What’s in ice cream?

Most people like ice cream. Favorite flavors include vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. What makes ice cream so good? The ingredients (materials used to make something) give ice cream its taste and texture (how something feels when you touch it).

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Let’s take a look at the main ingredients in ice cream and how they add to its taste and texture.

• Fat from the milk or cream gives ice cream its smooth texture.
• Sweetener, such as sugar or honey, makes ice cream taste sweet. It also lowers the temperature at which ice cream freezes. This keeps ice cream from turning into a block of ice in the freezer.
• Air is mixed in when the cream and sugar are mixed together. Air makes ice cream soft. Ice cream with more air is softer.

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Can you make ice cream at home? Yes. The simplest way uses three main ingredients—heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.

Using a mixer to whip cold, heavy cream adds air. The cream changes from a liquid to a solid. Mixing the condensed milk and vanilla extract into the whipped cream adds sweetness and flavor. It also helps make the ice cream smooth. It helps prevent ice crystals from increasing in size when the ice cream is in the freezer. The last step is to freeze the mixture for at least 8 hours. Then, enjoy!

What Do You Think? Why is it important to add air when making ice cream?

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