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in their late book entitled "The Technical Control of Dairy Prodncts," state that standardization is usually understood to mean either the raising or the lowering of either or both the fat or solids-not-fat content of all dairy products to a certain fixed standard. If the phrase "as set by law were added to this definition the term would no doubt be strictly correct; but since the "fixed standard" varies with practically every individual plant, the term "modify" would seem more appropriate. "Standardizing" in this paper will refer to the preparation of an ice-cream mix of a definite and fixed composition and to fixed methods of handling the ice-cream mix until it is ready for the freezer.

As the ice-cream industry progressed in the United States a need was felt for laws which would govern the amount of butterfat that the mix should contain. In 1906 the United States Department of Agriculture (2) defined ice cream as follows: "Ice cream is a frozen product made from cream and sugar, with or without a natural flavoring, and containing not less than 14 per cent of milk fat. Fruit and nut ice cream must contain not less than 12 per cent of milk fat." While no laws were ever passed by the Federal Government which would make the above composition legal, many of the States passed laws adopting these standards. Other States adopted standards of their own.

The early manufacturers paid little attention to the chemical composition of their ice-cream mix. They followed a set formula by which they prepared their mix, which consisted of a definite number of gallons of cream, milk, or skim milk, a definite number of pounds of sugar, and if gelatin or vegetable gum was used it was perhaps weighed. Seldom did the manufacturers give any attention to the pounds of butterfat which went into the mix, the result being a very ununiform product. With enforced fat standards the icecream manufacturer was compelled to give attention to this point. The wide-awake manufacturer was prompt to see the advantage of making an ice-cream mix of definite per cent of butterfat. It made it possible for him to buy milk and cream on a butterfat basis, which enabled him to keep more accurate cost accounts. Ice cream became more uniform, and the public, learning this fact, slowly developed a better liking for the product. As business grew, competition became keener and more rigid cost accounts developed. The butterfat content was often cut, as this item was the most costly of the basic products making up the mix. Ice-cream manufacturers organized and were quick to complain against the high fat standards which had been adopted by many of the States. In a few States they were able to hold the butterfat standard to a lower limit.

As time went on the idea developed that a high-grade product might be made by substituting milk solids not fat for the butterfat in ice cream. This idea spread, developing the opinion that the icecream manufacturer should not only give thought to the butterfat contained in his ice cream but he should give attention to the milk solids not fat, the total solids, the sugar, filler, flavors, and binder content. The result in the United States has been a varied composition ice-cream mix which has brought to our attention two questions which shall be reviewed in this paper, namely:

1. What should be the composition of the ice-cream mix?

2. Should the methods of manufacturing ice cream be standardized?

WHAT SHOULD BE THE COMPOSITION OF ICE CREAM?

At present the composition of ice cream in any locality depends largely on several important factors, namely, (1) the per cent of fat required by the State law; (2) the quality of ice cream demanded by the public; (3) ease by which the milk products are obtained.

The manufacturer is compelled to give attention to the composition of the ice-cream mix in those States having laws governing the per cent of one or more ingredients. The following table lists the States and Territorial possessions of the United States, giving their legal butterfat and gelatin standards for ice cream:

TABLE 1.-Legal standards of butterfat and gelatin in ice cream.

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NOTE.

The above standards are correct on date of October 1, 1923, according to the offices in the various States having the enforcement of the laws in charge. In those States or possessions where no reply was received the name of the State or possession is followed by an asterisk (*). The remainder of the report was made up from Melvin, A. D., Legal Standard for Dairy Products, United States Department of Agriculture, 1916. If a space is left blank, no standard exists. North Carolina permits what it terms "compound ice cream" which may contain 4 per cent butterfat and must be labeled compound ice cream."

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The above standards represent the combined opinion of many individuals, a large number of whom were, no doubt, trained dairy specialists. We should, therefore, be in a position to select at least a butterfat standard for ice cream by making a study of these requirements. However, this does not seem to be possible after it is observed how the State standards vary, ranging from 7 to 14 per

cent.

