The season of ice cream treats is in full swing. Nothing captures pure joy and innocence¹ like an ice-cream cone² dripping down your hand.

时下正是冰淇淋美食季，还有什么比冰淇淋甜筒滴落指尖来得更加愉悦惬意呢？

But have you ever wondered why some ice cream just stands apart from all the others？ What really makes good ice cream？ Well， here’s how to tell high-quality ice cream without even tasting it.

但你是否想过为何一些冰淇淋品牌能够从同类产品中脱颖而出？好的冰淇淋又要具备哪些元素呢？那么，下面就让我们来告诉你，无需品尝便可分辨出优质冰淇淋的诀窍。

Let the ingredients speak

让原料“说话”

High-quality ice cream， often referred to as premium³ and super premium， is always made with real vanilla⁴， nuts， chocolate or fruit. On the other hand， if you’ve ever looked closely at the ingredients in ice cream from less fancy brands， you may have noticed that they only say “vanilla flavored” or “chocolate flavored”. This is because they don’t contain real vanilla or chocolate.

所谓“优质冰淇淋”，通常指的是那些特级和顶级精品，通常由纯正香草、坚果、巧克力或水果制作而成。另一方面，如果你仔细看过一些普通品牌冰淇淋的原料表，你也许会发现上面写着“香草口味”或是“巧克力口味”。这是因为它们不含纯正的香草或巧克力。

Check the butterfat content

查看乳脂含量

What difference does butterfat make？ Besides making ice cream taste less like frozen milk， butterfat gives the product a creamy texture⁵ and a mellow⁶ flavor. In order to even be called ice cream in the United States， the product must contain at least 10 percent butterfat， according to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulations. High-quality brands of ice cream usually contain anywhere from 13 to 17 percent butterfat.

乳脂含量有何影响呢？除了让冰淇淋口感变得不那么像冻牛奶之外，乳脂还会让冰淇淋质地浓稠、口味醇香。根据美国食品和药物管理局规定，在美国市场上标有“冰淇淋”名称的产品，乳脂含量至少要达到10%。高级品牌的冰淇淋通常含有13%-17%的乳脂。

Judge by the amount of mix-ins

通过配料的用量来辨别

Have you ever noticed the amount of mix-ins in high quality brands？ You almost can’t stick your spoon into them without hitting a piece of candy， nut， or whatever mix-in they contain. With some of the average brands， however， you really have to dig to find the mixed in goodies.

你是否曾注意过优质冰淇淋的配料含量？你只要动动勺子，就保准会挖到一些糖果、坚果或其他配料。然而，在一些普通冰淇淋中，你必须挖很久才能吃到“甜头”。

Take home the heavier one

要选就选最重的

Ice cream mixtures have air pumped into them as they freeze. Air is essential， or ice cream would be as hard as rock. While the legal limit for the amount of air (called overrun) in the US is 100 percent， the less air added to ice cream， the higher quality it is. A more dense⁷ ice cream will be creamier on the palate and will melt more slowly in the mouth.

混合后的冰淇淋在冷冻成型过程中会加入空气。空气是必不可少的，否则冰淇淋会硬得像石头。虽然在美国，冰淇淋的法定空气含量（俗称“含气量”）最高可达百分之百，但是冰淇淋的空气含量越少，质量越高。冰淇淋密度越大口感越柔滑，而且入口融化得也更慢。

But how can we tell which ice cream has less air in it？ Well， one thing you should know about ice cream is that it’s usually sold by volume， not by weight. Tubs may be equal in size， but one ice cream may be denser⁸ than another and therefore weigh more.

但是，我们要如何分辨哪款冰淇淋中的空气含量较少呢？好吧，关于冰淇淋，你不得不知道的一点就是冰淇淋通常按体积出售，而非重量。桶装冰淇淋虽然大小一样，但密度较大的那桶一定比另一桶更重一些。