For the software development company, see SoftServe.
Soft serve, also known as soft ice, is a frozen dessert, similar to ice cream, but softer and less dense due to air being introduced during freezing. Soft serve has been sold commercially since the late 1930s in the United States.[1]
Soft serve in an ice cream cone
In the United States, soft serve is not typically sold prepackaged in supermarkets but is common at fairs, carnivals, amusement parks, restaurants (especially fast food and buffet), and specialty shops. All ice cream must be frozen quickly to avoid crystal growth. With soft serve, this is accomplished by a special machine that holds pre-mixed product at a very low, but not frozen, temperature at the point of sale.
Charles Taylor of Buffalo, New York, patented an automatic ice cream maker in 1926 that is reported to be the first soft-serve ice cream machine. His Taylor Company continues to manufacture the McDonald's ice cream machine.
Over Memorial Day weekend of 1934, Tom Carvel, the founder of the Carvel brand and franchise, suffered a flat tire in his ice cream truck in Hartsdale, New York. He pulled into a parking lot and began selling his melting ice cream to vacationers driving by. Within two days, he had sold his entire supply of ice cream and concluded that both a fixed location and soft (as opposed to hard) frozen desserts were potentially good business ideas.[2] In 1936, Carvel opened his first store on the original broken down truck site and developed a secret soft serve ice cream formula as well as patented super low temperature ice cream machines.[3]
Dairy Queen also claims to have invented soft serve. In 1938, near Moline, Illinois, J. F. McCullough and his son, Alex, developed their soft serve formula.[4] Their first sales experiment was on August 4, 1938, in Kankakee, Illinois, at the store of their friend, Sherb Noble. Within two hours of the "all you can eat" trial sale, they had dished out more than 1,600 servings—more than once every 4.5 seconds.[5]
It is a common myth that during the late 1940s, future UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher worked briefly as a chemist for a food manufacturer J. Lyons and Co., at a time when the company had partnered with the United States distributor Mister Softee and was developing a soft-serve recipe that was compatible with the American machines.[6] Thatcher's precise role at Lyons is unclear, but she is reported to have worked on the quality of cake and pie fillings as well as ice-cream, and researched saponification.
In the 1960s, ice cream machine manufacturers introduced mechanized air pumps into vending machines, providing better aeration.[6]
CharacteristicsEdit
A mixture of chocolate and vanilla soft serve being dispensed, a flavor colloquially referred to as swirl or twist
Soft serve is generally lower in milk-fat (3 to 6 per cent) than ice cream (10 to 18 per cent) and is produced at a temperature of about −4 °C (25 °F) compared to ice cream, which is stored at −15 °C (5 °F). Soft serve contains air, introduced at the time of freezing. The air content, called overrun, can vary from 0 to 60 per cent of the total volume of the finished product. The amount of air alters the taste of the finished product. Product with low quantities of air has a heavy, icy taste and appears more yellow.[7] Ice cream with higher air content tastes creamier, smoother, and lighter and appears whiter. The optimum quantity of air is determined by other ingredients, if any, and individual taste. Generally, the ideal air content should be between 33 and 45 per cent of volume. If more than this, the product loses taste, tends to shrink as it loses air, and melts more quickly than that with less air. With less than 33 to 45 per cent, the product will not melt as quickly but will not taste good.
Some soft serve forms, like many other processed foods, contain palm oil.
Ice cream and similar products must be frozen quickly to avoid crystal growth. Moreover, when the soft serve is stored below freezing temperature after dispensing for a substantial time, it will soon freeze solid. Thus, to sell and consume soft serve in its most palatable state, it must be prepared by a special machine at the point of sale. Pre-mixed product (see definitions below) is introduced to the storage chamber of the machine where it is kept at 3 °C (37 °F). When the product is drawn from the draw valve, a fresh mix combined with the targeted quantity of air is introduced to the freezing chamber by gravity or pump. It is then churned, quickly frozen, and stored until required.
While the most basic machines only dispense one flavor of the mix at a time, specific models of soft-serve machines have an additional nozzle that dispenses a mixture of two different flavors simultaneously. This mixture emerges in a distinct swirl pattern. Its distinctive flavor on menus is classified as swirl or twist.
Pre-mix can be obtained in several forms:
Fresh liquid that requires constant refrigeration until needed. It can be stored for 5 to 7 days before bacteria spoil it. Bacterial contamination can severely compromise quality, and handlers must exercise caution to maintain quality.
A powdered mix. This is a dried version of the liquid mixture. It has the advantage of easy distribution and can be stored for long periods without spoiling. Water must be added before being churned and frozen. The disadvantage is that water quality cannot be guaranteed, and some operators can put too much water in to make it go further. It should also be refrigerated to 3 °C (37 °F) before use, as airborne and waterborne bacteria can infect it immediately and proliferate if the product is warm. Residual bacteria in the refrigerated storage compartment can also be activated by introducing warm products.
