Ice Creams
The nutritional value of ice cream depends principally on the levels of cream or milk it contains. Although
cream and milk supply vitamins and calcium, they also supply a lot of saturated fat. Other ingredients include sugar and flavourings, to which stabilizers and emulsifiers may be added to improve the ice cream’s durability.
Although ice cream has a bad reputation because of its high fat content, an average cone or scoop of ice cream may supply just 130-150 calories. Besides tasting good, it generally contains vitamins A, riboflavin (B2) and B12, and provides calcium, needed for strong and bones and teeth. Its protein content is similar to milk.
100 gm of Ice Cream has,
|
Type |
Energy (calories) |
Fat (g) |
Protein (g) |
Calcium (mg) |
Carbohydrate (g) |
|
Diary, vanilla |
194 |
9.8 |
3.6 |
130 |
24.4 |
|
Diary, Flavoured |
179 |
8.0 |
3.5 |
110 |
24.7 |
|
Non-diary, vanilla |
178 |
8.7 |
3.2 |
120 |
23.1 |
|
Non-diary, flavoured |
166 |
7.4 |
3.1 |
120 |
23.2 |
|
Reduced calorie |
119 |
6.0 |
3.4 |
120 |
13.7 |
Fat Content
Ice creams can be graded by their fat content with levels ranging from 5 to 15 percent. Anything containing less than 5 percent fat cannot be called ice cream and must be termed ‘frozen dessert’. There are some frozen desserts available now which look and taste similar to ice cream but contain as little as 1 percent fat.
‘Premium’ ice creams usually contain more fat, are less aerated than standard products, and use better quality flavourings such as real fruit.
A diary of ice cream contains milk fat only; if other fats are used, the words ‘contain non-milk far’ or ‘contains vegetable fat’ must appear prominently on the label.
Both diary and non-diary ice cream contain high levels of saturated fat which has been linked with heart disease. The latest recommendations from the Department of Health suggest that saturated fats should make up no more than 10 percent of all calories consumed. It is therefore best to eat ice cream in moderation, or to choose the low fat brands.
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