Why does ice cream taste better served cold?

Note: This is a continuation of yesterday’s post. If you haven’t read it yet, do check it out.

Have you tried melted ice cream? Have you noticed how it tastes sweeter than completely frozen ice cream? That’s partly why ice cream tastes better when served cold. If you recall correctly from yesterday, you will know heat enhances some flavors in food, and by keeping them at lower temperatures, you are reducing the intensity of the flavor, which in this case, makes it taste better. If you had a cup of melted ice cream, I guarantee some people would not be able to finish it as it would be overwhelmingly sweet for them. It is the same reason sodas are served cold. If you’ve left a pepsi or fanta outside for a while in a sunny place and then drank it, it would taste like sugar syrup, not your favorite beverage.

Another reason is more marketing than science (although psychology is involved). Let’s do a thought experiment (my favorite type of experiments, btw). Picture this. You have an ice cream bowl with 2 frozen scoops of ice cream just taken out from the fridge. Now imagine the same bowl of ice cream, but melted and turned into a pool of vanilla liquid. Which would you prefer? Most, not all, would prefer the first one. Why? Because we’ve been coerced so much that naturally we believe ice cream is better when it is creamy and firm, and not when it’s mushy and warm.  The last reason is not really an advantage of food being cold; it is rather the environment that makes it tasty. When do you usually have ice cream or popsicles, etc? Most of the cold food you have are deserts, served right after hot food. The change in the temperature difference makes it an enjoyable experience. 

There you go guys. An introductory lesson in Food 101 (just kidding. I have no idea what they teach in the food industry). Bye for now.