Balance Knowledge Base Article

Making a good vegan ice cream is by no means trivial. Ice cream is a complex food and my first attempts were really terrible. When approaching a plant-based diet it is necessary to let go of the memory and cultural imprints that keep us bound to what we have grown up with. Textures will be different; flavors could become more muted. This may be even more noticeable in ice cream as most of us grew up with the flavor and texture of milk, cream, eggs defining our favorite scoops.

To explain further: our palate is accustomed to animal-derived textures. It takes an effort of dis-habituation, because the perceived temperature, the structure, the flavors, are almost inevitably different. At the same time, I believe that understanding plant-based cooking principles and selection of ingredients is a really enriching experience for anybody interested in food. If we open our mind to a very different palette there are an almost infinite possibilities in what we can do. So, the question is not only technical but also philosophical: do we want to imitate the experience of traditional ice cream in all aspects, or do we want to open ourselves to new textures, new intensities and new sweetness? This does not mean that ‘anything goes’ or that we can accept sub-par results, of course.

My approach is ‘nutritional’ in the sense of analyzing the composition of typical homemade milk-based ice cream in order to understand its characteristics in depth, for example how the ratio of sugars, fats, proteins and other non-‘traditional’ components translate into the taste experience.
Take fats, for example. Their structure determines their melting point and consequently impacts on the stability of the air bubbles which are blended into the mixture during the freezing-churning process. Which fats perform best in plant-based ice cream?

The impact of protein origin is important, as some behave less like those of milk and eggs in terms of foaming properties, for example, and can react differently to the heating process.
The type of starches and fibers have a generally heavier influence in a plant-based ice cream, not only for the nature of the ingredients but also as they enter the ‘total solids’ equation we need to make up for the lack of solids traditionally contributed by low-fat skimmed milk powder. But starches and fibers of different sources can behave very differently so we need to monitor their behavior closely. How much water do these components absorb? If our ice cream hardens, is it because of ice formation or other reasons? Does the ice cream remain soft or does it crumble upon storage? Does the structure improve or worsen over time due to our choice of ingredients? These thoughts become translated into recipe formulation. These considerations do not exist ‘in a vacuum’. There is a close interdependence between the ingredients in the mixture. Consequently, in my experience it is neither easy nor useful to have a standard base to which we can then simply add, for example, pistachio, or hazelnut paste, or cocoa mass and a little sugar. Because if we look at these ingredients carefully, we find that they have a different chemical composition and therefore behave differently. I cite these flavors as traditionally they tend to be the most difficult recipes to perfect – precisely because we often overlook the structural (i.g. chemical) aspect that impacts on ice cream structure.

In my approach you need to arm yourself with nutritional databases, create excel tables full of vlookup functions (a spreadsheet search function) or rely on Patrik who took care of many of these aspects for many of us, and created a wonderful Calculator. We could open a chapter on the use of isolated ingredients (proteins, for example) to be used as structural additives with excellent results, or the challenge of using whole ingredients, with their nutritional pros and structural component cons. In the beginning I used isolated soy protein for example. I also clashed with some awful-tasting vegetable proteins and decided to go back to whole ingredients as much as possible. In recent years I have developed two main approaches from which I often digress to then come back with variations born of new experiences, in an iterative process.

In the first approach I work with commercial soy milk that, it must be admitted, is magical and which taste has also vastly improved recently. In the second approach I work directly with water-based mixtures. Depending on the specific recipe, I tend to use cashews and coconut oil in different proportions to balance the characteristics of the other ingredients. It is a 5000 pieces puzzle even with the handful of ingredients we commonly use.

Plant-based ice cream also encounters difficulties of a different kind. Many ingredients elicit negative, psychological or allergic reactions. And the ice cream lover who is attentive to animal exploitation should not forget that some alternative plant-based ingredients are obtained through the exploitation of human beings, or at a high environmental cost, so it becomes important to be able to trust the supply chain to remain consistent with one’s idea of the world.

My approach may sound too elaborated, and I think plant-based ice cream or gelato are not as cheap as milk and cream (but think about how the subsidies to this industry mask the real cost of these ingredients) so probably more suited to restaurant preparations than to an ice cream parlor where competitive pricing is a prime concern. However, not hard-wiring anything really stimulates creativity, and considering that ice cream is for me as much a research project as a commercial (through consultancy) endeavor, that’s fine. I believe that collaboration is the basis of knowledge and that is why I have always left my approach very accessible, and why I have decided to collaborate with Patrik in the setting up of the vegan section of his calculator.

