Questions & Answers
from "On Ice Cream" featured in Dairy Foods magazine
and sourced from "On Ice Cream" technical short courses.

Drawing Temperatures:

Question: What is the best drawing temperature for ice cream frozen in a continuous freezer?

Answer: It is often suggested that ice cream should be drawn at a temperature where over 50% of the water is frozen. That may be a useful general guideline, but it does not take into account the broad range of frozen dessert products to which it might be applied. First an overview of relevant small ice crystals are essential for smoothness and useful shelf life. Conditions favoring formation of small ice crystals are rapid temperature drop; agitation; and the generation of small ice crystal nuclei. The maximum effect of those conditions occurs in the freezer barrel. Therefore, the objective should be to freeze as much water as possible in the freezer, i.e., draw the ice cream at as low a temperature as feasible. That determination must consider product composition and the consistency needed to make the ice cream handle properly just after freezing. For example, a product intended for molded stick novelties must be fluid enough to fill the molds without voids while extreme stiffness is needed for extruded products. Between those extremes is a broad range of treatments requiring a diversity of handling properties. Therefore, the guideline must be modified to call for the achievement of the lowest possible draw temperature consistent with the handling properties needed.