Classification

Ice cream is a smooth, frozen mixture of milk, cream, sugar, flavorings, and, sometimes, eggs. Philadelphia-style ice cream contains no eggs, while French-style ice cream contains egg yolks. The eggs add richness and help make a smoother product because of the emulsifying properties of the yolks.

• Ice milk is like ice cream, but with a lower butterfat content.
• Frozen yogurt contains yogurt in addition to the normal ingredients for ice cream or ice milk.

Sherbets and ices are made from fruit juices, water, and sugar. American sherbets usually contain milk or cream and, sometimes, egg whites. The egg whites increase smoothness and volume. Ices, also called water ices, contain only fruit juice, water, sugar, and, sometimes, egg whites. They do not contain milk products. The French word sorbet (sor bay) is sometimes used for these products. Granité (grah nee tay) is a coarse, crystalline ice made without egg white.

Ice cream and sherbet are churn-frozen, meaning they are mixed constantly while being frozen. If they were not churned, they would freeze into solid blocks of ice. The churning keeps the ice crystals small and incorporates air into the ice cream.

Frozen soufflés and frozen mousses are made like chilled mousses and bavarians—that is, whipped cream, beaten egg whites, or both are folded in to give them lightness. This allows them to be still-frozen in an ordinary freezer.