Get the scoop on a popular frozen delight

(WMS) One of the first

sounds signaling summer’s

start is the music of an ice

cream truck. At the Little

League field, a park or in

your neighborhood, young

and old delight in the cold,

creamy concoction called

ice cream. There’s something

about it that brings

out the kid in all of us.

People have enjoyed ice

cream for thousands of

years. In the second centur

y B.C., Alexander the

Great enjoyed snow and ice

flavored with honey and

nectar, according to the

International Dairy Foods

Association. During the

Roman Empire, Nero

Claudius Caesar sent runners

into the mountains for

snow, which was then flavored

with fruits and juices.

Over a thousand years later,

Marco Polo returned to

Italy from the Far East with

a recipe that resembles

modern-day sherbet. That

recipe evolved into ice

cream sometime in the

16th century.

Today, Americans eat

around 45 pints of ice

cream a year, more than

any other nation, with

vanilla being the top flavor.

Perhaps that’s why supermarket

freezer cases brim

with ice cream and other

frozen treats. Get the scoop

on the different types of ice

creams that you can dig

your spoon into.

ICE CREAM VARIETIES

Ice cream — a frozen food made from a mixture of dairy products, such

as milk and nonfat milk, and ingredients for sweetening and flavoring, such

as fruits, nuts and chocolate chips; contains at least 10 percent milk fat.

Light ice cream — contains

at least 50 percent less

total fat or 33 percent fewer

calories than the referenced

product.

Low-fat ice cream — contains

a maximum of 3

grams of total fat per serving.

Reduced-fat ice cream —

contains at least 25 percent

less total fat than the referenced

product (either an

average of leading brands

or the company’s own

brand).

Nonfat ice cream — contains

less than 0.5 grams of

total fat per serving.

ICE CREAM QUALITIES

Super premium ice cream — tends to have very low overrun (the amount of

aeration the ice cream undergoes during its manufacturing that keeps the mixture

from becoming an inedible frozen mass) and high fat content; the manufacturer

uses the best quality ingredients.

Premium ice cream —

tends to have low overrun

and higher fat content than

regular ice cream; the manufacturer

uses higher quality

ingredients.

Regular ice cream —

meets the overrun required

for the federal ice cream

standard.

Economy ice cream —

meets required overrun

and generally sells for a

lower price than regular ice

cream.

OTHER FROZEN DESSERTS

Frozen yogurt — contains a mixture of dairy ingredients, such as milk

and nonfat milk, which have been cultured, as well as ingredients for sweetening

and flavoring.

Frozen custard — contains

a minimum of 10 percent

milk fat and at least

1.4 percent egg-yolk solids.

Sherbet — has a milk fat

content of between one

percent and two percent

and a slightly higher sweetener

content than ice

cream. It’s flavored with

fruit juice and sugar, milk,

eggs or gelatin.

Gelato — contains sweeteners,

milk, cream, egg

yolks and flavoring; characterized

by an intense flavor

and is ser ved in a semifrozen

state.

Sorbet and water ices —

similar to sherbets, but

without dairy ingredients.

Novelties — separately

packaged single servings of

a frozen dessert such as ice

cream sandwiches, fudge

sticks and juice bars that

may or may not contain

dairy ingredients.