Ultra heat treated mix, a liquid that has been sterilized and packed in sealed, sterile bags. It can last very long without refrigeration and can be poured into the soft serve freezer immediately upon opening. However, it should be refrigerated to 3 °C (37 °F) before use for the same reasons mentioned above. When opening, quality can be guaranteed, and bacterial counts are zero. Where it is available, health authorities consider it the safest form of soft serve mix on the market. It was first developed for commercial use in New Zealand in 1988 in a joint venture between Tatua Foods, a dairy company, and Bernie Cook, owner of Blue Boy, a mobile franchise network.
TerminologyEdit
Various terms are used to refer to soft-serve ice cream:
A 99 cone ice cream, served with its namesake flakeA maple Creemee served in a waffle cone with added maple sprinkles
99 or 99 Flake technically refers to soft-serve ice cream served in a cone with a Cadbury's Flake, but soft serve is sometimes simply referred to as "a 99" or "a cone" in Ireland and the UK.
American ice cream (גלידה אמריקאית, ISO 259: Glīḏåh ʾÅmȩrīqåʾīṯ, ISO 259-3: Glida ʔameriqáˀit) is the term used in Israel.
American ice cream (ماري كريم in Arabic) is the term used in Lebanon.
Candy (with Spanish pronunciation) is the term used in Argentina. It can be found in nearly all ice cream parlors.
Cream ice cream (krémfagylalt) is the term sometimes used in Hungary.
Creemee is a term popular in Vermont[8] and other parts of northern New England. Commonly made with maple syrup.[9]
Crème glacée molle is the term used in Quebec and, more broadly, French Canada.
Hard serve, is a term used in New England and elsewhere in the United States to distinguish conventional "hard" ice cream from soft serve.[10]
Italian ice cream (glace à l'italienne (France), sorvete italiano (Brazil), lody włoskie (Poland)) are the terms used in France, Brazil and Poland.
Lucky cream is the term used in Syria.
Machine ice cream (helado de maquina (Dominican Republic), inghetata la dozator (Romania), сладолед от машина (Bulgaria), παγωτό μηχανής (pagōtó mīchanís; Greece), gépifagyi (Hungary) is the term used in the Dominican Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary.
Merry Cream is the term used in Lebanon.
Mr. Whippy is a term used in the United Kingdom and Australia, or a 99 if a chocolate flake is added (99 Flake), mainly when sold from an ice cream van.
Softcream (ソフトクリーム, sofutokuriimu) is used to describe an analogous product in Japan, that can be either savory or sweet, with uniquely Asian flavors such as powdered tea, wasabi, sesame, ume or plum, rose, kabocha or Japanese pumpkin, peach, and grape, among others.
Pehmis, short for pehmytjäätelö (soft ice cream) is a genericized trademark of Nestlé used in Finland.
Semi-frozen (semi-frio) is the term used in Portugal.
Soft iceSofteis (Germany), softijs (Netherlands and Flanders), softis (Norway & Iceland) is the term used in Norway, Iceland, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and several other places in Europe.
^"The DQ Team". Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
^"Dairy Queen History". from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
^ abPhipps, Claire. "Was Margaret Thatcher part of a team that invented Mr. Whippy?". The Guardian. from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
^"Utah Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine Rental". Utah Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine Rental. from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
^Hallenbeck, Brent; McCullum, April; Syed, Maleeha (May 27, 2021). "In search of the most dreamy creemee in Vermont". The Burlington Free Press. Gannett. from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^Whitham, Clover (January 27, 2015). "Homemade ice cream licks the competition, year-round". Burlington Free Press. from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
^"About Baskin-Robbins: America's Favorite Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop" (Press release). Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. October 2014. from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021. According to The NPD Group / CREST®, for the year ending December 2013, BaskinRobbins is one of the leading chains for Hard Serve Ice Cream in QSR.
