Icecream Journal

Here’s a little more technical talk for all you die-hard ice cream lovers out there who aspire to someday start your own ice cream factory. This edition of “Ice Cream Dictionary” takles the issue of “overrun.”

Overrun refers to the amount of air that is whipped into the ice cream mixture. For example, an overrun of 100 percent would mean for every gallon of ice cream mix, you get two gallons of finished ice cream. Without this air, the frozen ice cream mix would resemble an ice cube, the same as if you were to freeze milk or any other liquid. This would make the ice cream pretty difficult to scoop and very icy to eat, which would also make for a pretty frustrating dessert experience.

A churning or mixing process during the freezing stage traps air within the liquid and produces the creamy, airy texture. Two good examples of this same process are whipping air into cream to make whipped cream and beating egg whites to make meringue.

The amount of air incorporated into the mix changes the eating attributes of the ice cream. If lower amounts of air are used, the resulting ice cream is dense, heavy and colder. If higher amounts are used, the texture becomes light, creamy and a bit warmer.

To guard against manufacturers making ice cream composed mostly of air and very little cream, overrun is governed by federal standards. The maximum overrun is 100 percent and the finished ice cream cannot weigh less than 4.5 pounds per gallon. There are no limits for creating denser ice cream, however, so you can put in as little overrun as you like.

Whether you prefer a lighter, creamier texture or a denser heavier ice cream is a personal preference. What probably matters more to most ice cream lovers is the quality of the ingredients and the balance of flavors and inclusions.

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