Talk:Soft serve

Invented by British Prime Minister?

I've heard rumour that Margaret Thatcher was one of the people who invented soft serve, long before her political career started. Any truth in this? Hymyly^T@C 09:36, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

See Soft ice cream. -- JLaTondre 12:19, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

• True, probably should put it in the article. 124.82.2.163 (talk) 05:49, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

This needs to be verified. I have replaced that section with what was in today's New York Times article about soft serve ice cream. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.130.93.13 (talk) 16:45, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Thatcher worked as a research chemist for J. Lyons and Co. in the 1950s, experimenting with ice cream emulsifiers for their Lyons Maid brand. There's no evidence that she 'invented' soft serve. 1950s UK mass market ice cream wasn't sold using soft serve though it was softer than hard 'Italian' ice cream. Soft serve vans arrived in the 60s. --Ef80 (talk) 18:41, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

Rather than "A common anecdote is that by inventing soft serve ice cream, Thatcher "added air, lowered quality and raised profits".[7]", wouldn't it be more accurate to say, "Liberal political writer Clair Phipps made the snarky anecdote that by inventing soft serve ice cream, Thatcher "added air, lowered quality and raised profits", since that wasn't a common anecdote at all, it was a left-wing attack. Read and consider this: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-margaret-thatcher-soft-serve-myth TodKarlson (talk) 18:26, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

I would have to say...

this article is hardly a stub. I'm going to remove the tag-- however, if anyone believe this article to be a stub, you can add the tag at the conclusion of the page, by adding the tag {{Dessert-stub}}. Cheers, Curran (talk) 00:09, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Homemade

It is possible to make a homemade version by putting regular vanilla or chocolate ice cream in a bowl, cutting it into pieces with a spoon, and swirling it around until it becomes soft. 172.130.191.28 03:08, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. I always used to think that this kind of ice cream was made in those machines by simply churning normal ice cream. It's almost identical. 79.70.94.106 (talk) 19:38, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Softcream, Soft serve, & Soft ice cream Merge Discussions

See Talk:Softcream. -- JLaTondre 12:19, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Missing dates

This article is deficient - no historical dates! -69.87.203.132 00:28, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

"Softcream day" in japan

I couldn't find any refs for this beyond webpages quoting the exact same text with no refs either. deleted cos it didn't ring very true but if somebody has any refs by all means put it back with a reference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dirtyfilthy (talk • contribs) 03:54, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Soft Serve is Ice Cream

Why does the article keep on referring it as a different kind of dessert when it is just a different kind of ice cream? I will fix the article if nobody responds to this in a week Gune (talk) 02:27, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

In some countries low milk fat deserts aren't called ice cream because they are not made of cream. For instance in New Zealand it is actually against the law to sell anything with less than 10% milk fat as ice cream. Have a look at http://www.safefood.org.nz/icecream1105.html and http://www.nzicecream.org.nz/code/COPice%20cream%20final%20240903.doc — Preceding unsigned comment added by 111.69.240.85 (talk) 12:57, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Soft serve ice cream typically contains cream, although it also generally has lower milk fat. I'm not sure the laws of New Zealand should be the differentiating factor on whether soft serve is truly ice cream. Historically, people have referred to it as ice cream, unless it is frozen yogurt which would be specified separately.

Vendors list

This list is pointless... I'm deleting it. Revert back if you think this is in error. 98.14.172.127 (talk) 03:59, 16 January 2012 (UTC) Johan

Dumb name

I love the stuff, but the name completely sucks. How did anyone ever come up with it? The traditional ice cream was never called "hard serve", was it? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 21:22, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

When there's only one kind, it doesn't need to be distinguished from another kind that there isn't. When there's a second kind introduced, it's given a name that distinguishes it from the other sort by mentioning a perceived advantage. The original variety's many established sellers aren't going to start branding it with an alleged disadvantage just to oblige the marketers of the new stuff, are they? AlexTiefling (talk) 22:10, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

