A Guide To Ice Cream and Gelato Stabilizers and Emulsifiers (2024)

FAQs

What emulsifiers and stabilizers are used in ice cream? ›

The most common ones used in ice creams are guar gum, cellulose gum and carob bean gum. They are used to reduce ice crystal growth, deliver flavour cleanly, increase smoothness, body and creaminess and slow down melting. They also help hold the air bubble structure together and give the ice cream a better texture.

One of the main characteristics of stabilisers is to absorb water and thus make hand-made gelato thicker. Thickening agents include a seaweed extract called carrageenan, locust bean or carob gum, and guar gum.

It is the perfect stabilizer for gelato products. Use Perfect Gelato® to prevent the formation of ice crystals and ensure a smooth texture. Perfect Gelato® is water soluble at 180F and used in small amounts, typically 0.13 - 0.25% of recipe weight.

Locust bean gum (E410)

LBG is a very popular stabilizer in ice cream. It's one of the best gums at reducing ice crystal size. And it produces, a smooth texture, a creamy mouth-feel, and a silky finish. It also works well with other gums, especially Guar and Carrageenan.

Xanthan gum (E415)

Its blend with guar gum and/or locust bean gum makes an effective stabilizer for ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, and water ices. Hydrates cold.

Stabilizers, including natural, plant-derived ingredients like guar gum, xantham gum, and carageenan, are just another kind of emulsifier that manipulates ice cream texture. (And FYI, egg yolks are a kind of stabilizer.)

Gelato has a lower milk fat content than ice cream, usually 4 to 9%, yielding a softer, denser texture and smaller ice crystals. That's a result of the base, which typically includes less cream and more milk, as well as a slower churning process that introduces less air into the final product.

Gelato is churned at a slower speed, incorporating less air into the mixture. This results in a denser, creamier texture. While ice cream can contain up to 50% air (overrun), gelato typically has around 20-30% air.

Just like eggs and other stabilisers, corn starch will soak up water and prevent crystallisation, improving texture and body of the ice cream. Since corn starch is quite a neutral stabiliser, any flavours used tend to come through very clearly.

The addition of this enhances the texture of ice cream by preventing the formation of large ice crystals. Xanthan gum produces ice cream that is high in fat without requiring heavy cream. Xanthan gum works as a thickening agent in the liquid base of ice cream and stabilizes the emulsion of fat particles in the water.

How do you increase overrun in gelato? ›

In order to obtain an ice cream with high overrun and hom*ogeneous air cell distribution, it was necessary to apply higher shear, so the dasher speed in the continuous freezer was increased. Additionally, the cylinder pressure was increased to facilitate finer air cell distribution.

Stabilizers function through their ability either to form gel structures in water or to combine with water as water of hydration. An emulsifier is a substance that will produce an emulsion of two liquids that do not naturally mix.

It pretty much turns your ice cream super sticky. Like this is not gonna fall off anytime soon. It doesn't change the flavor of my ice cream in any way, but it just makes it a little bit more sticky.

When you're whipping up your next batch of ice cream, simply add between 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum to your base for each litre of ice cream.

Polysorbate 80 can be used as an ice cream emulsifier, typically at concentrations of 0.1-0.2%. Egg yolk, which contains several components with emulsifying properties, notably lecithin, is often used in 'all-natural', premium or homemade ice creams.

Sweeteners, flavourings, emulsifiers and stabilisers are added during processing to enhance flavour, texture or appearance. Ice cream is over 50% water, from milk or other ingredients. Air is incorporated into the product, resulting in finely distributed air cells protected by a layer of fat globules.

Like in ice cream, emulsifiers in beverages that mix water and oil stabilize and improve texture. Milk fats found in dairy products such as chocolate milk are surrounded by several layers of amphiphilic molecules (one part “water-loving, one part “oil-loving”). These are natural emulsifiers.

An ice cream stabilizer is a component added to the mix during the ice cream-making process. Its main role is to prevent the formation of large ice crystals and ensure a smoother texture. By doing so, the stabilizer ensures the ice cream retains its creamy consistency, even when subjected to temperature fluctuations.