But I still need financial support so I invite you all to take my online courses, which can be consulted on my pages. You will not regret it! https://thecraftsycat.com/courses/ (be patient, my web site is a bit slow to open, I am a food-loving chemist by training and a self-taught web designer) You can also find me on Facebook where I post plenty of recipes and ideas: https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftsyCat.

First let’s recap what PAC and POD is.

PAC
PAC stands for ‘Potere Anti Congelante’ can also be called AFP-‘Anti Freezing Power’ or FDPF-‘Freezing Point Depression Factor’
This is a measure of how much the freezing point of the water is depressed. What it means is that the water freezes at a lower temperature. Different sugars affect the freezing point the most and salt and alcohol even more. The higher the PAC the softer the ice cream.

POD
POD ‘Potere Dolcificante’ is the relative sweetness of the ice cream. Another acronym is SP “Sweetening Power”.
The POD tells you how sweet the ice cream is.

For both PAC and POD sucrose (table sugar) is used as a reference with a PAC and POD of 100.
Other sugars and salts have different PACs and different PODs.
The smaller the molecule the more it will depress the freezing point and the PAC is higher.

To calculate the PAC you can use the molecular weight.
Sucrose has a molecular weight of 342.30 g/mol.
So, for example we calculate the PAC of Fructose. Fructose is a monosaccharide or simple sugar and it is smaller than sucrose (a disaccharide).
Fructose has a molecular weight of 180.156 g/mol
We just divide the molecular weight of sucrose with the molecular weight of fructose.
342.3/180.156=1.9
So, 100*1.9=190
The PAC of fructose is 190.

So, if you know the molecular weight of a sugar you can calculate the PAC.

To calculate the POD is a bit more complicated. The relative sweetness of a sugar compared to sucrose is not something we can actually calculate. Instead a panel will simply taste a solution of the sugar or sweetener and compare it to sucrose. So, all different sugars and sweeteners have been analyzed and tested and a relative sweetness has been defined.
Another problem is that the sweetness profile is different for different sugars, that is how fast and long the sweetness develops and lingers. Other sugars also does not taste the same as sucrose and some have side effects like off tastes or chilling sensations etc…

So why can it be hard to calculate the PAC and/or POD of an ingredient?
Well, the problem is that nutrition labels does not have to specify the exact carbohydrate profile of the ingredient. It only has to declare the total amount of sugars.
It also only have to declare mono- and disaccharides as sugars, higher order sugars are counted as carbohydrates.
So, if we read a nutrition label and it has 34g of sugars and 50g of carbs per 100g we don’t actually know what sugar or sugars it contains.
This is true for nutrition labels and in many of the ingredients in the USDA database.
If the sugar composition is not available the calculator assumes all the sugar is sucrose and calculates the PAC and POD for that.
(Unless you check the Dairy checkbox then all the sugar is assumed to be Lactose, the sugar in milk).
If you know the sugar composition you can use the PAC/POD tool and input the sugars for a better approximation.
If the USDA database ingredient has the sugar composition available that will also be used automatically. (Some ingredients have this info).

So, what do you do if you don’t know what sugar/sugars are used?
In the general case it can be hard, you can analyze the ingredient list of the item you like to add and see if it declares any specific sugars. If it does you can make an educated guess of the composition.
The best is if you can get a technical data sheet where the PAC and POD is declared or where the carbohydrate profile is declared. This is however usually not possible for normal supermarket ingredients. Even if you get a technical data sheet the PAC and POD is normally not declared unless the ingredient is specific for the ice cream market.

To summarize.
To calculate the PAC and POD of an ingredient without detailed information of the sugars it contains is not possible and the calculator will assume all the sugar is sucrose.

Glucose

So Glucose in chemistry is a monosaccharide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose

Glucose syrup

Glucose syrup is made by breaking down the starch in corn (or sometimes wheat, potatoes, or rice) into simpler sugars, primarily glucose, through a process called hydrolysis. This process involves treating the starch with enzymes or acid, which breaks the large starch molecules into smaller glucose molecules. The resulting syrup is then filtered and purified to remove impurities.

Glucose syrup is often used in food manufacturing because it has several functional properties. It helps prevent crystallization of sugar, improves the texture and mouthfeel of products, enhances moisture retention, and acts as a bulking agent. It is commonly found in products like candies, desserts, baked goods, ice creams, beverages, and processed foods.

Glucose syrup is less sweet than pure glucose. This is because it contains other sugars, such as maltose and higher polysaccharides, which are not as sweet as glucose alone.

Atomized glucose, also known as powdered glucose or glucose powder, is a fine, white powder form of glucose syrup. It is derived from glucose syrup through a process called spray drying. In this process, a concentrated solution of glucose syrup is atomized into tiny droplets and then dried using hot air, resulting in the formation of fine glucose powder particles.

