Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture
H D Goff, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
ª 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Frozen dairy dessert products are a unique frozen food
because they are consumed in the frozen state, usually as
a scooped product or as a single-serving item (sometimes
on a stick and often with other confectionery items).
These products rely on a concomitant freezing and
whipping process to establish the desired structure and
texture. The manufacturing process for most of these
products is similar and involves the preparation of a
liquid mix; whipping and freezing this mix dynamically
under high shear to a soft, semi-frozen slurry; incorpora-
tion of flavoring ingredients to this partially frozen mix;
shaping and packaging the product; and further freezing
(hardening) of the product under static, quiescent con-
ditions (Figure 1). The liquid mix is prepared by
blending the desired ingredients, followed by pasteuriza-
tion (batch or continuous), homogenization, and aging.
Swept-surface freezers are used for the first freezing
step, while forced convection freezers, such as air blast
tunnels or rooms, or plate-type conduction freezers are
used for the second freezing step.
Ice Cream Ingredients
Ice cream mix and other frozen dairy dessert formulations
identify the following as their content: of milk fat, milk
solids not fat (MSNF), sweeteners, stabilizers, emulsifiers,
and water that are desired (see Ice Cream and Desserts:
Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Product Types for details
of formulations). Dairy and other ingredients used to
supply these components are chosen on the basis of avail-
ability, cost, and expected quality. The use of fat derived
from milk ingredients (e.g., cream and butter) is common
in North America and many other parts of the world,
while fat derived from non-dairy sources (e.g., coconut
oil and palm kernel oil) is more common in parts of
Europe and Asia. The triglycerides in milk fat have a
wide melting range, 40 to 40  C. Consequently, at
refrigeration temperatures there is always a combination
of liquid and crystalline fat within the globules. The
resulting solid:liquid ratio at freezer barrel temperatures
is important for ice cream structure formation, as crystal-
line fat is required for partial coalescence. Thus, non-
dairy fat sources must also be chosen to provide a suitable
solid fat content.
The MSNFs comprise the lactose, casein micelles,
whey proteins, minerals (ash), vitamins, and other
minor components of the milk or milk products from
which they were derived (e.g., condensed skim milk,
skim milk powder, and whey-protein-derived ingredi-
ents). Proteins contribute much to the development
of structure in ice cream, including emulsification,
whipping, and water-holding capacity. Emulsification
properties of proteins in the mix arise from their adsorp-
tion to fat globules at the time of homogenization.
Whipping properties of proteins in ice cream contribute
to the formation of the initial air bubbles in the mix. The
water-holding capacity of proteins enhances the viscos-
ity in the mix, which imparts a beneficial body to the ice
cream, increases the meltdown time of ice cream, and
contributes to reduced iciness.
In addition to providing sweetness, sweeteners
improve the texture and palatability of the ice cream
and enhance flavors. Their ability to lower the freezing
point of a solution imparts a measure of control over the
temperature–hardness relationship (Figure 2). In deter-
mining the proper blend of sweeteners for an ice cream
mix, the total solids required from the sweeteners, the
sweetness factor of each sugar, and the combined
freezing-point depression of all sugars in solution (includ-
ing lactose from the MSNF component) must be
calculated to achieve the proper solids content, the appro-
priate sweetness level, and a satisfactory degree of
hardness. The most common sweetening agent used is
sucrose. However, it has become common practice in
the industry to substitute sweeteners derived from starch
hydrolysate syrup (glucose syrup) for all or a portion of
the sucrose. The use of starch hydrolysis products in ice
cream is generally perceived to provide greater smooth-
ness by contributing to a firmer and more chewy body, to
provide better meltdown characteristics, to bring out and
accentuate fruit flavors, to reduce heat shock potential
that improves the shelf life of the finished product, and to
provide an economical source of solids.
Ice cream stabilizers are a group of ingredients (usually
polysaccharides such as guar, locust bean gum, carboxy-
methyl cellulose, xanthan, etc.) commonly used in ice
cream formulations. The primary purposes for using sta-
bilizers in ice cream are to increase mix viscosity, produce
smoothness in body and texture of the frozen product,
retard or reduce ice and lactose crystal growth during
storage (or mask the effects of crystal growth), especially
899
900 Ice Cream and Desserts | Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture

