Add blog post on ice cream science

content/blog/ice-cream-science.md

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+---
+title: Ice Cream Science for Starters
+date: 2023-11-16
+tags:
+  - food
+draft: true
+---
+
+I've recently fallen down the ice cream science rabbit hole.
+
+## What Makes a Good Ice Cream?
+
+Jeni Britton Bauer (of [Jeni's](https://jenis.com/) fame) [thinks there are
+four
+qualities](https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxenGxugerSnIvkm7u28uDK6H5GSpSBEUy)
+that make for good ice cream:
+
+1. Flavor
+   - Not just what you taste on your tongue, but also what you smell with your
+     nose (or even the nasal passage in the back of your mouth!)
+1. Texture
+   - How creamy or icy, smooth or gritty the ice cream feels between your
+     tongue and the roof of your mouth. A good ice cream typically has a
+     smooth, creamy texture with no detectable ice crystals or graininess.
+1. Body
+   - The structure and elasticity of the ice cream: how well the ice cream
+     holds its shape and scoops into a ball, and how evenly it melts. A good
+     body means that the ice cream is firm, holds its shape well, and melts
+     slowly and evenly. An ice cream with poor body might be too hard, too
+     soft, or melt too quickly.
+   - https://www.dairyscience.info/index.php/ice-cream/228-ice-cream-hardness.html
+1. Finish
+   - The aftertaste and "aftermouthfeel" of the ice cream after its been eaten.
+     A good finish has a pleasant aftertaste (where the flavors remain
+     enjoyable and don't become off-putting or too intense as they linger), and
+     leave the palate feeling clean and not oily or greasy.
+
+## The Components of Ice Cream
+
+Broadly speaking, there are eight components in ice cream: fat, sweeteners,
+milk solids, flavorings, emulsifiers, stabilizers, water and air.
+
+For a quick overview, take a look at [this guide from
+Underbelly.](https://under-belly.org/the-components-of-ice-cream) Here, I give
+a brief overview of each component.
+
+### Fat
+
+Fat impacts all four qualities!
+
+- **Flavor:** not only does fat (especially butterfat) taste good on its own,
+  but it also absorbs and delivers other flavors. Fat also stretches out the
+  intensity of the flavor (e.g. think about the difference between a strawberry
+  ice cream and a strawberry sorbet).
+- **Texture:** once churned, fat traps air globules, which lends a creamy
+  texture to the ice cream.
+
+- **Body**: fat makes the ice cream firmer and slows melting by stabilizing the
+  air bubbles
+as a solid chunk at cold temperatures, fat is rock hard (just think about frozen butter).
+- **Finish:** fat lingers on the palate after the ice cream has been eaten.
+
+Here is [a practical guide to fat in ice
+cream](https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/fat-in-ice-cream/) and
+[here is more science discussion on their
+role.](https://icecreamscience.com/role-fat-ice-cream/)
+
+### Sweeteners
+
+- **Flavor:** sugar is (rather famously) sweet, but not all sugars are equally
+  sweet. Ice cream makers estimate the _relative sweetness_ of sugars: that is,
+  their sweetness compared to sucrose.
+- **Texture:** sugar clings on to water, and the more water that clings onto
+  the proteins, the less "free water" there is to pool together and create
+  large ice crystals, thereby making the ice cream smoother.
+- **Body:** sugar lowers the freezing point of water, keeping some of the water
+  fluid below freezing temperatures --- more simply, it keeps the ice cream
+  soft and scoopable.
+
+- https://icecreamscience.com/sugar-in-ice-cream/
+- https://under-belly.org/sugars-in-ice-cream/
+- https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/sugar-in-ice-cream/
+- https://www.dairyscience.info/index.php/ice-cream/220-ice-cream-sweetness.html
+
+### Proteins (or milk solids non-fat a.k.a. MSNF)
+
+- **Texture:** as proteins (usually, casein and whey from the dairy) denature
+  and unfurl they cling on to water --- similar to how sugars do, and with a
+  similar effect (smoother ice cream).
+
+- https://icecreamscience.com/protein-in-ice-cream/
+
+### Flavorings
+
+- **Flavor:** duh!
+
+- https://under-belly.org/introduction-to-flavor/
+
+### Emulsifiers
+
+- https://under-belly.org/ice-cream-emulsifiers/
+- https://icecreamscience.com/why-are-emulsifiers-used-in-ice-cream/
+- https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/using-emulsifiers-ice-cream/
+
+### Stabilizers
+
+- https://icecreamscience.com/stabilizers-ice-cream/
+- https://under-belly.org/ice-cream-stabilizers/
+- https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/using-stabilizers-ice-cream/
+
+### Water
+
+- https://under-belly.org/ice-cream-solids-water-ice/
+- https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/ice-in-ice-cream/
+
+### Air 
+
+- **Texture and Flavor:** the less air in ice cream, the denser it feels in
+  your mouth (and therefore, the richer and creamier it tastes).
+- https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/air-in-ice-cream/