How to Homogenize Ice Cream
Ice cream is both pasteurized and homogenized. The process of making ice cream involves blending the ingredients, pasteurizing, homogenizing, aging, freezing, packaging and hardening. The process of homogenizing reduces the fat in the ice cream and stabilizes the milk product. Stabilizers, proteins and emulsifiers that are added during the homogenization process create an increased whiteness and formulate the texture that we know as ice cream. There are stages in the homogenization process called mixing, temperature of homogenization and the creation of insoluble matter (ice cream). Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Pasteurization tank with temperature gauge
- Homogenization tank with temperature gauge and PSI gauge
Instructions
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Raise the temperature of the milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the pasteurizing tank. At this temperature, the fat globules break up and form fat clumps.
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Select a pressure between 2000 and 2500 pounds per square inch for the first stage of homogenization. In the second stage, set the pressure between 500 and 1000 pounds per square inch. Homogenization is a process where pasteurized milk forced through a funnel or valve inside a tank has fat clumps removed. Ice cream makers use a two-stage homogenization process in a homogenization tank.
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Force the pasteurizing milk through a small funnel or valve to remove the fat clumped together in the heated milk. Milk is at a high temperature, and the small funnel needs to handle a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit and up to 2500 pounds of pressure per square inch.
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Repeat the forcing of the heated milk through the funnel or valve twice. The first stage will not remove all the fat, but by repeating the process, as many fat clumps as possible are removed.
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Tips & Warnings
Using a two-stage homogenizing process removes much of the fatty clumps pasteurizing milk creates. The more you homogenize, the less fat is in the ice cream.
Do not use plastic funnels or valves for homogenizing. The risk of melting is too great and the resulting injuries too serious.
References
Resources
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