Formulation
-Fat -Sweetener -Emulsifier
-Milk SNF -Stabilizer -Water

Batch pasteurization Homogenization Cooling

Blending

Continuous pasteurization/homogenization/cooling

Liquid Dry
ingredients ingredients Air
incorporation

Continuous freezing

Packaging Aging

Batch freezing/whipping

Particulate Flavor/color
addition addition

Hardening Storage/distribution

Figure 1 A schematic illustration of the processing steps in ice cream manufacture.

during periods of temperature fluctuation, known as heat
shock, and to hold flavoring ingredients in uniform sus-
pension. The mechanism of action of stabilizers in
enhancing frozen stability is related primarily to their
effect on the ice and unfrozen serum phases. Stabilized
ice cream has been observed by microscopy techniques to
have smaller ice crystals than unstabilized ice cream after
storage at fluctuating temperatures.
0 also provide similar emulsifying properties. Their mode
–2
Temperature (°C)
Emulsifiers are sometimes integrated with the stabili-
zers in proprietary blends but their function and action
are very different from the stabilizers. They are used to
improve air incorporation in the mix; produce a drier ice
cream at extrusion to facilitate shaping, novelty product
manufacture, or packaging; provide smoother body and
texture in the finished product; and produce a product
with good stand-up properties and melt resistance.
Emulsifiers used in ice cream manufacture today are of
two main types: the mono- and di-glycerides, and the
sorbitan esters, such as polysorbate 80, although eggs
of action is related to their activity at the air–serum and
fat–serum interfaces. At the fat–serum interface, they dis-
place proteins from the surface of the fat globules,

–4
rendering the fat globules more susceptible to partial
–6
coalescence and structure formation during the freezing
–8 and whipping process.
– 10

