Ice Cream Glossary
- devinshumway
- Feb 25
- 2 min read
Master the lingo, understand the terms, and confidently read recipes to create your own ice cream at home.
General Terms
Base - The final liquid mixture that is poured into your ice cream maker to be turned into delicious home made ice cream.
Churn - The process of freezing and aerating (adding air) to your ice cream base.
Overrun - The amount of air incorporated into your ice cream during churning.
Hardening - The final stage of freezing, happens after the churn when the ice cream is solidified in the freezer.
Emulsifier - An ingredient that helps fat and water blend. Think of oil and water, how they don't mix, well an emulsifier bonds to both the oil and the water allowing them to mix together. The importance of this is no small chunks of butter or ice in your ice cream. Examples include eggs and powdered milk.
Stabilizer - Slow the growth of ice crystals in your ice cream by bonding to water. I typically use Xantham Gum, but other common stabilizers are corn starch and even the eggs in a custard.
Ripening / Infusing - Resting the ice cream base before churning to develop flavor. (We also use this time to bring the temperature of the ice cream base to as low as we can)
Tempering - Gradually adding hot liquid to eggs to prevent curdling.
Butterfat - The fat content in ice cream, comes from the milk and the heavy cream typically. This is often used as a key determining factor in the quality of ice cream.
Standard Ice Cream - 10%
Premium Ice Cream - 12-14%
Super Premium Ice Cream - 14-16%
Milk Solids Non Fat (MSNF) - The solids in milk that are not fat (I feel like I'm repeating the acronym here). These are important to the texture of ice cream.
Mix-Ins - Anything you add to the ice cream during or just after the churn stage.
From Lingo to the Scoop
Whether you are making your first batch or your 10,000th, knowing the right terminology can make all the difference. Understanding these terms will help you read recipes with confidence, troubleshoot any texture issues, or even show off to that special someone.
So now that you have the terms under your belt, why not try making your very first batch!
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