Principle and method of manufacture

The first step in the manufacture of ice cream is to prepare ice cream mix. This involves assembling of various ingredients. In order to produce good ice cream both dairy ingredients and non-dairy ingredients must be selected and combined so as to produce the desired body, texture and the delicate flavour in the ice cream.Obviously selection of good and wholesome ingredients will only help to produce good quality product. Knowledge of the properties of the ingredients and their specific role in maintaining the body, texture and flavour characteristics in ice cream will be very useful in the selection of suitable ingredients for the ice cream mix preparation. Preparation of the mix involves assembling various ingredients, weighing and mixing them in a vat or tank and subjecting the mixture to further processing like pasteurization, homogenization, cooling and ageing. Aged ice cream mix is then partially frozen in a suitable ice cream freezer. The partially frozen ice cream from ice cream freezer is then filled in suitable containers (packaging materials) and further frozen in a hardening chamber at a very low temperature. The hardened ice cream is then stored at the same temperature until released for consumption. In this unit, the selection of ingredients for the preparation of ice cream mix, processing of mix and freezing of ice cream mix will be discussed briefly.

Flow diagram of Manufacture of Ice Cream