From the above table, 41 of the States in the Union have butterfat standards for ice cream, with an average of 10.22 per cent required. That a high per cent of fat is still favored is pointed out by the fact that 26.83 per cent of the States have a 14 per cent butterfat standard on plain ice cream and 58.52 require 10 per cent or above. The National Ice Cream Makers Association's recommendation of an 8 per cent standard has been adopted by 39 per cent of the States having fat standards. It must be realized also that in the revision of State standards in no case has the fat standard been raised above the 14 per cent standard, but in one case, Missouri, the standard was lowered from 14 and 12 per cent to 8 per cent.

Ice cream is defined by the National Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers (2) as follows:

First. Ice cream is a frozen compound, varied as to kind and proportion of ingredients within the limits established by custom and usage.

Second. Ice cream consists chiefly of a sweetened and flavored mixture of cream, or cream and milk, or milk, with or without added milk fat in the form of evaporated or concentrated milk or in milk powder, and with or without added milk solids not fat in the form of skim-milk powder or as contained in milk powder or in condensed, evaporated, or concentrated skim milk, or of a sweetened and flavored homogenized or emulsified mixture of sound, sweet butter, milk powder, or skim-milk powder, and water, with the addition of gelatin, vegetable gum, or other wholesome stabilizer.

Third. Standard ice cream contains not less than 8 per cent milk fat and the content of milk fat and milk solids not fat combined shall not be less than 18 per cent, except when the ingredients of standard ice cream include eggs, fruit, or fruit juice, cocoa or chocolate, cake, confections, or nuts such reduction of the percentage of milk fat and milk solids not fat as may be due to the addition of such ingredients shall be allowed.

The law in New Jersey which became effective in October, 1922, defines ice cream as follows:

Ice cream is hereby defined as the frozen product made from cream with the addition of milk, or milk products, or eggs, fruit juices, or nuts, with or without sugar or artificial flavoring or colors. It shall contain not less than 8 per cent of milk fats, except when the ingredients include fruit, nuts, or eggs, in which case it shall contain not less than 6 per cent of milk fats.

The above definition is probably typical of the definitions which have been written into the State laws during the past few years.

Earlier definitions were more like the definitions given by the United States Department of Agriculture. In many States the milk solids not fat in ice cream have come into consideration. In the States of Washington, New York, Indiana, and Tennessee ice cream must contain 18 per cent of milk fats and milk solids not fat and in the State of Kansas 20 per cent total milk solids are required. The State of Montana has a law requiring 33 per cent of total solids in ice cream and Oklahoma requires 32.5 per cent of total solids.

In discussing fat standards for ice cream in 1917, R. M. Washburn (3) states that a standard composition for ice cream should be based upon the needs of ice cream as a food. He states that a standard of 9 or 10 per cent is sufficient for all useful purposes and that a high fat is only a national waste. In a later article Washburn (4) concludes that the fat percentage in plain ice cream should be 10 per cent, and in fruit and nut ice creams 8 per cent. In this article he compares ice cream to milk, stating that the nutritive ratio of average milk is 1:3.7 and that ice cream should come nearer to this proportion if it is to serve as a food for all purposes. The compositions cited by Washburn show ice cream containing 14 per cent of fat to have a nutritive ratio of 1: 17.1, while ice cream containing 9.4 per cent fat has a nutritive ratio of 1:6. In 1923 Washburn (5) points out that a 3.25 per cent milk contains 2.65 per cent pounds serum solids for every pound of fat and that 27.38 per cent of the total solids is fat. He shows that a 10 per cent fat and 36 per cent total solids ice cream has 2.60 to 1.in ratio of serum solids to fat, and 27.77 per cent fat in total solids.

