“Natural” is mostly a marketing word
There is no strict standard in Pakistan that stops a manufacturer printing natural on a pack. It is not a lie exactly, but it is not a promise either. The words that carry real information are further down the pack, in smaller type.
The three lines that matter
1. The fat. This is the important one. Milk fat means real dairy ice cream. Vegetable fat or edible vegetable oil means frozen dessert, which is a different product sold in the same shape of tub. Palm oil is cheaper than cream and behaves differently in the mouth: it coats the palate and leaves a waxy finish.
2. The flavour. There is a difference between mango and mango flavour. The first is fruit. The second is a flavour compound, and the pack is telling you so.
3. The colour. Real strawberry ice cream is a dull pink, almost grey-pink. Bright pink comes from colour, not fruit. The same is true of the yellow in mango and the green in pistachio.
Air is the other half of the story
Overrun is the industry term for how much air is whipped into the mix. It is not on the label, but you can feel it. Ice cream with high overrun is light in the hand and disappears in the mouth; you finish the tub without feeling you ate much, which is exactly the point for the manufacturer because air costs nothing.
The simple test is weight. Pick up two tubs of the same size. The heavier one has less air and more actual ice cream in it.
What this means when you are buying
- Turn the tub over and read the fat line before anything else
- Compare weights, not just prices, on tubs of the same size
- Be suspicious of very bright colours in fruit flavours
- At a scoop counter, ask what the base is made from. A shop that uses real dairy will tell you happily
Melado is a premium dairy brand: milk and cream in the base, real fruit in the fruit flavours and the popsicles, real chocolate in the chocolate ones. There is more detail on how to tell premium dairy ice cream from frozen dessert.