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I've heard in multiple places that Grape Ice-cream does not exist or it is very difficult to make are there any serious papers that corroborate this information?

Eduardo Medina
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2 Answers2

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It's difficult to pinpoint what hearsay means, but I'll interpret this statement as "it's difficult to make grape ice cream from scratch at home, starting with whole grapes".

Any ice cream needs fruit puree. Grapes have tough skins and hard inedible seeds, which would have to be removed before making a puree. It doesn't do well in common processing mechanisms such as a food mill. One would have to cut open each individual grape, remove the seeds, and peel off the skin. Especially if you're using some tasty variety from your own garden, not bred for size or seedlessness, you'd be busy all day preparing your puree first.

If you find ways around that problem, you can make grape ice cream, there's nothing special about it.

rumtscho
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Grapes have a very high moisture percentage. In small batches this is fine, you can just puree them, but it won't work in larger batches. Grapes contain a powerful antioxidant (anthocyanin) responsible for their color that changes how the grapes freeze, often resulting in chunks of ice in your ice cream. Additionally, grapes are rather acidic, which when combined with the dairy and left to sit (i.e. when transporting ice cream) can cause spoilage. There is a way to remove the acid beforehand, but it isn't often deemed worth the effort for an ice cream not very many people care about

But wait- cherry ice cream exists! Cherries also have some of the same problems, but they are used in ice cream everywhere! Well, the reason you can find cherry but not grape is because cherry is simply very very popular and companies think it's worth the extra effort.

Jme
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