HAMPTONITES ---BEWARE IOF MR SOFTIE WHO WILL BE AT 3 TOWN BEACHES THIS SUMMER READ THE INGREDIENTS

MR. SOFTEE

Ingredients in vanilla flavor: Milk, Cream, Cane Sugar Syrup, Corn Syrup, Whey, Mono and Diglycerides, Cellulose Gum, Natural and Artificial Vanilla Flavor, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, and Carrageenan.

Mono and Diglycerides: Modified fats used to hold the ice cream together. Says Arnold, “Ice cream is a foam with air bubbles stabilized by fat globules which migrate to the surface of the bubbles and agglomerate. Emulsifiers aid in this fat agglomeration process and can help increase mix stiffness.” Hungry yet?

Cellulose gum: The easier name for carboxymethylcellulose, which is used to thicken, stabilize and improve the ice cream’s mouth-feel.” Other, possibly related uses for cellulose gum is as an ingredient in both toothpaste and personal lubricants.

Natural and Artificial Vanilla Flavor: The real vanilla is extracted from the fruit of the vanilla orchid, while the artificial stuff (which is much cheaper) is synthesized, traditionally from lignin, a waste product of paper manufacturing.

Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate: Often added to ice cream to prevent grittiness and over churning, according to Arnold’s research.

Carrageenan: An all natural seaweed derivative. It prevents ice crystals from developing in stored ice cream and improves texture, says Arnold. It is used in dairy products because it has a synergistic reaction with milk and only a small amount is needed.

Air: Arnold says some ice cream truck operators may use a very high overrun, meaning there is more air in the air cream. As he explains, “Overrun is the amount of air, by volume, added to an ice cream mix during manufacture. An overrun of 100 percent means that, for every liter of ice cream base used, a liter of air has been added.” Air is free, so high overrun means high profit.