To Find The Best Store-Bought Ice Cream, Look For This Ingredient First

Store-bought ice cream can really hit the spot, but buying exactly the thing to satisfy your craving can be tricky, as what many brands are selling in the freezer section is more appropriately referred to as a "frozen dairy dessert" than ice cream. And if you want to make sure that you're getting the best ice cream, cream is the one ingredient your treat needs to have, and ideally, it should be first on the ingredient list. 

While cream may seem like an obvious requirement in an ice cream recipe, many companies are relying on processed substitutes and cream alternatives. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, to be considered real ice cream, a product has to have at least 10% dairy fat and has to be no more than 50% air. Whipping air into ice cream is important, though if you go too far, the flavor and texture will suffer. It's called "overrun," and it helps prevent large ice crystals from forming, ensuring your ice cream stays creamy. It's the fat from the cream that helps keep the air bubbles stable. If you don't use cream — or don't use enough cream — you have to add fat from other sources (such as vegetable or coconut oil) or even add emulsifiers and additional stabilizers (glycerides and gums). 

To find the best ice cream, the ingredient list should generally contain recognizable words. The best vanilla ice creams have ingredient lists that are generally short and simple, with ingredients such as milk, cream, eggs, and sugar in addition to vanilla. More complex ice creams with lots of add-ins will have longer lists, but generally, if your ice cream has an overcomplicated list of ingredients you don't recognize, be suspicious. Unfortunately, some of your favorite brands may be ice creams you should keep out of your cart. And of course, look for something that actually says "ice cream" on the label.

Price can also be a factor. High-quality brands are typically more expensive, as the artificial ingredients and excess air result in a cheaper product. For instance, Häagen-Dazs, a brand known for its quality in addition to its price point, uses real ingredients, and actual cream is the first. Blue Bunny, known for soft serve and frozen yogurt products, does have some cream in the soft serve, but the first ingredient is skim milk, and it contains coconut oil as part of the fat content. It also has a higher overrun percentage (to get that soft serve texture). 

The higher-quality brands taste better because they have higher-quality ingredients and less air to dilute the flavor. Many of these quality brands even made Chowhound's list of best premium ice cream brands. Buying better-quality ice cream may come at a higher cost, but the luscious and creamy result will be worth it.