No, but what I'm getting at it is the word "serve". What other food items are called "<something> serve"? The use of the adjective "soft" seems to be distinguishing this product from other types of food items called "serve" - but there are none. If I didn't know what this was, I might be tempted to think of an amateur tennis match. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:18, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

'Serve' isn't being used as a noun here. 'Ice cream' is the understood or implied noun part of the name. The fact that it bugs you does not necessarily reflect any real problem with the name. That said, the name's not normally used here in the UK. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:47, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

In that case, shouldn't the article be called "Soft serve ice cream"? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:34, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

It could be, but I think "soft serve" is pretty unambiguous - at least in the sense that it's not used elsewhere. The equivalent form of butter, for example, is not called "soft serve butter" but rather "whipped butter". As for the name being dumb, I believe it's simply a spill-over of industry jargon into everyday conversation. Within the dairy industry (in North America anyway), ice cream is always "hard" unless specifically noted, so there's no need to differentiate the "hard". By that same token, there are also typically fewer flavours of soft serve as the flavour is usually added at the point of sale. So, for example, an order form from a dairy distributor might include thirty flavours of ice cream (hard, but not identified as such), and a small handful listed as "soft serve". And, until relatively recently, it would only have been a single listing. Nowadays there are lower fat and lower sugar (NSA) options, but in the old days, the only option other than hard ice cream would simply have been generic "soft serve". Matt Deres (talk) 22:28, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Matt, that all makes a lot of sense.

I guess there's no accounting for individuality, because there's no way in a gazillion years I would have ever have called anything "soft serve". To me, it would be actually embarrassing to say those words out loud (so I never have, at least not within earshot). -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:03, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Resolved

Breasts

Why is half of the second picture a ladies breast? Could noone find a better picture? Farpov (talk) 20:39, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Take a better picture and submit it. TodKarlson (talk) 18:29, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

First sentence is wrong

Okay all ice cream has air introduced to the mix while it's being frozen...according to the first sentence of this article that what sets soft serve apart. All ice cream has air mixed into it while it's frozen, that's why when you refreeze melted ice cream it freezes a lot harder because it's not being mixed up while it's being frozen. I worked in an ice cream shop for 7 years I know a little about it. Soft serve is just not fully frozen ice cream. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.175.140.159 (talk) 19:09, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Also the part about freezing quickly to avoid crystallisation is wrong. Freezing IS crystallisation. What needs to be avoided is crystal growth. Small crystals give a much more delicate mouthfeel. The cooler the temperature the ice-cream is made at, the more crystals that nucleate, and the smaller the average crystal size once all of the material has crystallised, hence the smoother the mouthfeel. 202.53.203.185 (talk) 16:33, 25 October 2019 (UTC)

"It should be noted that some forms of soft serve are infused with palm oil" - Why should it be noted?

This sounds a bit ranty - why is it of note that it has filler in it? As it points out, so do many products.

KenBW2 18:29, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

So, I moved, linked, and shortened it. Maybe someone thinks it dreadfully important. Jim.henderson (talk) 13:19, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

A solution to both demand and production

First a correction, Taylor Company is known for their soft serve machines but Charles Taylor patented the first batch ice cream machine in 1926 taking advantage of the refrigeration technology used in ice cream storage freezers.

To produce ice cream in the 1930's mix was frozen in a machine just enough to hold air when dispensed. The consistency of pudding, this mix was then stored in a freezer so the air was not lost. Once frozen the ice cream was scooped for serving.

Customers quickly learned that the warmer product was more flavorful and preferred the pudding like product after the first production step. That first step was made colder so it could be served on a cone directly from the machine. This process also meant less labor for the operator. Ice cream machines were not designed for this change so they failed. Manufacturers made stronger machine dashers for the thick product and a mix reservoir to replenish frozen product dispensed from the machine.

The name soft serve conveys the machine is a dispenser of the preferred soft product. Originally the mix was the same 14% butterfat mix used in batch freezers but the two production methods later parted in mix preference with a shift of production needs and mix distribution. 2601:8C0:700:B6F0:1520:D9DA:1A4C:2B67 (talk) 06:31, 30 March 2022 (UTC)