With June just a few days away and the summer solstice fast approaching, we’re already in the thick of the prime season for ice cream consumption, and its star ingredient is, quite literally, milk.
We’ve already moved on from the yoghurt ice cream craze; for a few years, everyone was eating the same ice cream, with the only variation being a few toppings that made for a highly profitable combination for brands that grew at breakneck speed. But traditional ice cream parlours also capitalised on that craze and gained significant momentum, which enabled many to stay in business and consolidate their position.
Today, ice cream is no longer a seasonal product as it was a decade ago, and its peak consumption in summer is extraordinary, giving an extra boost to milk production and transport and helping to absorb a supply that sometimes exceeds demand.
We all think that milk gives ice cream its characteristic flavour, nutrients and creaminess, but it also provides functional molecules that are essential for the production and preservation of ice cream, for which fats and proteins are responsible.
Good milk for ice cream production would be milk with good organoleptic characteristics and consistent, constant protein levels across all production batches. In this way, the same production process will result in a predictable flavour and texture in line with consumer expectations.
To achieve this, it is important to maintain processes and supply points, whilst ensuring that milk is transported with the utmost care so as not to alter its properties. We have previously discussed here how we collect milk from farms, as well as the strict temperature controls required during milk handling and storage times.
A change in the properties of the milk can ruin entire production batches of dairy products, such as ice cream, altering crucial aspects like flavour and consistency, with significant costs in terms of product loss and damage to reputation.
This has been the work of Sr. Concejo
