ICE CREAM PRODUCTION
Introduction
There has been little tradition of ice cream production in tropical countries because of the
requirement for refrigerated production equipment and frozen storage. Now demand is
increasing for ice cream in many large towns and cities, and it has the potential to be a
profitable product for small scale dairies. However, ice cream carries a high risk of causing food
poisoning if it is not correctly made and stored (see Technical Brief: Overview of Dairy
Processing), and it should therefore only be produced by dairies that have knowledgeable and
experienced staff.
Ice cream is made by freezing and simultaneously beating air into (aerating) a liquid mixture
that contains fat, sugar, milk solids, an emulsifying agent, flavouring and sometimes colouring.
The fat can be from milk, cream or butter or from a non-dairy source. However, the composition
of ice cream is legally defined in many countries. Typically this is:
1. Standard ice cream that contains not less than 5% fat and not less than 2.5% milk protein
(from casein or whey solids).
2. ‘Dairy’ ice cream must contain a minimum of 5% fat that is only milk fat and not any other
type of fat.
There may also be legislation that covers the types of emulsifying agents, colourings, flavourings
or other additives that are permitted in ice cream, and potential producers should check the
local legislation at a Bureau of Standards before formulating a product.
Ingredient
Full cream milk
Liquid skim milk
Full cream milk powder
Skim milk powder
Double cream
Single cream
Butter
Sweetened condensed milk
Evaporated milk
Fat (%)
4.0
-
27.0
-
48.0
18.0
84.0
9.0
9.0
MSNF1
(%)
8.8
9.0
70.0
97.0
4.5
7.2
-
22.0
22.0
Sugar (%) Water (%)
44.0
87.2
86.0
3.0
3.0
47.5
74.8
16.0
25.0
69.0
Table 1: Typical composition of ice cream ingredients (From Opportunities in Dairy Processing).
1 MSNF = milk solids not fat
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