^"ไอศครีม". Snowboy. from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
External linksEdit
Media related to Soft serve at Wikimedia Commons
August 26, 2023
soft, serve, software, development, company, softserve, also, known, soft, frozen, dessert, similar, cream, softer, less, dense, being, introduced, during, freezing, been, sold, commercially, since, late, 1930s, united, states, cream, conein, united, states, s. For the software development company see SoftServe Soft serve also known as soft ice is a frozen dessert similar to ice cream but softer and less dense due to air being introduced during freezing Soft serve has been sold commercially since the late 1930s in the United States 1 Soft serve in an ice cream coneIn the United States soft serve is not typically sold prepackaged in supermarkets but is common at fairs carnivals amusement parks restaurants especially fast food and buffet and specialty shops All ice cream must be frozen quickly to avoid crystal growth With soft serve this is accomplished by a special machine that holds pre mixed product at a very low but not frozen temperature at the point of sale Contents 1 History 2 Characteristics 3 Terminology 4 Gallery 4 1 Soft serve in a cup 4 2 Soft serve in waffle cone 4 3 Soft serve machine 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditCharles Taylor of Buffalo New York patented an automatic ice cream maker in 1926 that is reported to be the first soft serve ice cream machine His Taylor Company continues to manufacture the McDonald s ice cream machine Over Memorial Day weekend of 1934 Tom Carvel the founder of the Carvel brand and franchise suffered a flat tire in his ice cream truck in Hartsdale New York He pulled into a parking lot and began selling his melting ice cream to vacationers driving by Within two days he had sold his entire supply of ice cream and concluded that both a fixed location and soft as opposed to hard frozen desserts were potentially good business ideas 2 In 1936 Carvel opened his first store on the original broken down truck site and developed a secret soft serve ice cream formula as well as patented super low temperature ice cream machines 3 Dairy Queen also claims to have invented soft serve In 1938 near Moline Illinois J F McCullough and his son Alex developed their soft serve formula 4 Their first sales experiment was on August 4 1938 in Kankakee Illinois at the store of their friend Sherb Noble Within two hours of the all you can eat trial sale they had dished out more than 1 600 servings more than once every 4 5 seconds 5 It is a common myth that during the late 1940s future UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher worked briefly as a chemist for a food manufacturer J Lyons and Co at a time when the company had partnered with the United States distributor Mister Softee and was developing a soft serve recipe that was compatible with the American machines 6 Thatcher s precise role at Lyons is unclear but she is reported to have worked on the quality of cake and pie fillings as well as ice cream and researched saponification In the 1960s ice cream machine manufacturers introduced mechanized air pumps into vending machines providing better aeration 6 Characteristics Edit A mixture of chocolate and vanilla soft serve being dispensed a flavor colloquially referred to as swirl or twistSoft serve is generally lower in milk fat 3 to 6 per cent than ice cream 10 to 18 per cent and is produced at a temperature of about 4 C 25 F compared to ice cream which is stored at 15 C 5 F Soft serve contains air introduced at the time of freezing The air content called overrun can vary from 0 to 60 per cent of the total volume of the finished product The amount of air alters the taste of the finished product Product with low quantities of air has a heavy icy taste and appears more yellow 7 Ice cream with higher air content tastes creamier smoother and lighter and appears whiter The optimum quantity of air is determined by other ingredients if any and individual taste Generally the ideal air content should be between 33 and 45 per cent of volume If more than this the product loses taste tends to shrink as it loses air and melts more quickly than that with less air With less than 33 to 45 per cent the product will not melt as quickly but will not taste good Some soft serve forms like many other processed foods contain palm oil Ice cream and similar products must be frozen quickly to avoid crystal growth Moreover when the soft serve is stored below freezing temperature after dispensing for a substantial time it will soon freeze solid Thus to sell and consume soft serve in its most palatable state it must be prepared by a special machine at the point of sale Pre mixed product see definitions below is introduced to the storage chamber of the machine where it is kept at 3 C 37 F When the product is drawn from the draw valve a fresh mix combined with the targeted quantity of air is introduced to the freezing chamber by gravity or pump It is then churned quickly frozen and stored until required While the most basic machines only dispense one flavor of the mix at a time specific models of soft serve machines have an additional nozzle that dispenses a mixture of two different flavors simultaneously This mixture emerges in a distinct swirl pattern Its distinctive flavor on menus is classified as swirl or twist Pre mix can be obtained in several forms Fresh liquid that requires constant refrigeration until needed It can be stored for 5 to 7 days before bacteria spoil it Bacterial contamination can severely compromise quality and handlers must exercise caution to maintain quality A powdered mix This is a dried version of the liquid mixture It has the advantage of easy distribution and can be stored for long periods without spoiling Water must be added before being churned and frozen The disadvantage is that water quality cannot be guaranteed and some operators can put too much water in to make it go further It