All-natural ice cream: What's really in it?
All-natural ice cream: What's really in it?
Overview of how ice cream is made.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
NARRATOR: It's sweet, colorful and cold - ice cream, a delicious way to cool down on a hot day. But what's the secret of this popular delicacy? If ice cream is made only with natural ingredients and without artificial flavor enhancers, then it is called all-natural ice cream. And this contains only milk or water, fruits, vanilla, chocolate or other ingredients like nuts and raisins plus, of course, sugar and a little cream for the final touch. Some ice cream shops sell ice cream that is actually made only from these ingredients. These are known either as ice milk featuring 70 percent milk, or sorbet consisting of one quarter fruits mixed with sugar and water.
ICE CREAM LOVER: "It's hard to say that it's healthy or unhealthy, because it depends of course on how much of something you eat. But it's very rich in nutrients. For example, in ice cream there is milk, which means protein, fat and lactose. I get minerals such as calcium. I have vitamins such as vitamins D and B12. With sorbet, there are also different vitamins and minerals from the fruits. So ice cream in general is highly rich in nutrients."
NARRATOR: And it's really sweet, too. This is because the taste sensors on the tongue, the so-called taste buds, are actually numbed by the cold. So ice cream makers have to add an extra portion of sugar so that we can taste it. But packaged ice cream products contain much more than just milk, fruits and sugar so that this cool dessert retains its gently melting quality, even though it's cooled to minus 18 degrees centigrade when it comes out of the freezer.
ICE CREAM LOVER: "The ice cream we buy today and 80 percent of all ice cream products that we buy at the market or at the petrol station are industrially produced. It's a genuine high-tech product. It has to have a long life and a unique melting character, so it needs additives like emulsifiers to make sure it's all mixed properly, or hydrocolloids to make sure it melts just right. This means that we have not only the basic ingredients, but also a whole series of additives to ensure that we have a long-life product."
NARRATOR: These additives are said to be safe. But it's still best to enjoy ice cream where you know it's mixed fresh by the ice cream man. After all, ice cream enjoyed in moderate quantities is a nutrient-rich and healthy snack that supplies us with vitamins and calcium. And it tastes just like summer.
ICE CREAM LOVER: "It's hard to say that it's healthy or unhealthy, because it depends of course on how much of something you eat. But it's very rich in nutrients. For example, in ice cream there is milk, which means protein, fat and lactose. I get minerals such as calcium. I have vitamins such as vitamins D and B12. With sorbet, there are also different vitamins and minerals from the fruits. So ice cream in general is highly rich in nutrients."
NARRATOR: And it's really sweet, too. This is because the taste sensors on the tongue, the so-called taste buds, are actually numbed by the cold. So ice cream makers have to add an extra portion of sugar so that we can taste it. But packaged ice cream products contain much more than just milk, fruits and sugar so that this cool dessert retains its gently melting quality, even though it's cooled to minus 18 degrees centigrade when it comes out of the freezer.
ICE CREAM LOVER: "The ice cream we buy today and 80 percent of all ice cream products that we buy at the market or at the petrol station are industrially produced. It's a genuine high-tech product. It has to have a long life and a unique melting character, so it needs additives like emulsifiers to make sure it's all mixed properly, or hydrocolloids to make sure it melts just right. This means that we have not only the basic ingredients, but also a whole series of additives to ensure that we have a long-life product."
NARRATOR: These additives are said to be safe. But it's still best to enjoy ice cream where you know it's mixed fresh by the ice cream man. After all, ice cream enjoyed in moderate quantities is a nutrient-rich and healthy snack that supplies us with vitamins and calcium. And it tastes just like summer.