Your Ice Cream Guide

The warm weather brings about much wished, things, days at the beach , barbecues, and of course ice cream. This is the start of the frozen treat season. Yet many of us don't; know the difference between  gelato and an ice cream or frozen milk and regular ice cream. Just like flavors, there are so many different kinds of ice cream and ices .

Most of us usually have a brick of ice cream in the freezer.This is known as hard ice cream because of its consistency.It's made with not only milk and cream but also with eggs and stabilizers to keep it from melting..It's churned to keep the ingredients from freezing into a solid mass Ice cream can be made at home thanks to an ice cream maker or one of those balls with a canister inside to hold the mixture.French style ice cream is a bit richer thanks to the addition of eggs to make a thin version of  crème anglais.That boardwalk favorite frozen custard is similar but uses more eggs or just  yolks. Both are cooked and left to cool prior before freezing. Both are denser than regular ice cream and have a silky feeling.There is also Philadelphia style ice cream which is made without eggs.It's simpler to make at home. Remember without the egg base it does freeze firmer and harder. The Italians give us that classic treat gelato. The name simply means frozen in Italian . It can contain eggs or not but it is denser  than our version, thanks to having very little air whipped into it There is also semifreddo.. It means half cold and is a variation on ice cream or frozen custard.It's frozen in a loaf pan and then sluiced and served with fruit.It's usually made at home with just cream and eggs.

Of course there is the lighter side of frozen treats.These don't have  as many calories, yet still have     flavor. There is ice  milk which  doesn't have enough milk fat to be considered ice cream.It is still creamy but lighter and lower in calories. Sherbet has always been a warm weather favorite. Classic kinds are made with fruit juice sugar water or even wine..Some versions do contain milk, buttermilk, egg whites or gelatin.It is sometimes confused and labeled sorbet which is completely vegan. This has been traditionally used as a palate cleanser between large courses.It's usually lemon or strawberry flavored and very light on the tongue and taste buds. Granita is one of the easiest frozen treats to make at home.It's made from mashed ice and usually the preferred flavor is coffee.It can be served with ice cream but is good on it's own with a chocolate syrup and side of whipped cream.  Then there is ice.It can be known as Italian ice or water ice if you're from Philly.It can contain egg white as a binder but it's mostly just water and syrup churned like ice cream.  Another treat is President Obama's love Hawaiian shaved ice and this is the most refreshing of all the ices.It starts with a block of ice that's been shaved with a special gadget , mounded into  cone and then doused with syrup.  Three different flavors can be poured over it for a yummy rainbow ice.

Just as there are so many flavors, there are so may types to choose from. Make a semi freddo for a weekend get together, have a cone on Sunday and maybe some ice during the week. No matter what you finally opt for, it's all cool , sweet and delicious, a perfect break from the sweltering heat.