When addressing the Illinois Ice Cream Manufacturers' Association Mr. H. A. Ruehe (6) states that we have various opinions as to what the fat content of ice cream should be. A few consumers would have ice cream contain 14 to 18 per cent butterfat; on the other hand, there are some manufacturers who feel that 8 per cent is sufficient. There is no doubt but that there should be sufficient butterfat present in ice cream to give it richness of flavor, which is most desirable. On the other hand, there is no need for an excessively high fat content. He concludes that the ice-cream mix should contain 10 to 12 per cent of butterfat, to give the richness desired by most consumers, and a total solid content of 34 to 36 per cent, depending on the processes to which the mix is subjected.

With a view of settling the question regarding the consumption of ice cream containing a high and a low fat content, A. D. Burke (7) prepared two tables of statistics. In his first table he shows the gallons of ice cream consumed in each State, the population, and the pounds of ice cream consumed per capita when the percentage of fat in both plain and fruit ice cream is relatively high. In his other table the same items are shown when the percentage of fat in both plain and fruit ice cream is relatively low. He points out that the States that have the largest population required the lowest fat standard in ice cream, and that there was the greatest average consumption of ice cream per capita in the States which required the low standards. In the States where a high standard is demanded. consumption runs very close to 5 pounds per capita per State per year; whereas, in those States where the fat standard is low the

pounds of ice cream consumed per capita per year amount to approximately 7 pounds, or about 2 pounds more than in those States having a low standard. He does not discuss the figures or attempt to prove their worth.

To show the public's preference for ice creams of various richness in butterfat, sweetness, and firmness, O. E. Williams and G. R. Campbell (8), of the United States Department of Agriculture, made ice creams of different compositions and sold them on a market where about 50 daily purchasers had an opportunity to choose from three different kinds without knowing anything about the ingredients contained. Eighty-two per cent of the purchasers favored ice cream that contained 18 per cent of fat; 10.4 per cent chose that containing 15 per cent, and 7.6 per cent selected the ice cream containing 12 per cent. More than 60 per cent chose ice cream containing 19 per cent sugar; nearly 30 per cent preferred a sugar content of 16 per cent, and 10 per cent selected the product with 13 per cent sugar. The preference for different proportions of solids not fat was tested in ice cream made to contain 10 per cent of fat. More than 50 per cent of the 1,185 total sales were in favor of the ice cream containing 12 per cent milk solids not fat and more than 80 per cent of the sales were in favor of ice cream containing at least 9 per cent milk solids not fat. The largest majority, 63 per cent, preferred 1 per cent of gelatin, nearly 14 per cent preferred 0.5 per cent gelatin, and 23 per cent preferred no gelatin in ice cream.

A. S. Ambrose (9), after conducting an experiment upon the effect of composition of the mix upon the quality of ice cream in which he compared ice cream ranging in fat from 8 to 14 per cent and in milk solids not fat from 6 to 18 per cent, came to the following conclusions:

In general a good commercial ice cream can be made with from 10 to 12 per cent of milk solids not fat and 8 to 14 per cent butterfat. An excellent quality ice cream was obtained with a 12 per cent butterfat and 12 per cent milk solids not fat.

In order to secure first-hand information regarding the composition of ice cream, ingredients used, and methods practiced in our principal ice-cream factories, the writer sent the following question sheet to about 100 prominent factories in different localities in the United States:

QUESTIONS.

1. Gallons ice cream made in 1922.

2. Do you use an ice-cream mix of a definite composition?

3. Do you use any condensed milk in your mix? (State the kind.)

4. Why do you use the condensed milk?

(Please state fully.)

5. Do you use powdered milk of any kind in your mix?

6. State why you use powdered milk in your mix? (Please state fully.)

7. Do you use any kind of stabilizer, such as gelatin, gum, tragacanth, Irish or Iceland moss? (Name stabilizer.)

8. Do you use any kind of filler such as cornstarch, rice flour, arrow-root, wheat flour, and eggs? (Name filler.)

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