Frozen treats: Navigating the options

When it’s my turn to go to the grocery store, it takes me forever to make selections. I’m mesmerized by the endless options in every aisle. This week I got tripped up in the ice cream department. Halfway between dark chocolate truffle and coconut caramel swirl, I realized I was caught in a little decision swirl of my own. There was ice cream, frozen custard, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and gelato. Some treats were full fat, reduced fat, low fat, nonfat, low carbohydrate, or sugar-free. And there was a huge selection of dairy-free frozen desserts. What was in all these colorful packages, and which one would be best? I reached for a pint of good old low-fat chocolate ice cream and resolved to find out more later. Here’s what I’ve learned since digging into research (and dessert). Frozen dairy treats The most important ingredient in ice cream is milk fat (cream). The FDA requires a product to contain at least 10% milk fat to be called ice cream. Other ingredients include milk proteins; sugar; stabilizers and emulsifiers (lecithin and mono- and diglycerides) to make ice cream smooth; flavor; fruits, nuts, or chunks of other goodies (like brownie pieces); and lots of air to keep ice cream from becoming a solid frozen rock of ingredients. Other dairy-based frozen desserts contain ingredients like those in ice cream. But frozen custard also contains egg yolks; frozen yogurt contains milk fermented with yogurt cultures; and gelato has less milk fat and air than ice cream, making ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs