Present and future trends in ice cream science and technology

Classic ice cream textbooks from 40-50 years ago describe ingredients, formulations, manufacturing processes, equipment and product quality defects that are not unlike those of today. Despite the immense number of new products that are available in the market today, one might argue that there have been very few paradigm shifts in ice cream science and technology. However, is this a fair argument? Certainly there have been tremendous advances in understanding of the chemistry and physics of ice cream. There have also been more than just subtle shifts in ingredients, with more controlled use of non-dairy fats, milk protein ingredients, starch hydrolysate sweeteners and other sucrose alternatives, and stabilizing and emulsifying agents. Processing advances have included sophisticated, automated continuous freezers with exact control of overrun and dosing of particulate ingredients, sophisticated processing technology for manufacture of hand-held impulse products, and rapid hardening equipment.