Soft serve ice cream is a lighter and creamier version of traditional ice cream, often served in swirls with a variety of toppings and flavors. Its origins are disputed, but it is commonly found in burger joints and diners. Soft serve is lower in fat and served at a hotter temperature than regular ice cream, and is often seen as a special treat to be enjoyed on the spot.
Soft serve ice cream is a type of ice cream that is blended in a machine and dispensed upon request. Automatic mixing includes a step that integrates a large amount of air into the ice cream, resulting in a product that is much lighter in texture and flavor than regular ice cream, and the result is characteristically soft and creamy, rather than hard, like traditional ice cream. . Soft serve is especially common in burger joints and diners and can be found in many regions of the world, with a variety of toppings and in an assortment of flavors.
It’s a bit difficult to give credit for the discovery of soft serve ice cream. The Dairy Queen Corporation claims it invented it in Illinois in 1938, with the company claiming it was developed so people could experience the texture and flavor of ice cream fresh out of the batch freezer. If you’ve been lucky enough to taste ice cream from the batch freezer before it was frozen, you may be familiar with the incredibly rich, creamy flavor and smooth texture. However, rival claims suggest that this ice cream was developed by a team of cost-cutting British scientists who wanted to figure out a method to increase the amount of air in ice cream, thus making it cheaper to produce and sell.
As you can imagine, the defining characteristic of soft serve ice cream is that it is soft. It’s often served in the form of a swirl, with people swirling a cone or cup under the machine to create a tower of ice cream with a fluffy swirl on top. Soft serve is also much lower in fat than conventional ice cream, due to the higher air content, and has a lighter flavor. It’s also served at a much hotter temperature than conventional ice cream, and this can enhance the flavor.
You may also hear of soft serve ice cream called Creamee, soft serve ice cream or soft-cream, depending on where you are in the world. Vanilla is probably the smoothest classic taste, but chocolate and strawberry can often be found. More exotic flavors include sesame, green tea, coffee and lychee; many Asian nations have many experimental tastes of soft serve.
One of the most appealing aspects of soft serve ice cream, in the eyes of many fans, is that it’s ephemeral. It generally tastes best straight out of the machine and doesn’t take long to freeze, forcing people to enjoy it on the spot. It also can’t be made at home, unless you have a pressurized machine, so some people see it as a special treat only eaten when dining out.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN