FROZEN DESSERTS

 

FROZEN DESSERTS

Definition:- They are cold desserts made by freezing a flavoured mixture or a concoction made from flavoured full milk and cream.

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History: - The Chinese knew the art of making iced drinks and dessert long before the Christian era. This art may have travelled Westward through the Greeks. Both the Greeks and Romans were known to serve fruit salads and purees mixed with honey and snow. Macro Polo the great traveller may have made it popular when he returned back from China.

Catherina de Medic introduces cold desserts in the form of ice creams to the French aristocracy when she married the future king HENRY-II. However the credit for introducing the ice cream to the public goes to Francesco Procopio which then became the rage.

Around 1775 ices became more delicate in flavour, richer and with more body so that it could be moulded easily. By the end of the 18th Century ice cream became a fashion.

 

TYPES & CLASSIFICATION

 

Cold dessert is made by freezing a favoured mixture and they are of two types.

 

1. They may be made by freezing the mixture without any agitation – STILL FROZEN

 

2. They may be made by mechanically churning during the freezing process which result in a smooth creamy texture FREEZE CHURNED ICES.

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A. STILL FROZEN

 

1.     Mousses

2.     Soufflés

3.     Parfait

4.     Biscuit Glace or ice cream Cake

5.     Bombe glace

 

 

B. FREEZE CHURNED

 

1.     Ice creams

2.     Fruit Ices

3.     Sorbet

4.     Granita

5.     Marquises

6.     Punch.

 

 

MOUSSE:

 

A French term meaning foam is applied to dishes with a foamy texture. They are usually cold, and often sweet but also savoury and sometimes even hot. Some confections are naturally foamy; others may need beaten egg white and/or whipped cream, and possibly gelatine to achieve the desired texture.

Soufflé is used as a synonym with Mousse however mousse is used for a wide range of dishes such as those incorporating savoury items such as mousse de jambon or mousse de asparagus.

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Soufflé:-

 

A French word which literally means ―puffed up‖ and is used as a culinary term in both English and French. It is a light, frothy dish just stiff enough to hold its shape, and which may be savoury or sweet, hot or cold. Cold soufflé is difficult to distinguish from a mousse and is made in the same way.

The hot soufflé is started with a Roux blended with egg yolks and savoury or sweet flavouring ingredients to which are added stiffly beaten egg whites by folding it in. It is then baked in a high sided dish to contain its puffing.

 

Parfait:-

 

An iced dessert very similar to Bombe, made from fresh cream, which gives it smoothness and prevents it from melting easily and can be cut into slices. It is made by beating 8 eggs yolks over a bain-marie and then gradually adding boiling syrup (110°C) till it becomes light and fluffy, whisk away from fire till cool, and add the chosen flavour, (Syrup is made with 60 ml water +200gms. caster sugar) whip in 115 gm double cream and freeze for 6 hours.

In N. America this term has come to mean a combination of fruit and ice creams served in a tall glass which exposes the layers.

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Ice cream Cake/ Biscuits glace

 

An iced dessert made of alternate layers of different flavoured ice creams & a bombe mixture- frozen brick shape. After removing from the mould the ice cream is cut into even sizes/ slices and then arranged in small paper cases and kept frozen till serving.

The same name is also used to describe a round/oblong cake having a sponge cake or meringue base with ice-cream or sorbet or parfait or bombe mixture on the top, decorated with whipped cream and crystallised fruits in syrup.

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Bombe

 

A frozen dessert made from a bombe mixture, enriched with various ingredients and frozen in a mould. This dessert was named after the spherical moulds with rounded tops which were used to make it.

Traditionally bombe moulds are filled with two different mixtures. The bottom and sides of moulds are lined with ice cream or fruit ice. They are then filled with a bombe mixture made with 32 egg. yolks per litre of sugar syrup at specific gravity 1.285. The syrup is made with 700 ml of water and 700gms of sugar. Wisk egg yolks and syrup over a Bain Marie till cool. Finally add an equal volume of whipped cream and the chosen flavouring.