– 12
– 14
0 20 40 60
Water frozen (%)
Figure 2 An equilibrium freezing curve for a typical ice cream
mix illustrating the relationship between temperature and
unfrozen water as determined by freezing-point depression
characteristics. This relationship illustrates the maximum amount
of ice that may form at any temperature, but due to kinetic
considerations, the amount of ice may be considerably less as a
result of freezing-rate considerations.
Mix Manufacture
80 Ice cream processing operations can be divided into two
distinct stages: mix manufacture and freezing operations.
Ice cream mix manufacture consists of the following unit
operations: combination and blending of ingredients, batch
or continuous pasteurization, homogenization, and mix
aging (Figure 1). Ingredients are usually pre-blended
prior to pasteurization, regardless of the type of pasteur-
ization system used. Blending of ingredients is relatively
 Ice Cream and Desserts | Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture
simple if all ingredients are in the liquid form, as automated
metering pumps or tanks on load cells can be used. When
dry ingredients are used, powders are added through either
a pumping system under high velocity or through a liqui-
fier, a large shear pump with rotating knife blades that
chops all ingredients as they are mixed with the liquid.
Pasteurization is designed for the destruction of any
pathogenic bacteria that may be present, especially from
raw milk sources. In addition, it serves a useful role in
reducing the total bacterial load, and in solubilizing some
of the components (proteins and stabilizers). Both batch
and continuous (high temperature short time, HTST)
systems are in common use. In a batch pasteurization
system, blending of the proper ingredient amounts is
done in large jacketed vats equipped with some means
of heating, usually saturated steam or hot water. The
product is then heated in the vat to at least 69  C and
held for 30 min to satisfy legal requirements for pasteur-
ization, necessary for the destruction of pathogenic
bacteria. Various time–temperature combinations can be
used, depending on the legal jurisdiction. Continuous
pasteurization is usually performed in an HTST heat
exchanger following the blending of ingredients in a
large, insulated feed tank. Some preheating, to 30–40  C,
may be necessary for solubilization of the components.
Regulations concerning time–temperature combinations
for continuous pasteurization usually specify a minimum
temperature of 80  C for at least 25 s.
Following pasteurization, the mix is homogenized
using high pressures. Homogenization is responsible for
the formation of the fat emulsion by forcing the hot mix
through a small orifice under pressures of 15.5–18.9 MPa,
depending on the mix composition. The resulting
8–10-fold increase in the surface area of the fat globules
is responsible in part for the formation of the fat globule
membrane, comprised of adsorbing materials attempting
to lower the interfacial free energy of the fat globules.
With single-stage homogenizers, fat globules tend to clus-
ter as bare fat surfaces come together or adsorbed
molecules are shared, especially in ice cream mix, and
this is thought to be less optimal than a monomodal
distribution of fat for fat structuring in the ice cream
freezing step. Therefore, a second homogenizing valve is
frequently placed immediately after the first with applied
back pressures of 3.4 MPa, allowing more time for surface
adsorption to occur. The net effects of homogenization
are in the production of smaller, more uniform fat droplet
size, resulting in a greater stability of fat droplets during
aging, a better whipping ability, and a smoother, more
uniform final product with a greater apparent richness.
Homogenization also decreases the potential for undesir-
able levels of fat churning in the freezer and makes it
possible to use products that could not otherwise be used,
such as butter and frozen cream.
901
An aging time of 4 h or greater at 2–4  C is recom-
mended following mix processing prior to freezing. This
allows for hydration of milk proteins and stabilizers (some
viscosity increase occurs during the aging period), crystal-
lization of the fat globules, and a membrane rearrangement
to produce a smoother texture and better quality product.
Non-aged mix exhibits a low viscosity, is very wet at
extrusion from the dynamic freezer, and exhibits variable
whipping abilities. The appropriate ratio of solid:liquid fat
must be attained at this stage, a function of temperature
and the triglyceride composition of the fat used, as a
partially crystalline emulsion is needed for partial coales-
cence in the whipping and freezing step. Emulsifiers
generally displace milk proteins from the fat surface during
the aging period. The whipping qualities of the mix are
usually improved with aging. Aging is performed in insu-
lated or refrigerated storage tanks, silos, etc., or in single-
walled tanks in chilled rooms, where valves and pipework
can also be kept cold. Mix temperature should be main-
tained as low as possible without freezing.
Freezing Processes
Ice cream freezing also consists of two distinct stages: (1)
passing the mix through a swept-surface heat exchanger
under high shear conditions to promote extensive ice
crystal nucleation and air incorporation, and (2) freezing
the packaged ice cream under conditions that promote
rapid freezing and small ice crystal sizes (Figure 1). The
freezing and whipping process is one of the most impor-
tant unit operations for the development of quality,
palatability, and yield of finished product, due to the
incorporation of air creating the foam, the formation of
the ice phase, and the partial destabilization of the fat
emulsion. The objective of ice cream manufacturers is to
produce ice crystals that are below the threshold of sen-
sory detection at the time of consumption. This threshold
has been suggested to be between 40 and 50 mm.
Consequently, the freezing steps of the manufacturing
process and the temperature profile throughout the dis-
tribution system are critical factors in meeting this
objective. Flavoring and coloring can be added as desired
to the mix prior to passing through the barrel freezer, and
particulate flavoring ingredients, such as nuts, fruits,
candy pieces, or ripple sauces, can be added to the semi-
frozen product at the exit from the barrel freezer prior to
packaging and hardening.
Dynamic Freezing
Continuous freezers dominate the commercial ice cream
industry. In this type of process, mix is drawn from the
flavoring tank into a scraped-surface heat exchanger,
902 Ice Cream and Desserts | Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture

