UNIT 11 SOFTY AND NOVELTIES – DEFINITION, COMPOSITION, LEGAL STANDARDS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Structure 11.0 Objectives 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Legal Standards 11.3 Formulation of Soft Serve Ice Cream 11.4 Composition 11.5 Manufacturing Procedures 11.6 Ice Cream Novelties • Method of Manufacture • Chocolate Coatings • Ice Cream Cakes and Pies • Aufait Ice Cream • Other Novelties • Cassata Ice Cream • Chocolate Jam Sticks • Quiescently Frozen Stick Items 11.7 Indigenous Frozen Dairy Products 11.8 Let Us Sum Up 11.9 Key Words 11.10 Some Useful Books 11.11 Answers to Check Your Progress 11.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit we should be able to: • state the meaning of softy and novelties • prepare recipes for these products • explain the method of manufacture of these products • give the legal requirements of these products • give the composition of these products 11.1 INTRODUCTION Softy or ‘scoop able ice cream’ was first marketed in earnest in England in 1975. The aim was to produce a type of ice cream that was scoopable at -18 C and that had a good creamy consistency, slow meltdown properties and good storage stability. 59 Frozen Dairy Products While hard ice cream has been the dominant frozen dessert produced world wide for many years, other frozen dessert products have their niche, and in many countries are more popular than ice cream. The American market in recent years have seen the introduction of a number of other dairy and non dairy soft serve products, such as frozen yoghurt, sorbets and smoothies. As the name implies, soft serve products are not hardened, and its is their soft, creamy texture that the public finds so appealing. They are easy to consume, thus providing instant gratification. They are especially easy to lick, a characteristic particularly enjoyed by children, who make up 50 per cent of the consumer base for soft serve products. Such products also lend themselves to decreased labour costs, as evidenced by the growing numbers of consumers willing to serve themselves from soft serve freezers in supermarkets and convenience stores and restaurants. Other than the investment in the equipment, handling soft serve products is a relatively low-cost operation. The equipment takes up little space and is easy to operate. The products increase profit margins and are self-promoting when the machinery is in public view. Two major categories of soft serve products, low fat and non fat soft ice cream and frozen yoghurt, attained amazing sales growth during the late 1980s because of intense consumer interest in the diet and health. 11.2 LEGAL STANDARDS In India there are no separate legal standards for soft serve ice cream. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (1954) has specified the same standard for ‘Softy’ as that of ice cream. 11.3 FORMULATION OF SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM There are several ways of obtaining softness in ice cream, and sometimes these may be combined if required. The following techniques are used: • Addition of an anti-frost preparation of carbohydrate nature, including MSNF • Increase of the overrun • Selection of specific emulsifiers/ stabilizers. The first is the most important point, and the effect of using freezing point depression factors is discussed below: i. Lower the Freezing Point In traditional ice cream there are various ingredients, but not all of them have an influence on the freezing point of ice cream mix Degree of freezing point depression Fat: Of no importance MSNF: Limited importance (contains lactose and salts) Sugars Great importance (give the main effect) Emulsifier/stabilizer No importance Overrun Great importance 60 Consequently, the freezing point depression is sought from lactose and salts of MSNF Softy and Naovelties – Definition, as well as the sugars. Composition, Legal Standards and Method ii Effect of MSNF on Freezing Point Depression of Manufacture It is known that MSNF consists of approximately 8% minerals, 39% protein and 53% lactose. Lactose is a disaccharide that is in the dissolved state. It lowers the freezing point just like ordinary sugar. The salt content will also have an influence on the freezing point and generally it may be assumed that the MSNF will depress the freezing point to the same extent as a 40-50 DE glucose syrup. Lactose, is an important part of MSNF, but is only partially soluble. If the MSNF factor (i.e. parts of MSNF per 100 parts of water): %MSNF× 100 i.e. % water is increased to more than 17, the result will be the risk of a sandy ice cream. By means of enzyme