This is why some ice cream is a "Frozen Dairy Dessert"

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The words "frozen dairy dessert" sound far less appealing than "ice cream," which evokes a sense of childhood nostalgia (at least for me) about the satisfying sweetness that made hot summer days just a little bit more bearable. But the reason that some ice cream packages note that the product inside is a "frozen dairy dessert" is due to FDA regulations on the the term "ice cream."

In order to qualify as ice cream, a product must meet two criteria:

1. Ice cream must contain a minimum of 10% dairy milkfat.

2. Ice cream must have no more than 100% overrun and weigh no less than 4.5 lbs. per gallon.

But what the heck is "overrun," you ask? Well overrun is the amount of air that is whipped into the ice cream base during freezing and is usually presented by a percentage. For example, with 100% overrun, for every gallon of ice cream base you would wind up with 2 gallons of finished ice cream.

The more air churned into the ice cream base, the lighter and fluffier the texture. A product with low overrun will be more dense and heavier. The FDA regulates the amount of overrun in ice cream in order to prevent unscrupulous manufacturers from producing and selling an ice cream product that is mainly air instead of cream. (Thanks, U.S. government!)

So now we know what constitutes ice cream. Anything with less than 10% milkfat and/or more than 100% overrun cannot use the term "ice cream" officially, hence the designation of "frozen dairy dessert."

But to make things even more confusing, the "frozen dairy dessert" category itself can be broken down into numerous subcategories based on the milkfat percentage, and all of those categories include the words "ice cream" (in conjunction with descriptors) despite failing to meet the criteria for ice cream proper.

Keep in mind, though, that these labels are Commercial Item Descriptions set out by the USDA. That is, they are marketing terms and, with the exception of "ice cream" as defined, are not federally regulated. Companies may choose to use these item descriptions for their products if they wish.

The following are labels you might see applied to frozen, creamy treats regarding their milkfat content, and an example of each.


Ice Cream - As mentioned, ice cream must contain no less than 10% dairy milkfat. Examples: Dreyer's/Edy's.

Reduced Fat Ice Cream - Contains at least 25% less total milkfat compared to standard product. Example: Dairy Queen and McDonald's soft serve.

Light Ice Cream - A minimum of 50% less total milkfat. Example: Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned line.

Lowfat Ice Cream - Has a maximum of 3g of total fat per 1/2 cup serving. Example: Skinny Cow Lowfat Ice Cream.

Nonfat Ice Cream - Contains less than 0.5g of total fat per serving ("nonfat" is a bit of a misnomer, but companies are allowed to round down to 0g fat on their nutritional information labels). Example: Breyers Fat Free line.

A company may sell multiple types of dairy-based products from line to line. For example, Breyers sells both ice cream (their original "Natural" line) and frozen dairy desserts (the entirety of the Breyers Blasts! line), which include many of the candy flavors like Reese's.

In addition to labels based on the fat content of the ice cream (or frozen dairy dessert, to be more accurate), there are likewise quality segments within the official "ice cream" category based on overrun and ingredient quality. Once again, these are marketing definitions set out by the USDA but are not federally regulated.


Superpremium Ice Cream - These ice creams tend to have a very low overrun (as low as 20% even) and a high fat content (>14%), resulting in a very dense and rich product with a weight typically greater than 80g per 1/2 cup. They also typically use higher-end ingredients with a price point to match, and come in smaller containers with gourmet flavors. Examples: Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's

Premium Ice Cream - Premium ice creams tend to have lower overrun (~60-90%) and higher fat content (11-15%) than regular ice cream, resulting in a heavier ice cream (weight of about 73g per 1/2 cup). Examples: Blue Bell, Baskin-Robbins

Standard Ice Cream - Meets the fat (10%) and overrun (100% or less) required of the federal ice cream standard. The weight of standard ice cream tends to fall around 65g for 1/2 cup. Example: Breyer's ice cream line

Economy Ice Cream - Meets the fat (10%) and overrun (100% or less) required of the the federal ice cream standard, but tends to sell for a lower price than standard ice cream. Example: Typically the store brand, or those large tubs of ice cream ubiquitous to kid's birthday parties everywhere.

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