which is jacketed with a liquid, boiling refrigerant
(usually ammonia, a chlorinated, fluorinated hydrocarbon
(CFC) such as R-12, R-22, or R-502, or one of the newly
developed CFC substitutes) (Figure 3). Incorporation of
air into ice cream, termed the overrun, occurs at this stage
(see Ice Cream and Desserts: Ice Cream and Frozen
Desserts: Product Types for details of overrun calcula-
tions and variations). Some overrun is necessary to
produce desirable body and texture. Two main types of
air incorporation systems are used in continuous freezers.
In older systems, the pump configuration resulted in a
vacuum either at the pump itself or on the mix line
entering the pump. Air was then incorporated through a
spring-loaded, controllable needle valve. Newer types of
freezers use compressed air, which is injected into the
mix. This type of air handling system allows for air
filtration (0.65 mm micropore filter) prior to entering
into the mix.
Following aeration, the water in the mix is partially
frozen as the mix and air combination passes through the
barrel of the heat exchanger. Ice forms on the inside wall
of the heat exchanger from the water in the mix, resulting
in a freeze-concentration of the dissolved solutes.
Rotating knife blades are responsible for continually
scraping this frozen mix off the surface of the heat
exchanger wall and mixing it into the bulk flow of
freeze-concentrated liquid mix, where these tiny ice crys-
tals grow (Figure 4). The dasher keeps the product
agitated inside the barrel and provides a more homoge-
neous mixture of ice and freeze-concentrated liquid
(Figure 3). Residence time for mix through the annulus
of the freezer varies from 0.4 to 2 min, although some
products may remain for much longer times; especially
with open cage dashers, freezing rates can vary from 5 to
27  C min1, and a draw temperature of 6  C can easily
be achieved. The continuous freezer is usually operated
under pressure, to minimize the volume of air in the ice
cream and thus maximize heat transfer. The air bubbles
expand rapidly when the ice cream is drawn through the
outlet valve to atmospheric pressure.
The introduction of low-temperature extrusion equip-
ment has been a recent development in ice cream freezing
technology. This is a continuous-flow heat exchanger in
the form of a screw extruder that reduces the temperature
of ice cream from the draw temperature of the barrel
freezer, typically 5  C, to a range of 10 to 14  C.
The ice cream passes at low shear through a twin-screw
or single-screw design with a residence time of 1–2 min.
Ice cream that results from such processing shows much
smaller ice cream and air bubble sizes and the fat is
agglomerated into a structure that provides a creamy
texture. When the product emerges from the low-
temperature extruder, it is still flowable, so some parti-
culates can be added to it and it can be cut and packaged,
but it sets up very quickly thereafter to a very firm
consistency. Hence, the claim is made that low-tempera-
ture extrusion can replace the need for conventional
hardening of ice cream.
Batch freezing differs considerably from the continu-
ous systems described previously. The barrel of a batch
swept-surface heat exchanger is jacketed with refrigerant
and contains a set of dashers and scraper blades inside the
barrel. It is filled to about one half volume with the liquid
mix. Barrel volumes usually range from 2 to 12 l. The
freezing unit and agitators are then activated and the
product remains in the barrel for sufficient time to
achieve the desired degree of overrun and stiffness.
Whipping increases with time and cannot exceed the
amount that will fill the barrel with the product (i.e.,
100% overrun when starting half full). Batch freezers

The continuous
ice cream
(barrel) freezer

Stainless steel cover

Insulating layer
Refrigerant
Ice cream annulus
Scraper blades
Dasher (hollow,
with solid beater)

Figure 3 A schematic illustration of the continuous ice cream freezer.

