Frozen Desserts
Other frozen desserts like soft serve, frozen yogurt, gelato, sherbet and sorbet, are different from ice cream. These frozen treats differ from ice cream due to the fact that they contain less than 8% of butterfat. Sorbet has no dairy at all and is comprised of water, juice, fruit and sugar. Gelato, an Italian cream dessert, has a minimum of 3%, but no more than, 8% butterfat. Soft serve and frozen yogurt, contain different amounts of milk fats. Soft serve contains 4% to 5% milkfat while frozen yogurt contains .5% to 3%milkfat. Sherbet, not to be confused with Sorbet, is a fruity combination of fruit juice and 1% to 2% milkfat.
Custard, a rich and creamier variation of ice cream must meet the regulated criteria of its ice cream counterpart, but contains less air. Unlike soft serve which can have an overrun of 100%, custard has 15% to 30% overrun. The egg yolk and high butterfat is what gives custard its signature thick and luscious consistency. The temperatures at which these desserts are served and stored vary depending on the water content. The recrystallization of water within these frozen desserts each time they are softened and frozen again causes larger crystals and a grainy texture. To combat this the best storage practice is to keep freezer temperatures at -25⁰C.