So, the news is out: you can now eat ice cream tacos in Toronto. And with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, Baskin Robbins is advertising that they’re set to celebrate with their special signature Mother’s Day ice cream cake, and Nestle is re-introducing Dreyer’s ice cream.
Feeling the need to gorge on a dairy-packed frozen dessert yet?
Just know, before you do, that a lot of what you’re paying for doesn’t exist. That’s right- it’s mostly a lot of air.
What? Yes. Your ice cream is full of air. Not hot air, like it’s an arrogant liar or anything, but…air. It’s not a bad thing-but just know that that’s what you’re getting
Today’s modern, commercially made ice cream is made from up to about 40-50% air. It’s called ‘overrun’ in the ice cream industry, and without it our favorite frozen desserts would be that much harder to scoop, and much colder on our teeth.
It’s true that inserting air into food could technically make it ‘lower calorie’ and that companies can save money by selling you less, but really, who is eating their ice cream in order to fill up and get the proper nutrients-not many.
The FDA has put a limit on the amount of air that a brand can add and still identify as ice cream. ‘Ice cream’ must weigh no less that 4.5 pounds per gallon.
A big deal? Not really, but now you can feel informed and know that your hunch about some ice cream being thicker than others is right.
Feel like climate change is making your cone melt too fast, though? Join the movement to tackle climate change with Ben and Jerry’s here.
Photo Credit: stockcreations/Shutterstock
