Ice cream is a complex, three-phase food system in which ice (solid), air (gas) and unfrozen water (liquid) coexist. Much that makes ice cream an indulgence derives from its relatively high fat content, which can range from 10 to 18 percent in premium varieties. In addition to its role in taste and flavor development, fat is crucial to ice cream's texture. No wonder, then, that most low-fat varieties fail to offer the same taste sensation.

Lately food scientists have found clever ways to experiment with unsaturated fats aiming to bring consumers the full satisfaction of ice cream with fewer of the health consequences associated with saturated fats. Solid fat builds structure in ice cream via partial coalescence, which occurs when two fat droplets collide and fuse only “at their hip,” remaining distinguishable from each other. The fusion is mediated by crystals that protrude from the surface of the spherical droplets—imagine the thorns of a prickly pear—that pierce neighboring droplets as they collide. These droplets then aggregate and deposit onto the surface of air bubbles and stabilize the frozen foam. In this way, partial coalescence enables ice cream to taste creamier, hold its shape and melt more slowly.

Given that unsaturated fats are liquid, the original thought was that they would not be good candidates to make ice cream less of a sin. Recent research, however, has the skeptics thinking twice. New studies led by Douglas Goff of the University of Guelph in Ontario suggest that plateletlike or needlelike droplets (as opposed to spheres) that contain 40 to 60 percent unsaturated fats are very effective at building structure in ice cream. Such fats can be blends of any highly unsaturated oil (such as high-oleic sunflower or canola oil) and saturated fats such as coconut oil or cocoa butter. Platelets formed only when Goff's team added commonly used unsaturated emulsifiers, such as glycerol monooleate, which are thought to force the fat crystals to grow preferentially in one dimension, hence generating the needlelike profile. Because of their shape, the amount of fat needed to create a stable frozen foam (via partial coalescence) decreases. This opens up the possibility for low(er) fat, creamy, slow-melting ice cream.

This article was originally published with the title Healthier Ice Cream?.

8 Comments

1. 1. alan6302 03:28 PM 12/30/12

   The author is still under the delusion that fat plugs up the arteries. Milk and sugar are inflammatory foods that siphon calcium from the bone and plug the arteries. Fermented unpasteurized milk ( no sugar)has fat and is non inflammatory.I come from Ontario. The food NAZI's cannot be trusted.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. tommyoctober 01:15 PM 12/31/12

   Amen Alan! Simple sugars are far more deleterious than fats. Half of all heat attacks occur in people whose cholesterol levels are normal. And, "the evil cholesterol" is the chemical precursor for some mighty important hormones: (1) estrogen (2) progesterone (3)aldosterone (4) cortisol (5) calcitriol (Vit D) , and my fav, (6) testosterone. So go easy with the eraser on those menus folks. Cholesterol, while not perfectly salubrious, isn't the bad guy some folks make it out to be.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. RockyBob 03:27 PM 12/31/12

   Alan and Tommy are right. If saturated fats and serum cholesterol are bad, then explain my completely clear coronary arteries at age 66, even though my serum cholesterol is 599 (super high all my life) and for the last five years my diet has been primarily carnivorous, including two dozen eggs a week and spoonfuls of salt. None of the cardiologists I've ever contacted has any real answer ("it's in your genes" is a non-answer...). Turns out quite a few super highs also have clear arteries.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. kaebomb 06:51 PM 12/31/12

   I love that every commenter is more knowledgeable about nutrition than the author and scientist who conducted the study! It's most unfortunate that people will buy it, and most will be under the impression they are doing themselves a favor. Well, whatever company uses the new fat, hopefully they will disclose it on the label so we don't kill ourselves with more weird chemicals that our bodies haven't evolved to deal with. It's so odd to me that a periodical covering advanced topics on astrophysics touts old fashioned ingestion of laboratory chemicals...

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. sofistek 10:52 PM 12/31/12

   Agree with the first three commenters who are far more knowledgeable about fat than the ice cream making scientist, who simply assumes that the line fed to the public about saturated fats is based on science. It is based on one study that was misrepresented and actually showed that sugar was the main culprit, with a far higher (very far higher) correlation to heart conditions than saturated fat (which had an almost negligible correlation). For the low down on sugar, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. bucketofsquid in reply to alan6302 04:08 PM 1/4/13

   Based on your previous posts, you are completely insane so I think I'll form my own opinion, thanks anyway.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

7. 7. bucketofsquid 04:18 PM 1/4/13

   I cut way back on candy and ice cream some years ago. I also cut way back on soda and fruit juices. These things were replaced by actual fruit and whole grains. I also replaced most beef with chicken and fish. The end result after a few years is that I really miss ice cream and my health isn't much better.
   
   The main problem with ice cream is that it is made with cow milk which simply isn't good for humans. The big issue isn't saturated fats so much as it is oversized portions in relation to activity levels.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

8. 8. RockyBob 11:47 PM 1/4/13

   A lot of people have a lot of ideas about diet and nutrition and a few have merit while many others don't. If anyone out there really wants to have a better grasp of diet and nutrition and their effect on human health, I'd highly recommend reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It is 500 pages (he wrote 1000 pages but his publisher required 500 max.), it has around 3,000 references and end notes, and is without a doubt the most scholarly text ever on diet and nutrition. I spent two years!! reading it (and many of the referenced research papers) and my take is there is no other work that is even close. The thing is, you don't have to take Taubes' word for much of anything, the studies he cites and the review of those studies by others speak for themselves. The picture painted by this book is clear, and Taubes' summarizes the data succinctly (on page 454).
   However, if you are not an appreciator of good scientific inquiry and don't respect the power of good scholarly research, don't bother. This is definitely not an easy read, and most people will fade unless they are really, really motivated.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this