Ice milk

Ice milk is a frozen dessert made with milk rather than cream, so it contains less milk fat than regular ice cream. It is most closely associated with the United States, where it is sold as a lighter and often cheaper alternative.

History

Ice milk developed as a variant of ice cream in which milk replaces cream, lowering the fat content. The sources do not establish precisely when it appeared or who first made it, but its growth is tied to the American dairy industry and to the demand for lighter, less expensive frozen products.

In the United States, ice milk is defined as containing less than 10 percent milk fat and the same amount of sweetener as ice cream. A 1994 change in Food and Drug Administration rules allowed it to be labelled "non-fat ice cream", "low-fat ice cream" or "light ice cream", depending on its fat content.

Canada uses different limits: ice milk contains 3 to 5 percent milk fat, while 5 to 7.5 percent is labelled light ice cream. A product without a defined fat range is simply called a frozen dairy dessert.

Culture

Ice milk is generally regarded as a lower-quality product than cream-based ice cream, and consumers tend to rate it below traditional ice cream. Its presence is mainly commercial, found in ice cream parlours, supermarkets and children's menus rather than in particular celebrations or traditions.

In some dairy markets it is confused with frozen yogurt, although it differs in that it contains no live cultures. It is also sometimes mistaken for merengada, a drink with no link to it: merengada includes no egg white, is served cold rather than frozen, and is usually flavoured with cinnamon.