In people’s impression, ice cream will melt when heated. However, recently a brand of ice-cream at 31 degrees Celsius room temperature for 1 hour does not melt triggered a hot debate. Immediately after, a video of a netizen using a lighter to ignite the ice cream suspected of burning does not melt again aroused concern.
So, ice cream does not melt and what is related to it? Technology Daily reporter interviewed the relevant experts.
Ice-cream heat does not melt and two major factors related to
Science and health information exchange center of food and science and technology communications director Ruan Guangfeng told Science and Technology Daily reporter, ice cream by heat does not melt mainly with the resistance and conformability of these two factors. The purpose of anti-melt is to delay the time of ice cream melting, while the purpose of shape preservation is to make the ice cream melted can also try to maintain the shape.
”Melt resistance refers to the degree to which the ice-cream tolerates room temperature. Its will be affected by many conditions, ice-cream in the sugar, fat and other ingredients, will affect its resistance to melting. Generally speaking, sugar has the most pronounced effect on the resistance to melting.” Ruan Guangfeng said that compared to other sugar additions, sucrose is better for ice-cream to maintain good thaw resistance, while common small-molecule sugar substances such as fructose and erythritol will weaken the thaw resistance.
In addition, the different types of fats and oils added to ice-cream will also affect its resistance to melting to a great extent. In general, the higher the saturation and melting point of fats and oils, such as common thin cream, coconut oil, etc., will significantly enhance the melting resistance of ice-cream.
”Shape retention is the property of ice-cream to maintain its shape and form in a non-cold environment. The less water content, i.e. the higher the solids content of the ice-cream, the better its conformability.” Ruan Guangfeng further said that the opposite of conformability is the degree of expansion, generally the higher the degree of expansion of ice-cream, the more fluffy its texture, and the worse its conformability.
These additives affect the speed and degree of ice cream melting
Additives in ice-cream, such as emulsifiers and thickeners, can also affect its resistance to melting and conformability.
”Emulsifiers are mainly used to improve the uniformity and stability of ice-cream ingredients, and common emulsifiers include whey protein, lecithin, etc. We usually use the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance value (HLB value) to measure the emulsification performance of emulsifiers. the larger the HLB value, the more hydrophilic the emulsifier; the smaller the HLB value, the more lipophilic the emulsifier.” Ruan Guangfeng said, “In layman’s terms, the emulsifier in ice-cream is like a pair of gripping hands that can tightly grip the various tiny bubbles and fat particles in the ice-cream raw materials, effectively enhancing the anti-melting and conformability of the ice-cream, and also to a large extent, providing a basic guarantee for its smooth and lubricious taste.”
The thickening agent can make ice cream and its ingredients become more viscous, so that the melting ice cream can also “try” to maintain the original. Ruan Guangfeng said that, in general, added in the ice cream thickener can be divided into two categories of natural thickeners and synthetic thickeners. Common natural thickeners are carrageenan, agar, gelatin, etc., while common synthetic thickeners are carboxymethyl cellulose and casein. The main difference between the two is that natural thickeners are generally extracted from plants containing polysaccharide-based viscous substances, while synthetic thickeners are derived from chemical synthesis.
”Thickener as a strong hydrophilic polymer substances, its dissolved in water, can enhance the viscosity and thickening of ice cream. At the same time, its also makes the shape of ice-cream more stable and less likely to melt under the influence of external stimuli such as light.” Ruan Guangfeng added.
According to the current national standards, in the production of ice cream to add emulsifiers and thickeners, should be “used in appropriate amounts according to production needs.
”In fact, both emulsifiers and thickeners, regular enterprises generally do not add excessive amounts, because these two are not cheap, and too much to add will affect the taste. In addition, excessive addition may also affect the production efficiency of enterprises. For example, if too much thickener is added, it may make the production line of ice cream and ice cream stick together, affecting the subsequent operation.” Ruan Guangfeng said.
He pointed out that no matter what emulsifiers or thickeners are added, as long as the ice-cream producer strictly follows national standards, then the product is safe and the public need not worry unduly. Only those non-compliant ice creams are harmful to human health.
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Teach you through the ingredients list to choose high-quality ice-cream
In the supermarket freezer, there is a wide variety of ice-cream, which is overwhelming. For the average consumer, how can you choose a high-quality ice-cream just by virtue of the ingredients list?
In this regard, Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Communication Department of the Science and Health Information Exchange Center, said that different proteins, fats and oils and possibly added chocolate ingredients can have a great impact on the quality of ice-cream. Dairy protein sources are better than legume protein sources; milk fat is better than vegetable fats; and cocoa butter (or cocoa liquor block) is better than cocoa butter substitute. “These are all clearly visible in the ingredient list, and consumers can identify them for themselves.” He said.
In addition to this, the ingredient list of ice-cream containing more than 2% of ingredients is to be sorted by the amount added. “The more ingredients added, the higher the ranking in the ingredient list, so you can look at the ingredient list by looking at the amount of additives in some high-cost raw materials, to determine the degree of ‘conscience’ of the ingredients used in ice cream.” Ruan Guangfeng said.
