Ice Cream Vs. Frozen Yogurt

According to the USDA, 62.4% of U.S. production was regular ice cream in 2007, with low fat and non-fat ice cream at 25%, and frozen yogurt at 4.4%.

Ice Cream

Made from milk, concentrated fat-free milk, cream, and/or condensed milk, ice cream must have a minimum of 10 percent milk fat and 20 percent total milk solids by weight to meet federal standards. Labels must identify whether flavorings are natural or artificial.

Reduced-fat ice cream must contain at least 25 percent less fat than regular ice cream. Low fat ice cream must contain less than 3 grams of fat per ½-cup serving. Fat-free ice cream must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per ½-cup serving.

Frozen Yogurt

There are no specific federal standards for frozen yogurt production. Frozen yogurt is made with pasteurized milk, flavorings, lactic acid cultures, and other ingredients. Because of pasteurization before freezing, there are no live active cultures. Reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free frozen yogurt products are available.

Nutritional Differences

Both ice cream and frozen yogurt are nutritious with high-quality protein, riboflavin, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals.

The calorie and fat content of frozen desserts depends on the type of milk used and whether cream, egg yolk solids or sweeteners are added. To ensure that you're buying the best product for your good health, check the nutrition area of product labels.

Surprising Calorie Counts

If you decide to treat yourself at a specialty shop, consider the following before ordering.

-- A Ben & Jerry's waffle cone with a scoop of Chunky Monkey has 820 calories and 30 grams of fat.

-- Cold Stone Creamery's regular Mud Pie Mojo has 1,180 calories and 26 grams of fat.

-- Häagen-Dazs' Mint Chip Dazzler has 1,270 calories and 38 grams of fat.

-- Baskin-Robbins Vanilla Milkshake has 1,070 calories and 32 grams of fat.

-- TCBY's (The Country's Best Yogurt) Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller has 1,200 calories and a 1½ days worth of fat.

Other Interesting Facts

-- The top flavors in the U.S. are vanilla (30 percent), chocolate (10 percent), butter pecan (4 percent), strawberry (3.7 percent) and chocolate chip mint (3.2 percent).

-- In 2007, California produced the largest volume of ice cream and frozen desserts in the U.S., followed by Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Missouri and New York.

References

• IDFA--Just the Facts: Ice Cream Sales and Trends
• Ice Cream and Other Frozen Dairy Products
• The Scoop on Ice Cream Shops