What are Ice Cream Neutrals or Ice Cream Bases and Stabilizers. Learn the secrets of ice cream raw materials.

Stabilizers are not the beating heart of ice cream, as they are natural flours, gums, and gelling agents that are responsible for absorbing water and creating the structure of the ice cream.

In the world of pizza and pastry we find as a thickener and structuring agent the classic flour, but it contains gluten, a large amount is needed, and it is not suitable for preparations dedicated to the world of ice cream.

We then find alternative "flours" that are perfectly suited for use in making great ice cream.

The most common stabilizers include:

• Carob Seed Flour
• Guar Seed Flour
• Xanthan Gum
• Agar Agar
• CMC
• Sodium Alginate
• Tara seed flour

While these flours, which usually have a dosage within 0.5 percent, have the job of absorbing water and structuring, giving more creaminess and silkiness is taken care of by Emulsifiers.

What do emulsifiers do? They manage to hold the liquids together with the fatty part (cream, milk fat, any vegetable fats) and also trap the air bubbles that a homemade ice cream naturally incorporates.

The most common emulsifiers in ice cream are:

• E471: mono and diglycerides of fatty acids
• E473: Sucrose Esters / Sucresters

The success of ice cream, in addition to sugars, fats and flavorings, is due to a good balance of stabilizers: thickeners and emulsifiers.

Adjusting these stabilizers and dosing them precisely is a very difficult job.
Therefore, companies like ours make mixes of these stabilizers both with and without emulsifiers precisely.

It takes a lot of testing and knowledge of reaction of these flours or gums so that the ice cream is smooth, not gummy, and with ice crystals not too large that ice cream feels too cold to the palate.

Ice cream neutrals are a mixture of special ingredients, including thickeners, fibers, possible emulsifiers and other technical ingredients used to improve the texture, creaminess and stability of ice cream.

Neutrals for ice cream usually are made in such a way that they can be used using a standard dosage: 5gr/kg.

Each company produces different types of neutrals and they can also be found with different dosages, ranging from 2gr to 10gr per kg of mixture or indicated per liter of milk/water.

Dosing the various stabilizers that make up a neutro can be difficult if done haphazardly or repetitively in the ice cream shop for the simple fact that, having a low dosage (2/5 gr usually) and being composed mainly of thickeners, a wrong "weighing" can have lethal consequences for the ice cream.

Suffice it to say that accidentally "dropping" just 1 extra gram of carob seed flour into a kilogram of ice cream mixture could result in ice cream that is too chewy or hard for scoopability.

SaporePuro makes two standard neutrals:
Neutro 5 CF: mix of tara seed flour and guar seed flour. Made to work optimally even "cold," that is, without the need to pasteurize or heat the mixture. Ideal for Sorbets.

Neutro 5 S: mix of Carob Seed Flour, Tara Seed Flour, Guar Seed Flour. Contains E471 as an emulsifier, which helps make the ice cream cream creamier and incorporate more air during whisking. Needs the mixture to be heated to at least 80°C for successful stabilization.

Ice cream bases are nothing more than the neutro, "ballasted" with other technical ingredients to better formulate the recipe and speed up the ice cream maker's production process and facilitate weighing. In this way, the margin of error is reduced.

Ice cream bases are divided into different types:

Base 50: A "50" base for ice cream usually consists of a neutro and is usually fortified with different types of technical sugars, such as maltodextrin or dextrose, milk protein or plant fibers such asinulin can be found (depending on the type of base). Dosage: 35gr/kg or 50gr/Lt.

Base 100: A "100" base is a 50 base with usually added Low-Fat Milk Powder (a key ingredient in making ice cream to enrich it in proteins and solids), if desired, fats can be found (powdered cream, coconut fat or other vegetable). Dosage 70gr/kg or 100gr/Lt.

Base150/200: in these types of bases usually in addition to the contents of a base 100, we find other fats (such as powdered cream or vegetable fats), other sugars or some whole milk powder (so that the person who will preperate the ice cream will have to add only sugar and dextrose) and instead of fresh milk rehydrate whole milk powder. Dosage 115gr / 140gr per kg or 150gr/200gr per liter of milk

Base 300: is a type of ice cream base also referred to as "complete," meaning it contains all the ingredients needed to make good ice cream. only Milk and Cream will have to be added as ingredients. 

Base 400: This is the finished base, meaning only water will need to be added to rehydrate the whole milk powder. The fats and sugars are all already in it.

Fruit bases do not(usually) contain milk derivatives, so fruit sorbets can be made. They usually contain stabilizers that react well in even acidic environments (see lemon) and also hydrate when cold (without the need to pasteurize the mixture).

Milk basesalso containmilk derivatives such as precisely protein, low-fat milk powder, and occasionally a source of fat.
Usually the neutro is composed of stabilizers that need to be activated by heating the mixture, may contain emulsifiers to help emulsify fats and an increase in overrun (i.e., air).

There are also other types of bases, referred to as special bases, in that they are not made to produce standard everyday ice cream, but to meet special needs or satisfy customer segments.

We find Vegan bases, Sugar Free bases, Alcoholic ice cream bases, Animal ice cream bases, Protein ice cream bases and so on.

If you are a homemaker who likes to make ice cream at home and likes to dose each individual ingredient, a good ice cream neutro is for you.

Also in ice cream parlors, the neutro is especially recommended for those who work on an ad hoc balancing of each individual flavor or work with large quantities per weigh-in, so as not to generate errors in weigh-ins.

If you want to work already with a product that benefits you in weigh-ins, but the sugar and dextrose you want to dose yourself, a 100 base is ideal. In ice cream parlors, this is the most popular product, as it already contains some of the protein and ingredients that often make volume in storage or are difficult to source individually.

A complete base like our Gioia 300 Milk Base is the product you've been looking for.
It is a blend of natural ingredients, already balanced with the various types of sugars, enriched with milk proteins and a core to keep the ice cream cream cream creamy and stable over time.

An example of using the Gioia Milk Base?

675gr Whole Milk + 100gr Fresh Cream + 225gr Base 

Just mix all the ingredients, pasteurize at 85°C, cool and freeze!

This is a versatile product that is easy to use, quick and affordable for everyone.

Whether you want to make great ice cream at home or if you are a professional and are looking for an ice cream that is natural and enhances the taste of each ingredient you are going to add.

We hope this article has stimulated your curiosity in knowing more about the world of Italian artisan gelato and the ingredients that make up gelato.

Every ice cream shop is sure to have an excellent ice cream maker who can assess which are the best ingredients and products that will be used to produce a unique ice cream by choosing between a neutro, a base, or a custom mix.

If you have any questions, write to us in chat or by email.
Our technicians are at your disposal with recipes, tips and ad hoc products for your ice cream shop.