Hand Dipped Ice Cream Vs. Soft Serve Ice Cream

In the debate of hand dipped ice cream versus soft serve ice cream, the richness, freshness, and quality of hand dipped is victorious. Hand dipped ice cream is made from premium dairy ingredients to produce a rich, thick dessert with a lot of flavor and texture. Soft serve ice cream comes from a pre-mix and contains many fillers and preservatives. Hand-dipped ice cream has enhanced flavors that mix well with add-ins and toppings, and the dessert can be enjoyed over a longer period of time

Soft serve pre-mix

Typically, soft serve ice cream comes from a pre-mix. There are several types of mixes including fresh liquid, powdered mix, and ultra heat-treated mix. Bacterial contamination is a risk for all types of soft serve mix, particularly fresh liquid because of its short shelf life. Handlers must use caution with pre-mix to maintain the quality of this product. Both powdered and ultra heat treated mixes can last for long periods of time without spoiling.

Pre-mixed soft serve is added to the mixing machine storage chamber and combined with a specific air quality. Then, the mix is moved to the freezing chamber either with a pump or by gravity. After this process, the dessert is churned, quickly frozen, and stored until it is ready to be eaten.

Hand dipped ice cream is created completely from scratch with fresh ingredients and is mixed and frozen in a sanitary environment and is ready to serve.

Fillers and preservatives in soft serve ice cream

This process of using a pre-mix and serving the product from a machine means more fillers and preservatives are in soft serve than are found in hand dipped ice cream. Besides milk, sugar, whey, and cream, there are many other ingredients in soft serve including calcium sulfate, polysorbate 80, Xanthan gum, and magnesium hydroxide. Other common ingredients in this dessert include corn syrup solids, potassium sorbate, guar gum, sodium phosphate, soy or soya lecithin, carrageenan, and artificial flavors. These additional ingredients can make up as much as five percent of the final product. Hand dipped ice cream can be made from all natural ingredients.

Flavors of hand-dipped and soft serve ice cream

Typically soft serve is available in three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and vanilla-chocolate swirl. However, there are also other flavors including a chocolate-dipped hard shell or strawberry syrup. With these, you are guaranteed that the flavors are largely, if not entirely, artificial.

There is no limit to the number of possible hand dipped ice cream flavors. Hand dipped combinations are endless and you can include them into other desserts like milkshakes or ice cream cakes. Many dessert companies offer a huge list of standard flavors and a selection of seasonal or limited edition hand dipped flavors.

Add-ins, toppings, and flavor quality of hand-dipped and soft serve ice cream

You can add toppings to soft serve ice cream, such as the hardshells and syrups mentioned earlier. Yet, the flavor is already so thinned with air that you are simply masking a weak ice cream flavor with an artificial flavor.

In comparison, hand dipped ice cream toppings enhance the delicious flavor to take the dessert to the next level. For example, a peanut butter cookie dough hand dipped flavor starts with a rich peanut butter flavored base. Then the frozen treat is topped with more peanut butter and a rich chocolate syrup. A brownie sundae flavor has a caramel drizzle topping to complete the taste experience.

Slow down and enjoy hand-dipped ice cream

Finally, hand dipped ice cream is created with the intention of giving people the chance to sit down and enjoy a rich treat. A soft serve cone may only please a person’s short-term craving. Soft-serve cannot compare to the experience of savoring a bowl of your favorite hand dipped ice cream flavor. Whether you are on a romantic date or treating a softball team after a big game, you will enjoy every minute of your hand dipped ice cream.

If you would like more information about premium ice cream products, call KaleidoScoops today at (877) 426-8488. Get The Scoop on becoming part of the KaleidoScoops cooperative. You can also connect with us via email by clicking on Contact Us.