On a hot summer day, most people expect ice cream to do one thing eventually: melt. But some frozen treats seem strangely resistant, holding their shape long after they should have turned into a puddle. That mystery has sparked questions about what we’re actually eating, and why some products are no longer legally allowed to call themselves “ice cream.”
If you’ve spent time on social media, you’ve probably seen videos of ice cream sandwiches sitting in the heat for hours while seemingly refusing to melt. The clips have gone viral and left many people wondering what they’re really eating.
The truth is that products like Walmart’s Great Value ice cream sandwiches do melt, but they melt differently. Instead of quickly turning into a puddle, they soften while holding their shape. That’s because factors like fat content, air, and ingredients called stabilizers and emulsifiers, including cellulose gum, carrageenan, and modified food starch, help maintain texture and slow the melting process.
Walmart isn’t alone. Similar “slow-melting” frozen treats have sparked viral videos and renewed interest in what’s actually considered ice cream and what qualifies as a “frozen dairy dessert.”
Many shoppers are surprised to find that some familiar brands no longer call certain products “ice cream,” instead labeling them as “frozen dairy desserts.” That’s because the Food and Drug Administration in the US requires ice cream to contain at least 10% milkfat and meet other standards. In an effort to reduce costs, alter texture, or lower fat content, some manufacturers have reformulated recipes, leading products like certain Breyers flavors to lose the ice cream designation. Unlike traditional ice cream, which is typically made with milk, cream, sugar, and flavorings, frozen dairy desserts often contain additional ingredients such as corn syrup, vegetable oils, gums, modified food starches, and emulsifiers. While these ingredients are approved and commonly used to improve texture and slow melting, their growing presence has prompted some people to question whether today’s frozen treats are becoming more engineered and less like the simple ice cream many remember growing up with.
And can you really blame them? One of the biggest scandals in the industry involved Blue Bell Creameries, whose products were linked to a 2015 Listeria outbreak that sickened people in multiple states and contributed to three deaths.
As temperatures rise and freezers fill with summertime favorites, shoppers may want to take a closer look at the label. Does it say “ice cream” or “frozen dairy dessert”? How long is the ingredient list? While many frozen dairy desserts taste great and are considered safe, people with food sensitivities may want to pay extra attention to ingredients like gums, syrups, and emulsifiers. Ultimately, not every frozen treat is created equal, and the difference between the simple scoop you remember and a more engineered product may be hiding in the fine print.
