Ice Cream Doctor

According to Ices: The Definitive Guide by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir [amazon], the quality of an ice cream depends on four quantities: fat, sugar, water, and non-fat milk solids (msnf). These four all have to be within certain ranges, and additionally the sugar and fat have to be in proportion, as do water and msnf.

This worksheet lets you judge the balance of your ice cream. Specify the ingredients, and the quantity of each ingredient. The X in the sugar/fat and msnf/water charts will move to show the composition of your ice cream. According to the Liddell and Weir, it should lie in the shaded region on each chart. For comparison, I also show the composition of certain standard ice creams. The 'G' in G.gelato etc. means that the recipe comes from my Gaggia instruction manual.

These charts of course do not give the full picture. An ice cream made with sour fruits may need more sugar; an ice cream with cornflour and gelatine for body can sustain a higher %water. ¶For further data on the composition of ingredients, see the US department of agriculture's nutrient database. ¶All units here are metric: 1cup=250ml, 1tablespoon=15ml, 1teaspoon=5ml. In Australia, 1tablespoon=20ml; in the US, 1cup=237ml and 1tablespoon=14.8ml. ¶This page requires Javascript. If things do not seem to be working, make sure Javascript is enabled (e.g. under Tools|Options|Security, make sure scripting is allowed, then reload the page).

X X 5 10 15 20 25 5 10 15 20 25 45 55 65 75 0 5 10 15 yoghurt yoghurt French French milk milk Philadelphia Philadelphia G.eggless G.eggless G.zabaglione G.zabaglione G.gelato G.gelato G.nut G.nut gelato gelato %fat %sugar %water %msnf