アイスを食べながら考えた事

実験が終わって安いアイスを食べたら、サッチャー元首相の研究を思い出した。
「安いアイスクリーム」には
・砂糖
・増粘多糖類
・水
・空気
の率が「高いアイスクリーム」に比べて多い。
という特徴がある（勿論原料が安いから）。
特に空気混入に関して多大なる貢献をしたのが若き日のMargaret Thatcher達の1950年代の研究で、それまでのアイスクリームにそれまでの２倍の空気混入率を実現したわけである。これは瞬く間に世界中の企業に広まり、以降アイスクリーム会社が莫大な利益を得ることが出来るようになった訳で、現在ほとんどのアイスクリームが、その“ソフト”アイスクリームなのである。当然安いアイスは空気・水混入率が高いわけで、100円アイス、それよりも安いアイスは…勿論。
手で持ってみると、比重というか、密度の違いがはっきり分かってしまう…。代わりに氷の粒がたくさん入れてある商品も…。

（参考：http://experts.about.com/e/i/ic/ice_cream.htm より）
Modern Ice Cream Composition
Modern industrially-produced ice cream is made from a mixture of ingredients:

• 0-16% milk fat
• 9-12% milk solids-not-fat: this component, also known as the serum solids, contains the proteins (caseins and whey proteins) and carbohydrates (lactose) found in milk
• 12-16% sweeteners: usually a combination of sucrose and/or glucose-based corn syrup sweeteners
• 0.2-0.5% stabilizers and emulsifiers e.g., agar or carrageenan extracted from seaweed
• 55%-64% water which comes from milk solids or other ingredients

These ingredients, along with air incorporated during the stirring process, make up ice cream. Generally, less expensive ice creams contain lower-quality ingredients (for example, when vanilla bean is replaced with artificial vanillin), and more air is incorporated, sometimes as much as 50% of the final volume. Artisan-produced ice creams, such as Berthillon's, often contain very little air, although some is necessary to produce the characteristic creamy texture of the product. Generally speaking, the finest ice creams have between 3% and 15% air. Because ice cream is sold by volume, it is economically advantageous for producers to reduce the density of the product in order to cut costs. Indeed, one of Margaret Thatcher's first jobs was to find ways of increasing the air content of ice cream. The use of stabilizers rather than actual cream and the incorporation of air also decreases the fat and caloric content of less expensive ice creams, making them more appealing to those on diets.

Ice creams come in a wide variety of flavors, often with additives such as chocolate flakes or chips, nuts, fruit, and small candies/sweets. Some of the most popular ice cream flavors are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and Neapolitan (a combination of the three). Many people also enjoy ice cream sundaes, which often have ice cream, hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream, cherries and other toppings.