Glucose syrup usually comes in two variants DE40 or DE60 and Glucose Powder comes in many different variants defined by the DE value.

Dextrose Equivalent (DE)

Dextrose equivalence (DE) is a term used to measure the level of conversion of starch into glucose in glucose syrup. It is a numerical value that indicates the percentage of reducing sugars present in the syrup.

In the production of glucose syrup, starch is treated with enzymes or acids to break it down into smaller sugar molecules, primarily glucose. The degree of conversion determines the DE value of the syrup.

A glucose syrup with a DE of 100 means that it is fully converted, and all the starch has been transformed into glucose, resulting in a syrup that contains only glucose molecules. On the other hand, a glucose syrup with a lower DE, such as DE 40, indicates that only 40% of the starch has been converted, and the syrup contains a mixture of glucose, maltose, and higher polysaccharides.

DE values are used to classify different types of glucose syrups based on their sweetness and functional properties. Syrups with higher DE values tend to be sweeter and have a higher viscosity (thickness), while those with lower DE values are less sweet and more resistant to crystallization.

In summary, dextrose equivalence (DE) is a measurement used to describe the extent of starch conversion into glucose in glucose syrup. It indicates the percentage of reducing sugars in the syrup and helps classify syrups based on their sweetness and functional properties.

The higher the DE the sweeter the syrup or powder is. If the DE is between 5-20 the glucose syrup is called Maltodextrin and is used as a bulking agent in ice cream.

Dextrose

Dextrose is the old name for the glucose monosaccharide molecule. Dextrose has a DE of 100 meaning it is pure glucose.

The form of Dextrose used in ice cream is Dextrose Monohydrate. It is a specific form of dextrose that contains one molecule of water per molecule of dextrose. The presence of the water molecule gives it the “monohydrate” designation. Dextrose monohydrate is a form of glucose that is widely used in the food industry as a sweetener, flavor enhancer, texture modifier, fermentation agent, preservative, binder, and filler. Its versatile properties make it a valuable ingredient in various food products.

In ice cream Dextrose is very useful as it is less sweet than sucrose but has almost twice the freezing point depression. This makes it important for controlling the sweetness and hardness of the ice cream.

If you have a small shop or business the production planning and inventory module is for you. Using a calendar planning tool you add the recipes you will make. Keep track of ingredients, products and prices. Automatically update you inventory when a batch has been produced. Set up an inventory of products and make stocktaking using a barcode scanner.

Here follows a short introduction to the Production and Inventory system.

Calendar

In the calendar tab you add your recipes and the weight you plan to produce.
Clicking the panes brings up the Edit dialog where you can modify the weight, date and type a note for this recipe. You can also print the recipe.
After you have actually made this batch you can click the Produced button to update your inventory. If you have linked your products to ingredients you will be prompted to adjust the inventory accordingly.

List

In the List tab you will see all your production.
Selecting items in the list on the left will update the list on the right with the amount of ingredients or products used. You can also use the buttons above the list to quickly select items. You can select to view ingredients used for the selected recipes or products from your inventory.

Inventory

The inventory tab is where you handle your product inventory.
This module will be easiest to use if you have a barcode scanner as many of the functions are designed for scanners. (It is possible to use this module without a scanner).
Here you will add your actual products and keep track of your inventory.

Double-clicking on a product brings up the product properties page.

Here you set all the data connected to the product. Important fields are the barcode id and the Unit weight. The Ingredient link can be set to connect a product to an ingredient in the database. If this link is set you will have the option to automatically update the inventory when a batch is produced.

To the right you see the list of all your purchases. So, every time you purchase this product you will scan it and populate the list. In the purchase dialog you can set quantity, price and dates.

Below the list is the Quantity field. This is the quantity of this product that you actually have in stock. The list will update and is color coded to reflect the Quantity.

When making a stocktaking you scan your products and update the inventory.
There are different ways to make your stocktaking.
– Full. Updates the inventory with your scanned products and sets all non-scanned products to 0.
– Partial. Updates the inventory with your scanned items and all non-scanned products are unchanged.
– Report only. Does not update the inventory.

This is an example of a stocktaking.

After scanning you press the OK button if you want to save and continue later. You press the Close button if you want to close the stocktaking and update the inventory.

Now you can see all products you scanned, the current quantity and the difference between the current inventory and the scanned products. You can now select to just Close this stocktaking without updating the inventory or to update the inventory database. The Scanned items only checkbox controls if you want to update all products in the inventory or only the scanned products.