How is Ice-cream different from Frozen Dessert?
We all crave for a sugary dessert after a hearty meal. A cold and sweet dessert, an ice-cream, ticks all boxes for most food-lovers as a dessert of choice after a meal. But are you aware that the ice-cream you have been buying may not be an ice-cream at all.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), defines ice cream as a product “obtained by freezing a pasteurized mix prepared from milk and /or other products derived from milk with or without the addition of nutritive sweetening agents, fruit and fruit products, eggs, etc.” On the other hand, FSSAI maintains that frozen dessert is a product “obtained by freezing a pasteurized mix prepared with edible vegetable oils or fats or vegetable protein products, or both. It may also contain milk fat and other milk solids with the addition of nutritive sweeteners and other permitted non-dairy ingredients. “
This makes it amply clear that all frozen desserts can’t be considered as ice-cream. The milk/dairy content in frozen desserts is much less than it is in ice-creams or it may even be nil.
It is hard to make out one from the other only on the basis of taste, appearance and texture. Both, ice-creams and frozen desserts offer comparable levels of calories per serving. Nutrition experts feel that frozen desserts prepared using plant or vegetable fat generally contain unsaturated fat which is healthier. But we must remember that the plant fat used will be generally hydrogenated or trans-fat. Trans fats is known to raise cholesterol levels just like saturated fat. This is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
In the market, it is not easy to distinguish a frozen dessert from an ice-cream as the colour full front packaging would just highlight the flavours. As a consumer, we can only distinguish by carefully reading the label where the ingredients are listed, usually at the back. As per FSSAI, it is mandatory to mention frozen dessert if the primary ingredient is not derived from milk.
Courtesy – Chef Manjit Gill.