 Ice Cream and Desserts | Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture
Dasher
Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of an ice cream barrel freezer, showing the action of the scraper blades in clearing ice crystals off the
surface during rotation.
are used in smaller operations where it is desirable to run
individual flavored mixes on a small scale or to retain an
element of the ‘homemade’-style manufacturing process.
A type of batch freezer is also used for the production
of soft-serve-type desserts, but is operated in a semicon-
tinuous mode. In this case, a hopper containing the mix
feeds the barrel as the frozen product is removed. Soft-
serve freezers may also have pressurized air feed systems
to ensure more constant overrun. Soft-serve formulations
vary slightly from mixes destined for hardening; typically,
the MSNF and emulsifier concentrations are slightly
higher whereas the fat and stabilizer concentration may
be slightly lower. However, the big distinction between
soft-serve products and hard-frozen products is simply
that the former are served at an intermediate stage in
the production of the latter, and do not go through the
hardening process.
The formation of the ice phase during the dynamic
freezing stage is responsible in part for the structure and
texture of the final product. The crystallization of water
to ice involves two major steps: nucleation and crystal
growth. Nucleation occurs at the wall of the heat exchan-
ger during start-up. After start-up, the continual scraping
action of the blades acts as a seeding mechanism, by
providing a source of tiny crystals into the bulk where
they grow. Rapid heat removal, which results from low
temperatures (large
T) in the freezing medium, and
rapid agitation, which are both present in the barrel free-
zer, create numerous, tiny ice crystals. Further
temperature reduction during hardening accounts for
continued growth of the preformed crystals. As water
freezes out of solution in a relatively pure form, the
formation of ice acts to concentrate the dissolved sugars,
lactose, milk proteins, salts, and hydrocolloids in an ever-
decreasing amount of water. Water and its dissolved
components are referred to as the serum or matrix of
903
Refrigerant
Blades
scraping
the surface
Ice crystals
being ‘cut off’
by blades and
mixed into bulk
liquid flow
the mix. Because the freezing point of the serum is a
function of the concentration of dissolved solids, the for-
mation of more ice concentrates the serum and results in
an ever-decreasing freezing temperature for the remain-
ing serum. Thus, at temperatures several degrees below
the initial freezing temperature, there is always an unfro-
zen phase present (Figure 2). Ice cream hardness is a
function of temperature due to its effect on this conver-
sion from unfrozen water to ice and further concentration
of the serum phase surrounding the ice crystals, which
helps to give ice cream its ability to be scooped and
chewed at freezer temperatures.
Hardening
Ice cream following dynamic freezing, ingredient addi-
tion, and packaging is transferred immediately to a
hardening chamber (30  C or colder, either forced con-
vection or plate-type conduction freezers) where the
majority of the remaining water freezes. Rapid initial
freezing is essential to set up as many crystal nuclei as
possible so that during the maturation or growth stage,
their size stays small. In the same context, rapid hardening
is also necessary to keep ice crystal sizes small. When
hardening is slow, there is too great an opportunity for
water still remaining in the ice cream to migrate to crystal
centers already formed, resulting in large ice crystals.
Many factors need to be considered during the hardening
process. The main factors affecting heat transfer are the
temperature difference between the product and the
freezing medium, the area of product being exposed to
the freezing medium, and the heat transfer coefficient for
the particular operation. Following rapid hardening, ice
cream should be stored at a low, constant temperature,
usually 25  C. Subsequent distribution must maintain
these temperatures to protect the structure and textural
904 Ice Cream and Desserts | Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: Manufacture

(a) (b)

A
C S I
F

(c) A (d)

C
C

F FC FN

Figure 5 The structure of ice cream mix, ice cream, and melted ice cream. (a) Ice cream mix as viewed by thin-section transmission
electron microscopy. arrow ¼ crystalline fat within the globule; c ¼ casein micelle; f ¼ fat globule; bar (shown in (d)) ¼ 0.5 mm. (b) Close-
up of an air bubble in ice cream as viewed by low-temperature scanning electron microscopy. a ¼ air bubble; f ¼ fat globule adsorbed to
the bubble surface; i ¼ ice crystal; s ¼ freeze-concentrated serum phase; bar (shown in (d)) ¼ 10 mm. (c) Ice cream as viewed by thin-
section transmission electron microscopy with freeze substitution and low-temperature embedding. a ¼ air bubble; c ¼ casein micelle;
f ¼ fat globule; fc ¼ fat cluster; bar (shown in (d)) ¼ 1 mm. (d) Melted ice cream as viewed by thin-section transmission electron
microscopy. c ¼ casein micelle; fn ¼ fat network; bar ¼ 5 mm.

