UK Food Scientists International Heroes like these guys have [re]disovered a curious natural protein that happens to have some seasonally-apt, and awesomely-paradoxical properties.
When the magical stuff is added to ice cream, the ice cream, in-fact, melts slower. Not zero hot-weather drips, but dang close.
Also, this angel from upon-high to sweaty summer children has other benefits. It seems to make the ice cream smoother, similar to the more expensive varieties that have less air, finer crystals, & more butterfat.
What makes the magic happen?
The protein (BsIA) sticks to all of the following: fat droplets, water/ice, and air-bubbles; stabilizing all their different chemical polarities, and thus keeping the structure together.
-Sort-of like a delicious, edible, Aerogel.
So far, it doesn’t look like it disturbs any other part of the mixture, like the other proteins, flavorings, sugar, additives, or actual ice in the mix.
-In-fact, it looks like BsIA’s structural-integrity also prevents the large, gritty ice-crystals that tend to plague the more reasonably-priced products.
So, it’s probably doing something a little bit more fancy than just keeping the air in the mix, while making your ice cream seem fancier in yet one more way.
On the Nutrition front, BsIA raises the amount of protein and lowers some of the saturated fat and calories in the dessert, making it ever-so-slightly healthier, especially for your abs and your heart.
Definitely tell yourself that in a few years, that the calories don’t count, because this is that “Healthy Ice Cream”.
Another nice thing about it is that BsIA doesn’t come from anything fancy, is non-GMO & naturally-occurring in some foods, so there is probably very little added-expense or risk in sourcing it, or adding it to the production cycle.
Not that they’re unhealthy, but the addition of this protein can also get a few more additives out of your snack, like emulsifiers and stabilizers like Guar Gum or hydrolyzed gelatin, which are commonly-used thickeners.
Though additives-or-not, it won’t completely solve the problem of drips, because that wouldn’t be any fun either;
-And of course now your ice cream cone is no longer a dessert, but a weapon!
And finally, it turns out BsIA is even good for The Environment!
It’s a “Green” additive, because its peculiar non-drip-action raises the temperature that ice cream can be stored & transported at, so fewer greenhouse-gases will get into the atmosphere from powering all those refrigeration units.
Even if the supermarket doesn’t ease the cooling due to many varieties, it’s still possible that at least the Manufacturers and possibly Distributors will save a little.
Now, if they’d only hurry up with production, so we can all have a taste-test…
Photo Credits: “Dessert is served”, by Carmen Jost, Carmen’s Blogspot Site, BrokenBelief
Links:
•Source: U. Dundee
•via: Engadget
•MoreCoverage: Eater | About-Why Some Ice Creams Cost More | DailyMail-What’s Really In Some Ice Creams | ACS.org-Excellent Breakdown On What’s In Ice Cream & How It All Works
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