Posted on 12/01/2025 6:05:48 AM PST by Red Badger
is this “Ben and Jerry’s” still in business?
At about age 16 or earlier, my dad, a shipyard welder, told me that I needed to get a job, or he find more work for me, and at about age 16 (1968) IIRC, and for about 16 years total (a couple years of excursions) I worked in a family owned retail dairy, with its own cows, and processed, sold and delivered milk and ice cream. The product was tested at 16% butterfat and 42% milk solids (despite selling their own milk, the ice cream was confected with high temp milk solids).
. For most of the years it was confected in a "batch freezer," (larger crystals, called "homemade" as to style) refrigerated *(via ammonia) metal drum with steel paddles inside. 5 gallons of ice cream mix poured in the top, and then flavors added thru a hopper, and it churned until the consistency of cement, and out came approx.10 gallons, which for us went into 3 gal. tubs. Before those we used 5 gal metal barrels.
Unlike continuous freezers in which air content can be controlled, this overrun of 50% air was normal in a batch freezer and with that there is not much you can do to change that (brands like Ben and Jerry's made via continuous freezers had less overrun, but lower butterfat content, though not all flavors are the same). The higher the butterfat then the more it incorporates air.
The more sugar and or alcohol then the lower the freezing temp (Rum Raisin was a hard one to keep firm in a chest, and so I put them in a corner-two walls), while the more liquids that were added, like real strawberries, then the more diluted the mix was = a heavier product but less creamy (I think the gov. would test Vanilla for the butterfat and weight).
Thus there was a noticeable difference in the weight as you lifted them. As ice cream must be 4.5 lbs per gallon (whole milk is 9.6) then a 3 gallon tub of ice cream was sppsd to be at least 13.5 lbs, but the heaviest flavor, Peanut butter cup, could be close to 18, while the lightest was "Orange Creamsicle, maybe about 12.5 lbs. It did bother me as a Christian that i was delivering something that meant the consumer was not getting legal ice cream, yet that was not intentional, and could not be controlled much, and the company charged the same for all the 64 or so flavors.
However, ice cream melts and souls live forever - in one of two distinctly different places and experiences - and the Lord convicted me in 1986 to leave everything to serve Him full time, without pay for this work, and He, if not always me, has been faithful to keep His promise of Mark 10:29,30, to God be the glory.
Pinged to some friends.
Traidtionaly, it was hard to standardize ice cream. See post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4355439/posts?page=162#162 Only ice cream and its pale substitutes allow the infusion of air to replace actual product.
Actually, if there was no air in ice cream it would be like eaten like cubes, lacking texture and hardly scoopable. brands like Ben and Jerry's have less overrun, but still lots of air.
Breyer’s used to be our go to for ice cream.
After buying what we thought was ice cream and finding out it was *Frozen Dairy Dessert*, they lost a customer. Can’t trust them any more.
Buy local.
Yuppers...
I got a Hankering for a Drumstick
With Nutz!
.
I can’t point to Any moment other than
Seeing a Man on a White horse in the Clouds coming at me From the West
when I was 6 or 7.
I wondered why the sky seemed to be falling faster today.
You can ‘homebrew’ yer own!!
Breyers used to be good - was what we mostly bought back in the day. I can’t eat ice cream now (unless somebody can point me to a good low sugar variety) so I hadn’t noticed the decline, but I checked the local grocery store and the post is correct - most Breyers containers are not labeled ice cream. And it costs about as much as the brands that are so labeled.
Every few years new ones can be bought at your local Big Box Store.
Go south, young man - go south.
And now millions of people actually prefer the silicon based, ummm, 'toys' and avoid the hassle of dealing with the real thing.
Now go and find some sliced American cheese that’s actually cheese and not “cheese product”. It’s hard but it can be done.
They use real ones?
I don't care if Ben and Jerry make Pol Pot look like Franco.
Their ice cream is the best in the world and I'm not gonna stop eating it!
I can only sacrifice so much.
Breyer's became frozen desert when half their ice cream consisted of mashed-up Snickers bars.
This is why I can only eat Hagen Daas
Haha everyone has their limit…;)
I just checked my freezer, and Vanilla Homestyle and Mint Chip both state ICE CREAM in multiple places on the container.
Now the ingredient list is LONG, and I wasn’t wearing my glasses.
To be legally labeled “ice cream” in the U.S., a product must contain at least 10% milkfat and weigh no less than 4.5 pounds per gallon. These standards are set by the FDA under 21 CFR §135.110.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a product must meet the following criteria to be labeled as “ice cream”:
Minimum Milkfat: Must contain at least 10% milkfat. This can come from cream, milk, or other dairy ingredients.
Products with less than 10% milkfat must use alternative labels like “frozen dairy dessert.”
Minimum Weight: Must weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon. This ensures proper air incorporation (overrun) and density.
Pasteurization & Freezing: The mix must be pasteurized and then frozen while stirring to create the final texture.
Optional Ingredients: May include caseinates, hydrolyzed milk proteins, sweeteners, flavorings, and stabilizers — as long as they’re safe and suitable.
Egg Yolk Clause: If the product contains at least 1.4% egg yolk solids, it must be labeled “frozen custard” or “French ice cream.”
Products made with less than 10% milkfat
Items using non-dairy bases (e.g., almond, oat, coconut) — these must use terms like “non-dairy frozen dessert”
Formulations that don’t meet the weight or ingredient standards
These rules protect consumers from misleading labels and ensure consistency in product quality.
Many store brands and “light” or “low-fat” options use alternative terms like “frozen dessert” to comply with labeling law
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