 

FREEZE CHURNED

 

Ice cream

 

It was only in 1620 A. D. that it was discovered that by mixing Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate) Sodium Nitrate and common salt it was possible to liquefy ice and in so doing reduce the temperature below freezing point. This endothermic effect of the mixture of ice and Salt which was packed around a container of ice water allowing the water to freeze, and so was born the potential for making frozen dessert.

During the 18th Century it was recognized that a superior ice cream could be created if the mixture was churned till it semi froze and then froze.

The word‘s first ice cream plant opened in America in 1851 founded by Jacob Fusseell.Kulfi an Indian Ice cream was cited in a 16th Century document.

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Definition

 

Ice creams are cold desserts made by freezing a flavoured mixture. Freezing is carried out commercially in an ice cream maker or churn freezer so that electrically driven blades stir the mixture throughout the operation to incorporate air and make it smooth. They may then be moulded and frozen.

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Method of Preparation

 

Beat 7 egg yolks with 150 gm sugar till thick and creamy. Heat cream to boiling point add to above gradually and cook over double boiler till it coats the back of a wooden spoon, cool immediately and then freeze in ice cream maker.

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Fruit Ices and Water Ices

 

The most important factor in making these desserts is the density of sugar syrup+ flavoruing+ Lemon juice which must be appropriate for it to freeze to a slushy density- 1.425 to 1.2407 sp gravity.

In case of fruit ices the puree of the fruit used should be equal to sugar syrup of the above mentioned sp. gr.

 

Sorbet or Shorbet

 

Definition: - A type of water ice that is more granular than ice cream as it does not contain any fat or egg yolks. The basic mixture for all sorbet is a combination of sugar syrup and fruit or fruit juices and other flavouring. It is the lower fat content and higher acidity content (0.35%) that distinguishes sorbet from ice cream.

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Historically sorbets were the first iced desert. The Chinese are the first to be credited for making sorbets. The word sorbet is derived from Arabic- Turkish ―chorbet to Latin ―Sorbetto. There are several variations of the sorbet representing differences in smoothness, flavour, density and degree of hardness due to comparative degree of sugar concentrations.

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Marquise

 

Any of various delicate deserts eg; chocolate marquise is a dessert half way between a mouse and a parfait. It is based on butter, eggs. sugar and flavouring and served with custard creams or Chantilly cream.

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Punch

 

A Cold Punch is an iced drink, which can be made with tea, sugar, spices, fruits or fruits or fruit juices, rum or brandy. The word originally described a British colonial drink derived from the Hindi word ‗Panch‘ which means five, for five ingredients i.e. tea, lemon, sugar, cinnamon and rum which were used, a forerunner of the cocktail.

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GRANITA

 

It is a type of an Italian sorbet, popularized by Tortoni in Paris in the 19th Century. It is a half frozen preparation with a granular texture (hence its name) made of lightly sweetened syrup and a flavouring strawberry or pineapple or coffer or Kirsch. Granita does not contain any Italian meringue.

 

ADDITIVES

 

Only permitted additives must be used and this may differ from Country to country depending upon their local laws. However, the standard adopted by the European Union, is followed quite universally.

 

Special alphabetic codes are used which describes a particular group of items e.g. E for

colour.

 

Some of the additives used for frozen desserts are:-

 

-> Colouring agents E signifying nature identical exact synthetic copies of natural substances a) Natural caramel. b) Cochineal c) Chlorophyll e) Yellow lacto flavones;

f) Xanthophylls

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-> Anti oxidants – Which prevents fats and Oils from going rancid

a) Tocopherols

b) Sulphurous anhydride

c) lactic acid

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Antioxidants and general stabilizers:-

 

a) B.H.A Butylatedhydroxyanisole

b) Citric Acid

c) Lecithins

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1. Emulsifiers – e.g. a) Gum Arabic,

b) Pectin,

c) Poly glycerol esters of poly-condensed fatty acids

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2.Improvers such as coal Tar dyes.