As the warmth of spring envelops Dhaka, ice cream parlours are bustling with long queues of eager customers once again. Dhaka boasts a multitude of establishments serving various frozen delights like sorbet, gelato, and soft serve, all commonly referred to as ice cream. However, there are subtle distinctions among these frozen treats.
Traditional ice cream is crafted from a custard base comprising eggs, egg yolks, milk, cream, and sugar. This mixture undergoes rapid churning, incorporating more air and resulting in a lighter, airy dessert—a quintessentially American recipe. On the other hand, soft serve, or softie, represents a lighter iteration of ice cream.
During the freezing process, air is intentionally introduced into the ice cream mixture, rendering it creamier and lighter than its traditional counterpart. According to the American Chemical Society, ice cream typically contains between 30% and 50% air, while soft serve boasts a minimum of 50% air content. Despite these differences, one can easily find similar flavors available in both ice cream and soft serve varieties.
Gelato, commonly known as Italian ice cream, is denser, smoother, and richer than American ice cream. It uses less cream and more milk than ice cream. It is churned at a slower rate than ice cream which introduces less air into the product. Gelato is preserved at a slightly warmer temperature than ice cream. The flavours are more prominent in gelato than ice cream as it has less fat ratio.
While ice cream, soft serve, and gelato use milk, sugar, cream, eggs and whatnot, sorbet is a very simple frozen treat that does not use any dairy product. Fruit and sugar combine to create a rich, delicious frozen dessert in this water-based delicacy. Less air is introduced in this mixture which lends a dense texture. Any type of fruit and syrup can be used to make a perfect sorbet delight. Soft herbs like mint or basil are blended together with the fruit and sugar syrup to make the sorbet more refreshing. Zest of fruits, edible flowers, or grounded spice can be seen in some sorbet recipes to make it more fancy. To make sorbet healthier, only fruit pulp can be used which would result in granita, which is icier in texture than sorbet.
Easy sorbet at home
Blend watermelon cubes, sugar and lime juice all together and let it set in the freezer for a couple of hours. Blend the mixture again and again every two hours for less than 30 seconds. Serve it with fresh mint leaves on top when it reaches your desired texture. Fresh berries, pineapple, grapes and melons with citrus fruits are always perfect for sorbet.
