What are the main components of a frozen dessert?
The main components of a frozen dessert are water, butterfat, milk proteins, sugars and air.

What is soft serve ice cream?
Soft serve ice cream is a frozen dessert that is made on the spot when ordered by the customer. Special equipment is needed to create soft serve ice cream.

What is sorbet?
Sorbet is a frozen dessert made without dairy ingredients. It is therefore a fat-free and lactose-free dessert.

What is the difference between sorbet and sherbet?
Essentially, sorbet is water-based, while sherbet also includes dairy product.

Where do the terms sorbet and sherbet come from?
Sorbet and Sherbet both come from the same etymological origin, the Arab word Sharbat.

What do I need to do to make the best frozen dessert?
Three critical factors are:
1. Quality of mix used
2. Quality of ingredients added to the mix
3. Quality of the batch freezer

What is a good batch freezer?
It's a piece of equipment technically dedicated to the product you need to make. This means dedicated beaters, dedicated beater speeds, correct ratio beater design/freezing speed and consistency, even distribution of the cold within the product during the manufacturing process, dedicated freezing process control to avoid both under freezing and/or over freezing. Our experts will be able to show you all this in a Carpigiani batch freezer.

What is overrun?
Overrun is the amount of air that accumulates in frozen desserts during production.

What is the overrun of gelato?
Generally, gelato has around 25%-40% overrun, which means that if overrun is 25%, 1/5 of the total product volume is air (100% product + 25% air).

What is the overrun of gourmet ice cream?
American style gourmet ice cream has around 60-80% overrun.

What is the overrun of soft serve ice cream?
Soft serve ice cream has anywhere between 40-80% overrun.

What makes gelato a unique frozen dessert?
As Old Country tradition would have it, gelato exalts the simple yet sumptuous characteristics of natural ingredients, from wholesome milk to fresh fruits to the best selection of nuts and dried fruits. It is pleasant to the eyes, cool to the palate, and refreshing to all the senses.

What is the correct way to store ice cream and gelato mixes?
Both mixes will store in a refrigerator or an aging vat. Shelf life will vary depending on the type of mix. Your mix supplier or your FDU teachers will be able to instruct you correctly.

What are the issues of under freezing and over freezing a frozen dessert preparation?
Under-freezing will result in coarse, syrupy ice cream. Over-freezing will limit the amount of overrun and cause separation of the fat from the mix.

How do I properly harden my ice cream in a flash freezer after the batch freezing treatment?
The flash freezer drops the temperature rapidly to minus 15 - 20F helping to reduce ice crystals.
1. Once a tub of ice cream is ready place it in the flash freezer immediately
2. Allow enough room between the tubs for plenty of airflow
3. Hardening time: approximately 12 hours

Do I need to temper ice cream after hardening?
Yes, ice cream should be tempered in a freezer at 0° F for approximately 12 hours.

What is the right way to store ice cream in the freezer?
Ice cream tubs should be stored in the freezer at 0° F. It should be covered, away from the door, and not on the floor since there's no airflow there.

How do I properly manage ice cream in the dipping cabinet?
Transfer ice cream from the freezer to cabinet 30 minutes before serving. The perfect dipping temperature is 0-8° F. At lower temperatures the ice cream will be hard and difficult to scoop. Warmer ice cream will be coarse and will become syrupy.

What is crucial when dipping or scooping a frozen dessert?
Among many there is one golden rule: In order to maintain the internal air that is essential to proper consistency, do not compress a frozen dessert while serving.

What do I absolutely need to know about chocolate-flavored frozen desserts?
Raw cocoa powder does not supply ice cream with the desirable chocolate taste. Raw cocoa powder is detectable when eaten, and may not be allowed by local health department. Choose a pre-processed chocolate flavor in the form of a paste.

What is a variegate?
A variegate is a flavored frozen dessert obtained by folding a topping or a syrup into a frozen dessert during its ejection from the batch freezer.

What do i need to know to make a variegate flavor correctly?
Toppings and syrups should be refrigerated and incorporated at approximately 40° F. Incorporation at a higher temperature will create ice crystals around the variegate.

What do I need to know when I fold inclusions (cookies, nuts, etc.) into a frozen dessert?
Items such as nuts, candies, cookies, and so on should be frozen prior to use since unfrozen particulates will become soggy in the finished frozen dessert. Incorporation at higher temperature will also create ice crystals around the inclusions.