Light and Luscious Ice Cream

Ice cream is a favorite American treat. We love all kinds of flavors, all kinds of ways -- in cones, sundaes, and shakes and atop pie, cobbler, and cake.

One thing we don't love about ice cream is how fattening it can be. But thanks to new churning technologies being used by manufacturers such as Dreyer's/Edy's, Breyers, and Häagen-Dazs, we can now enjoy the taste of super-creamy ice cream for a fraction of the fat and calories. (Of course, you'll still need to keep portions reasonable if you want to keep calories under control.)

Ice cream manufacturers have long been in search of a healthier frozen dessert with all the taste and texture of the full-fat product. For years, you've been able to find products lower in fat, sugar, calories, carbs, made from soy, or dairy-free, in your grocer's freezer case. And remember ice milk?

Yet many consumers felt the taste of most of these lighter products just didn't measure up. In the past, most lower-fat ice creams used lower-calorie ingredients, such as milk instead of cream, along with added gums, air, gels, and other ingredients to improve and stabilize the texture.

The Scoop on the New Technologies

Enter the new churning technologies, which enabled manufacturers to use the same ingredients as in full-fat ice creams while still reducing fat and calories.

In 2004, the largest ice cream manufacturer in the United States, Dreyer’s (Edy’s on the East Coast), introduced its top-secret method of blending. Its trademarked Slow Churned process allows the company to produce a premium-tasting ice cream with half the fat and one-third fewer calories.

"Our Slow Churned blending process pushes the fat molecules through a very small space, stretching them out so the ice cream tastes like it contains more fat," says Dreyers' Kim Goeller-Johnson. "In essence, a little fat goes a long way, allowing for the taste and texture of full-fat ice cream in a lower-fat product."

The process occurs at very low temperatures, which helps reduce the size of the fat and ice crystals. Thus, Dreyer's/Edy's can now make ice creams with around 5 grams of fat taste as rich as ones with 15 grams of fat. Today, the company offers more than 30 flavors in its Slow Churned line.

Other companies have since developed their own blending technologies. Häagen-Dazs uses "a proprietary European process of low-temperature blending" for its light ice creams, while Breyers' process churns the ice cream twice for a creamier texture. Breyers' Double Churned Extra Creamy products include regular as well as light flavors.

Read the Small Print

Even when purchasing one of the new light ice creams, it's important to read the small print on the label to determine how healthy the product really is, dietitians say.