lactase, the lactose may be hydrolyzed into monosaccharides, glucose and galactose which are more soluble and these sugars will lower the freezing point more than the lactose. However, MSNF has a limited effect on the freezing point depression. The main effect is achieved by the sugars, which are present. iii. Effect of Sugars on Freezing Point Depression The freezing point of an ice cream mix is first of all dependent on the amount of dissolved solids. The more are the solids dissolved (in the genuine solution), the lower the freezing point. The sugars produce a lowering of the freezing point and it is its molar concentration that determines the freezing point of the ice cream mix. In order to survey the effect of different products, it is necessary to introduce two factors that are related to lowering of the freezing point and the sweetening ability of sugars. The factors are: Freezing point depression factor (FPDF) and Relative sweetness Table 11.1 : Freezing point depression and relative sweetness of some sweeteners Carbohydrate Average molecular FPDF Relative weight sweetness Sucrose 342 1.0 1.0 Glucose syrup 42 DE 445 0.8 0.3 High fructose corn syrup (42% 190 1.8 1.0 fructose) Dextrose 180 1.9 0.8 Fructose 180 1.9 1.7 Invert sugar 180 1.9 1.3 Lactose 342 1.0 0.2 Galactose 180 1.9 0.3 Sorbitol 182 1.0 0.5 Glycerol 92 3.7 0.8 Ethanol 46 7.4 - In the above table, sucrose was chosen as the datum point and the FPDF and relative sweetness of each sweetener is compared with it. 61 Frozen Dairy Products For example, the same amount of dextrose will lead to greater freezing point depression than sucrose due to the difference in molecular weights, and conversely glucose syrup will produce a less freezing point depression than sucrose. By combining different sweeteners, it is possible to produce desired softness and relative sweetness. Experience has shown that ice cream with FPDF of about 15 will be relatively hard at -18 C and not scoopable, whereas scoopable ice cream should have a FPDF of around 20-25. A well known and easy way of obtaining scoopable ice cream is to add 2-3% glycerol. The following recipe shows the effect of keeping the total sweetness constant: Recipe: Fat 10.0% MSNF 10.7% Sucrose 11.0% Glucose solids 3.0% Glycerol 2.0% Emulsifier/stabilizer 0.7% Total solids 37.4% Calculation of FPDF and Relative sweetness sweetness FPDF Relative Sucrose, 11% 11 × 1 = 11 11 × 1 = 11 Glucose solids, 3% 3 × 0.8 = 2.4 3 × 0.3 = 0.9 Glycerol, 2% 2 × 3.7 = 7.4 2 × 0.8 = 1.6 20.8 13.5 The addition of 2% glycerol produces a FPDF of 20.8 which will be sufficient to give the product scoopable properties. The effect of other combinations can be considered, especially if a combination of saccharides can be used to produce acceptable softness and sweetness in the final product. A recipe which can be considered without the use of glycerol is shown below: Recipe: Fat 10.0% MSNF 10.6% Sucrose 4.5% High fructose corn solids 6.0% Glucose solids 2.0% Dextrose 4.5% Emulsifier/stabilizer 0.7% Total solids 37.3% 62 Calculation of FPDF and Relative sweetness Softy and Naovelties – Definition, FPDF Relative sweetness Composition, Legal Standards and Method Sucrose, 4.5% 4.5 × 1 = 4.5 4.5 × 1 = 4.5 of Manufacture Glucose solids, 2% 2 × 0.8 = 1.6 2 × 0.3 = 0.6 High fructose corn solids, 5% 5 × 1.8 = 9.0 5 x 1 = 5.0 Dextrose, 4.5% 4.5 × 1.9 = 8.6 4.5 × 0.8 = 3.6 23.7 13.7 The correct choice of saccharides can make it possible to produce a scoopable ice cream with the same solids and total sweetness as that of regular ice cream. 11.4 COMPOSITION The differences between soft serve and regular ice cream include: • Composition • Freezing procedures • Stability and whipping properties of the mix • Maintenance of dry, smooth, stiff characteristics of the product as drawn from the freezer. i) Fat: Soft serve ice cream has a lower butter fat than the hard product, but it is difficult for the consumer to tell because the soft state allows full flavour. Soft serve ice cream normally has a fat content between 6 to 10% range. If fat content is low, i.e. less than 4%, the product tends to become coarse, weak and icy. If the fat content is high (above 12%) freezing problem is encountered. This involves possible fat separation, and also, the product becomes too rich and less palatable. ii) Milk Solids-Not-Fat (MSNF): The MSNF content of soft frozen products varies somewhat inversely with the fat content and can be as high as 13% for a low fat formula. MSNF serves for provide proper firmness of body. In products having a high MSNF content, the lactose may separate during freezing and cause a sandy defect.