20 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 287 



flavor was drawn into the .syrup but the degree of flavor in the combined fruit 

 and syrup remained unchanged. 



Effect of Slicing or Crushing Berries Before Freezing 



Since ice cream makers have used both crushed and sHced fruit as well as 

 whole, it seemed advisable to determine what effect these methods of treating 

 the fruit before freezing had on the finished pack as well as on ice cream. The 

 appearance of the crushed berries after thawing was not desirable, and more 

 surface discoloration was evident than with whole fruit. Although the majority 

 of those criticising the samples of ice cream made from whole and crushed fruit 

 could not differentiate between them, nevertheless, the more experienced judges 

 invariably preferred those samples made from the whole fruit. 



Slicing berries into thirds or quarters gave better results than crushing the 

 fruit. The sliced fruit showed no greater surface discoloration during storage 

 than whole fruit. Though less syrup was evident in the thawed sliced fruit samples 

 due to the finer division of the fruit through the syrup, still, very little quality 

 difference was found between ice cream made from whole or sliced berries. A 

 slight preference was shown for the ice cream flavored with the sliced berries, 

 but this difference alone was not enough to ju.stify the extra expense involved 

 in the preparation of the fruit. 



Comparison of Fresh and Frozen Fruit 



Fresh fruit is usually considered the best possible source of fruit flavor- 

 Though fresh fruit ice creams in season always have a strong sales appeal, yet 

 it is by no means proved that preserved fruits may not surpass the fresh in suita- 

 bility. 



Comparisons were made between fresh fruit which was mixed with sugar 

 and immediately used in ice cream and fruit of the same variety and similarly 

 prepared but held for 24 hours at 40° F. That which was held 24 hours before 

 use in ice cream imparted considerably more fruit flavor. During the holding 

 period the sugar syrup, through osmotic action, extracted much of the flavor 

 from the fruit. This resulted in a finer flavored ice cream. The same action 

 occurs in frozen fruit packed with sugar. Frozen fruit held for one year at 10- 

 15° F. was found to be a satisfactory substitute for the fresh. When ice cream 

 samples of both were compared, only the more discriminating judges could differ- 

 entiate between those flavored with frozen fruit and with fresh fruit. 



The Amount of Fruit to Use in Ice Cream 



The percentage of fruit used affects not only the flavor of ice cream lint the 

 body and texture and rate of freezing as well. Therefore this factor should re- 

 ceive careful consideration by the manufacturer. 



Strawberry ice cream was made, using from 6 to 20 per cent of fruit. The ice 

 cream became progressively more desirable in flavor up to about 15 per cent. 

 Above 15 per cent, very little increase in fruit flavor was detected, and a coarsen- 

 ing and weakening of the texture and body of the ice cream was evident. These 

 defects actually detracted somewhat from the flavor because the product deteri- 

 orated more rapidly in storage than the ice creams containing less fruit. 



The concentration of sugar and other soluble solids was also increased in 

 proportion to the amount of fruit used. This resulted in weak-bodied ice cream, 

 which was soft at ordinary cabinet temperatures, if more than 15 per cent of 

 frozen fruit of the 2:1 ratio were used. 



The data in Table 8 show the effect of the amount of fruit upon the freezing 

 properties of strawberry ice cream. Increasing the fruit to about 15 per cent was 