quality of frozen dairy dessert products. Shelf life is also
dependent upon temperature of storage and distribution.
Structure Formation during Manufacture
The texture of ice cream is perhaps one of its most impor-
tant quality attributes. It is the sensory manifestation of
structure; thus, establishment of optimal ice cream struc-
ture is critical to maximal textural quality. The structure of
ice cream begins with the mix as a simple emulsion, with a
discrete phase of partially crystalline fat globules sur-
rounded by an interfacial layer comprised of proteins and
surfactants (Figure 5). The continuous, serum phase con-
sists of the unadsorbed casein micelles in suspension in a
solution of sugars, unadsorbed whey proteins, salts, and
high-molecular-weight polysaccharides. Ice cream is a
complex food colloid in that the mix emulsion is subse-
quently foamed, creating a dispersed phase of air bubbles,
and is frozen, forming another dispersed phase of ice crys-
tals. Air bubbles and ice crystals are usually in the range of
20–50 mm. The serum phase is freeze-concentrated. In
addition, the partially crystalline fat phase at refrigerated
temperatures undergoes partial coalescence during the
concomitant whipping and freezing process, resulting in a
network of agglomerated fat, which partially surrounds the
air bubbles and gives rise to a solid-like structure
(Figure 5).
See also: Homogenization of Milk: High-Pressure
Homogenizers; Other Types of Homogenizer (High-
Speed Mixing, Ultrasonics, Microfluidizers, Membrane
Emulsification); Principles and Mechanism of
Homogenization, Effects and Assessment of Efficiency:
Valve Homogenizers. Ice Cream and Desserts: Ice
Cream and Frozen Desserts: Product Types. Liquid Milk
Products: Pasteurization of Liquid Milk Products:
Principles, Public Health Aspects. Plant and Equipment:
Pasteurizers, Design and Operation.
Further Reading
Berger KG (1997) Ice cream. In: Friberg SE and Larsson K (eds.)
Food Emulsions, 3rd edn., pp. 413–490. New York: Marcel
Dekker Inc.
Goff HD (1997) Colloidal aspects of ice cream – a review. International
Dairy Journal 7: 363–373.
Goff HD (2002) Formation and stabilization of structure in ice cream and
related products. Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science
7: 432–437.
Goff HD (2003) Ice cream. In: Fox PF and McSweeney PLH (eds.)
Advanced Dairy Chemistry, Vol. 1: Proteins, 3rd edn.,
pp. 1063–1082. New York: Kluwer Academic.
Goff HD (2006) Ice cream. In: Fox PF and McSweeney PLH (eds.)
Advanced Dairy Chemistry, Vol. 2: Lipids, 3rd edn., pp. 441–450.
New York: Kluwer Academic.
Goff HD (2009) Ice cream. In: Fox PF and McSweeney PLH (eds.)
Advanced Dairy Chemistry, Vol. 3: Lactose, Water, Salts and Minor
Constituents, 3rd edn., pp. 69–79. New York: Springer.
Goff HD and Tharp BW (eds.) (2004) Ice Cream II. Special Issue 401.
Brussels, Belgium: International Dairy Federation.
Hartel RW (1996) Ice crystallization during the manufacture of ice cream.
Trends in Food Science and Technology 7: 315–321.
Marshall RT, Goff HD, and Hartel RW (2003) Ice Cream, 6th edn. New
York: Kluwer Academic.
Walstra P, Wouters JTM, and Guerts TJ (2006) Dairy Science and
Technology, 2nd edn. New York: CRC Taylor and Francis.