle cones, there are many ways to enjoy your ice cream and so many ways to top it. For example, take a banana, split it in half, and surround it with scoops of your favorite ice cream. Top it with a cherry, sprinkles, fudge and whipped cream and there you have a banana split!
Not in the mood to chew anything? Then make a milkshake. Put two scoops of your favorite ice cream in a blender with a cup of milk and pulse until smooth.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy ice cream? Let us know in the comments below!
