McDonald’s offers some of the best desserts, like their delicious ice creams. Their top-selling desserts have somehow always remained their creamy and decadent ice creams. Have you ever wondered what McDonald’s ice cream is made of? Then you should read on!
McDonald’s ice cream is made primarily with milk, sugar, and cream, along with some setting agents that help with its texture. Moreover, it is 100% real!
From classics like their soft serve with hot fudge sauce and their best McFlurry, the chain has a lot of variety. However, just like with other food from McDonald’s, people have somehow had their share of doubts about the ingredients being accurate for the ice cream. In this detailed blog post, we will cover all information about the same to get a clear understanding!
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What Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Made Of? | Ingredients
Here are the exact ingredients used to make their ice cream, as per the official website of McDonald’s :
- Milk
- Sugar
- Cream
- Corn Syrup
- Natural Flavor
- Mono and Diglycerides
- Cellulose Gum
- Guar Gum
- Carrageenan
- Vitamin A Palmitate
As you can see in the ingredients list, McDonald’s ice cream is made with many authentic ingredients, including milk, sugar, cream, and corn syrup. The rest of the ingredients added to the ice cream ensure the ice cream sets, gets the right texture and churns properly.
Furthermore, McDonald’s ice cream has always been free of preservatives. As of 2017, McDonald’s stopped adding artificial flavoring to them, which makes these ice creams as accurate as possible. The version of McDonald’s ice cream we know today was brought together in 1978.
Why Does McDonald’s Ice Cream Taste So Good and Different?
McDonald’s ice cream tastes pretty good and differs from many other ice cream brands because of the lack of artificial flavors and ingredients. Moreover, McDonald’s has also tweaked the sugar in their recipe with glucose, making the ice cream’s sweetness a little better.
McDonald’s ice cream recipe has been revised a few times. As recently as 2017, McDonald’s last changed their recipe to eliminate anything artificial. So, that makes all the ingredients as natural as they can get.
Moreover, in the recent recipe tweak, they also replaced some of the sugar with glucose, which reduced the sweetness of the recipe. You may think this is a strange move for an ice cream recipe, but the customers took it even better than the previous version of the ice cream!
Lastly, another primary reason is that McDonald’s ice cream tastes pretty different from any other ice cream. McDonald’s ice cream contains only 5 % dairy fat. As per the rules of the FDA, a frozen dessert should have 10 % dairy fat to be considered ice cream.
The less dairy fat gives the ice cream a better whip and makes it lighter. As per these regulations, since McDonald’s cannot technically classify ice cream under that category, they still refer to their ice cream as ‘soft serves.’ Although, that has made no difference to the customers, and it remains their top-selling dessert!
What Makes McDonald’s Ice Cream Soft?
McDonald’s ice cream is soft because it features reduced dairy fat compared to other ice cream brands.
The fat content in any ice cream significantly affects the overall consistency and how the ice cream would eventually turn out. Since this version of ice cream uses only 5 % dairy fat as opposed to the 10% that everyone else uses, McDonald’s ice cream is much softer in consistency.
Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Just Frozen Yogurt?
No, McDonald’s ice cream is not frozen yogurt or its derivatives. McDonald’s ice cream contains absolutely no amount of yogurt in it.
Along with people not believing that McDonald’s ice cream is natural, there have also been various rumors stating that McDonald’s ice cream is made with yogurt or is nothing but just frozen yogurt.
Yes, the soft serve from McDonald’s has a consistency similar to that of frozen yogurt. However, that is where the similarity ends between the two desserts. The texture of the soft serve is similar to frozen yogurt again due to the use of 5 % dairy fat, which makes the yogurt much lighter.
Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Vegan or Vegetarian?
Yes, McDonald’s ice cream is vegetarian. However, it does not qualify as a vegan food item.
As mentioned earlier, McDonald’s ice cream is made with various dairy-based ingredients, with natural emulsifying and preserving agents. This makes it fall under the vegetarian category since no meat is added.
However, at the same time, McDonald’s ice cream is not vegan, again, since it is made with dairy products. But, if you visit McDonald’s in Germany, you could quickly devour a vegan McFlurry or even a vegan soft serve!
Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Gluten-Free?
Yes, McDonald’s ice cream is indeed gluten-free.
If you are intolerant to gluten and would like to enjoy a dessert at McDonald’s, you can do so with their delicious soft-serve ice creams and more! The ice cream contains absolutely no gluten at all.
However, for people with gluten intolerance, it is also important to remember to go for an ice cream cup rather than a cone since the cone has gluten. Lastly, remember that there could still be chances of cross-contamination of McDonald’s ice cream with gluten.
Does McDonald’s Ice Cream Contain Real Dairy?
Yes, McDonald’s ice cream does contain real dairy.
As per the ingredients listed by McDonald’s for their famous soft serve, they use milk and cream to make their ice cream. As mentioned, McDonald’s Germany is the only place to find genuinely dairy-free ice cream. Look at McDonald’s dairy-free desserts if you are intrigued by the same!
Is There Pig Fat In McDonald’s Ice Cream?
No, McDonald’s ice cream has no pig fat added.
Over the years, there have been several rumors about McDonald’s adding pig fat to their ice cream, supposedly giving the ice cream a light texture. People came up with this because of the addition of gelatin to various desserts.
Gelatin is made with pig bones and is often added to many desserts as a stabilizing and setting agent, from marshmallows to various brands of ice cream. This led to the speculation that the ice cream is also laced with pig fat.
Luckily that is not the case since McDonald’s ice creams are entirely vegetarian and have no gelatin added! The ice creams at McDonald’s are fit for vegetarians. If the pig fat was a concern for you, also look at whether McDonald’s ice cream is halal or not!
Conclusion
McDonald’s is very widely known for their delicious ice cream, also known as their soft serve. Although people have thought this ice cream is not real, it is real. The ice cream is made with milk, cream, and sugar as the main ingredient.
The ice cream also consists of natural agents, which help the ice cream set. The ice cream is much softer and fluffier than other types of ice cream because it is made with reduced-fat milk, which makes a massive difference to the overall texture.
Lastly, despite the allegations, McDonald’s ice cream is completely free of meat, especially pig fat. The ice cream is a great treat for vegetarians to enjoy! If you have more questions about McDonald’s food ingredients, like who makes their ketchup, if their sausages are pork or beef, and if their food contains MSG, look at our informative posts!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is McDonald’s ice cream made with real dairy products?
Yes, McDonald’s ice cream is made with natural milk and cream.
Why is McDonald’s ice cream so soft?
McDonald’s ice cream is as soft as it is because they use 5 % dairy fat instead of 10% dairy fat to make all other ice creams.
Does McDonald’s add artificial flavoring to their ice cream?
McDonald’s does not add any artificial flavoring to their ice cream.
Is McDonald’s ice cream fit for vegetarians to consume?
Yes, McDonald’s ice cream is perfectly fit for vegetarians to consume!
