National Ice Cream Day

Sunday (sundae?) is National Ice Cream Day, and of course we're celebrating! In honor of all the frozen desserts we love, this is the perfect opportunity to educate our readers on the differences between ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, sherbet and gelato. Because while they're all deliciously sweet and cold, they're all different. Really.

(And none of them are healthy. Sorry.)

Ice Cream

Ice cream must contain at least 10% milkfat, according to standards set by the FDA. It also can't weigh less than 4.5 pounds per gallon of volume, which places restrictions on the amount of air in the finished product. Higher quality ice cream has more fat and less air -- one reason it tastes better and is more satisfying than the cheaper stuff.

Frozen Yogurt

Frozen yogurt (at top) does not yet have a federal standard, though several states have established standards. Only select yogurt brands contain the bacterial cultures that typically characterize yogurt; check the National Yogurt Association's approved list. Frozen yogurt may have less fat than ice cream, but it usually has as much or more sugar.

Gelato

The primary differences between ice cream and gelato involve fat content, air content, and serving temperature. Gelato is made with a greater proportion of milk than cream, so the fat content is lower than ice cream. However, gelato contains less air than ice cream because it is churned more slowly. Therefore, to keep gelato soft and creamy, serve and store it at a lower temperature than ice cream.

Sorbet

Sorbet is the simplest of all these frozen desserts. It contains no dairy -- neither milk nor cream -- only sweetened frozen liquid. While sorbet usually contains fruit, you can also make it with other flavorings like chocolate, salted caramel and mocha. Tweak your sorbet recipe by using simple syrup, corn syrup or table sugar, or by adding alcohol. No need for an ice cream maker either: try this easy recipe from Vitamix.

Sherbet

We don't hear much about sherbet since froyo, gelato and sorbet have come into vogue, but we think it's time for a revival. Sherbet (one R, please) is quite similar to sorbet, except that it contains dairy -- milk, cream or buttermilk. Like ice cream, the FDA sets standards for sherbet, but it only contains 1-2% milkfat.

Whether or not you prefer one of these frozen desserts over the others, we hope you'll enjoy a scoop or five on National Ice Cream Day. If you want to make your own, you can't do any better than the Breville Smart Scoop -- it even has different settings for ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato and sorbet. Because now you know they're all definitely different, right?