Quality ingredients and proper processing are the key to optimal results

by Editorial Staff | Mar 27, 2020 | Food products & ingredients | 0 comments

Quality ingredients and proper processing are the key to optimal results

Using iced foods to relieve summer heat has a multi-millennial history: restricting ourselves to the West, the ancient Romans made “granite” with snow stored over winter and flavored with fruit juices, honey or wine. A rare, expensive delicacy.

Only from the late 19th century, with industrial ice production and later refrigeration machines, did ice cream as we know it become affordable for most people.

The “soft ice” challenge: churning and cold control

Italian consumers are among the most demanding, given our country’s strong gelato tradition. Whether artisanal or industrial, a perfect ice cream must taste good and also have a creamy, uniform texture, as free as possible from large ice crystals—which are immediately perceived and generally unpleasant.

Making a notoriously hard substance like ice feel soft was the great challenge taken up by pioneers such as the Sicilian Procopio Cutò of Café Procope in late-17th-century Paris. The techniques explored spawned distinct preparations in taste and texture—some precursors of modern ice cream and, above all, of its “cousins” such as sorbet (with ancient Middle-Eastern roots), Italian-style semifreddo and the French parfait.

As an example, focusing on softness and creaminess—essential to a satisfying gastronomic experience: modern ice cream leverages mechanical churning, i.e., the continuous mixing performed by the ice-cream maker during the first cooling of a mix of liquids—water and/or milk—fat and any solids (chocolate, nuts, candied fruit, etc.).

Churning incorporates air while continually “breaking” forming ice crystals, keeping them very small. In traditional formulations, cold itself stabilizes this delicate emulsion: churning is followed by a second, static hardening stage.

The energy applied during churning, along with the duration and temperature of every processing step, will determine texture and, ultimately, enjoyment just as much as the ingredients. Post-production storage conditions must also be integrated into the process. Unsurprisingly, the tell-tale sign that the cold chain has been broken is a “deflated,” uneven, hard ice cream, and—if forcibly refrozen—shot through with large ice crystals.

Fats, sugars and eggs: from tradition to semifreddo and parfait

Fine aeration and crystal size are only part of the equation. Fats—cream above all—naturally soften the mix. Sugar is fundamental too, especially when stably bound with water as a syrup or caramel. Eggs—whole or separated (yolk/white) in many flavors—contribute creaminess and emulsion stability via their proteins, just as in many other creams as well as savory sauces and dressings.

Tradition offers useful clues: lacking machines capable of fast cooling and churning, early “ice-cream makers” had little choice but to use generous amounts of sugar, eggs and fats to keep the mixture soft and uniform yet stable—particularly at serving temperature, typically well above that of today’s ice cream.

Hence the concept of “semifreddo,” in two classic variants: the Italian semifreddo proper, based on Italian meringue (egg whites and sugar only); and the French parfait, made with pâte à bombe, a cooked yolk-and-sugar cream. In semifreddo, texture comes from the high protein content of egg whites; in parfait, from the proteins and fats of egg yolks. In both, sugar is abundant.

Sticking to traditional ingredients and techniques, a low-calorie ice cream must be stored and served very cold or the emulsion will “collapse,” and it will still tend to be harder and grainier than a richer, semifreddo-style ice cream—more caloric, but enjoyable at milder temperatures and certainly more pleasant in mouthfeel and crystal finesse.

“Complementary” ingredients and new consumer needs

Between these extremes lies food technology, which in the past decade has partly reshaped the range of so-called “additives”—a term too often burdened with an undeserved negative halo. More accurate labels would be “alternative” or “complementary” ingredients, long since embraced—and even celebrated—thanks to molecular-gastronomy pioneers such as Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal.

The point is not to trick consumers with “chemical stuff” to save on expensive “natural” ingredients. Food fraud has always existed, but it is the pathology, not the physiology, of food technology.

The real goal is to deliver a satisfying gastronomic experience while addressing needs that have emerged in the public conscience, including:

• lowering calorie intake;
• eliminating allergenic or ideologically unwanted ingredients (palm oil, animal products);
• reducing the environmental footprint by using consumer-safe complements that achieve optimal results with less energy and fewer resources;
• improving shelf-life to prevent food waste;
• diversifying offerings with new flavors and textures in line with modern gastronomic trends (think Adrià’s alginate spherifications);

To meet these challenges, the food technologist—both regulatory consultant and process/product specialist—starts from a careful assessment of goals and means to define what can be done, improved or innovated for the client—be it an artisanal gelateria or a food manufacturer. The possibilities are countless.

Today it’s possible to satisfy those who traditionally had to avoid ice creams and semifreddi for health (allergies, intolerances, diabetes) or “conscience” reasons (vegetarian, vegan), as well as professionals and enthusiasts eager to experiment and innovate.

Conclusion

In every case, it’s crucial to rely on a solid partner like GoodFood Consulting, which—beyond core technical advice—covers all stages: from project study to legal aspects, product development and staff training. End-to-end support for outstanding results.

Carmine F. Milone Food Technologist