should also be refrigerated to 3 C 37 F before use as airborne and waterborne bacteria can infect it immediately and proliferate if the product is warm Residual bacteria in the refrigerated storage compartment can also be activated by introducing warm products Ultra heat treated mix a liquid that has been sterilized and packed in sealed sterile bags It can last very long without refrigeration and can be poured into the soft serve freezer immediately upon opening However it should be refrigerated to 3 C 37 F before use for the same reasons mentioned above When opening quality can be guaranteed and bacterial counts are zero Where it is available health authorities consider it the safest form of soft serve mix on the market It was first developed for commercial use in New Zealand in 1988 in a joint venture between Tatua Foods a dairy company and Bernie Cook owner of Blue Boy a mobile franchise network Terminology EditVarious terms are used to refer to soft serve ice cream A 99 cone ice cream served with its namesake flake A maple Creemee served in a waffle cone with added maple sprinkles99 or 99 Flake technically refers to soft serve ice cream served in a cone with a Cadbury s Flake but soft serve is sometimes simply referred to as a 99 or a cone in Ireland and the UK American ice cream גלידה אמריקאית ISO 259 Gliḏah ʾAmȩriqaʾiṯ ISO 259 3 Glida ʔameriqaˀit is the term used in Israel American ice cream ماري كريم in Arabic is the term used in Lebanon Candy with Spanish pronunciation is the term used in Argentina It can be found in nearly all ice cream parlors Cream ice cream kremfagylalt is the term sometimes used in Hungary Creemee is a term popular in Vermont 8 and other parts of northern New England Commonly made with maple syrup 9 Creme glacee molle is the term used in Quebec and more broadly French Canada Hard serve is a term used in New England and elsewhere in the United States to distinguish conventional hard ice cream from soft serve 10 Italian ice cream glace a l italienne France sorvete italiano Brazil lody wloskie Poland are the terms used in France Brazil and Poland Lucky cream is the term used in Syria Machine ice cream helado de maquina Dominican Republic inghetata la dozator Romania sladoled ot mashina Bulgaria pagwto mhxanhs pagōto michanis Greece gepifagyi Hungary is the term used in the Dominican Republic Romania Bulgaria Greece and Hungary Merry Cream is the term used in Lebanon Mr Whippy is a term used in the United Kingdom and Australia or a 99 if a chocolate flake is added 99 Flake mainly when sold from an ice cream van Softcream ソフトクリーム sofutokuriimu is used to describe an analogous product in Japan that can be either savory or sweet with uniquely Asian flavors such as powdered tea wasabi sesame ume or plum rose kabocha or Japanese pumpkin peach and grape among others Pehmis short for pehmytjaatelo soft ice cream is a genericized trademark of Nestle used in Finland Semi frozen semi frio is the term used in Portugal Soft ice Softeis Germany softijs Netherlands and Flanders softis Norway amp Iceland is the term used in Norway Iceland Germany Denmark the Netherlands Belgium and several other places in Europe Soft ice cream mjukglass is the term used in Sweden Similarly Gelat tou is the term used in Andorra and Catalonia Spain Also in Greater China Chinese 软冰淇淋 pinyin ruǎn bingqilin Cantonese 軟雪糕 Jyutping jyun5 syut8 gou1 and Chinese 霜淇淋 are the terms used in Mainland China Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively Soft whipis the term used in Ireland When served in a cone with chocolate flake it is commonly referred to as a 99 Softee or softie is the term used in India Pakistan In Australia softees were popularized by desserts company Frosty Boy Ice cream Softserve or a more common term I Tim ixskhrim sxfesrif or ixtim in Thai are the terms used in Thailand 11 Gallery EditSoft serve in a cup Edit Soft serve in waffle cone Edit Soft serve machine Edit See also EditFrozen custard a style of egg and cream based frozen dessert often served similarly to soft serve Frozen yogurt a cultured frozen milk product that may have a naturally tart flavour Ice cream van Ice milk a less than 10 per cent milkfat type of frozen dessertReferences Edit The term soft serve dates from before 1959 New York Times June 22 1958 page F11 Carvel History Archived from the original on December 30 2011 About Tom Carvel Archived from the original on May 7 2013 The DQ Team Archived from the original on September 13 2012 Retrieved October 29 2011 Dairy Queen History Archived from the original on December 11 2014 Retrieved January 18 2013 a b Phipps Claire Was Margaret Thatcher part of a team that invented Mr Whippy The Guardian Archived from the original on September 6 2015 Retrieved September 2 2020 Utah Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine Rental Utah Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine Rental Archived from the original on October 26 2015 Retrieved August 20 2015 Hallenbeck Brent McCullum April Syed Maleeha May 27 2021 In search of the most dreamy creemee in Vermont The Burlington Free Press Gannett Archived from the original on April 24 2023 Retrieved April 13 2023 Whitham Clover January 27 2015 Homemade ice cream licks the competition year round Burlington Free Press Archived from the original on April 1 2023 Retrieved October 26 2020 About Baskin Robbins America s Favorite Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop Press release Dunkin Brands Group Inc October 2014 Archived from the original on November 23 2021 Retrieved November 23 2021 According to The NPD Group CREST for the year ending December 2013 BaskinRobbins is one of the leading chains for Hard Serve Ice Cream in QSR ixskhrim Snowboy Archived from the original on August 23 2019 Retrieved August 23 2019 External links Edit Media related to Soft serve at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Soft serve amp oldid 1170658883, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
