As in other areas in the bakeshop, accurate measurement of ingredients is important. In the case of frozen desserts, proper measurement is important to ensure the mix freezes properly. This is because the ratio of sugar weight to total weight has a strong effect on freezing. If an ice cream or sorbet mix contains too much sugar, it will not freeze enough to become firm. On the other hand, an ice cream with too little sugar will not be as smooth as one with the correct amount.
For a basic vanilla ice cream, the weight of the sugar is usually 16–20% of the total weight. Adding other ingredients makes the calculation more complicated because many ingredients, such as fruits, contain sugar. When you are developing new recipes, test a small batch of the mixture to see how hard it freezes, and increase or decrease the quantity of sugar as necessary.