第1696期:Ice cream innovation

Is there anything nicer than a cooling ice cream on a hot summer's day? This traditional treat is centuries old, but our tastes and consumer habits are evolving. How is the ice cream production process changing, and who is driving this change?

有什么比在炎热的夏日来一杯清凉的冰淇淋更惬意的呢？这种传统美食已有数百年历史，但我们的口味和消费习惯正在不断发展。冰淇淋生产过程发生了怎样的变化，谁在推动这种变化？

Making ice cream is a time-consuming process. While the recipe is simple – milk, sugar and fat, plus flavours and colours – ice cream has a complex chemistry. Getting the balance right between ice, fat and air is important if the ice cream is to have the right texture. To achieve this, the ingredients need to be mixed and heated, then cooled and frozen – a process that takes time and uses a lot of energy. Designers and engineers are working to improve the production process with new specialised equipment to make it increasingly automated. For now, however, even with the help of robots and 3D printers, it can take up to two years from testing a new frozen dessert product to it being available to consumers.

制作冰淇淋是一个耗时的过程。虽然配方很简单——牛奶、糖和脂肪，加上口味和颜色——冰淇淋的化学成分很复杂。如果冰淇淋要有合适的质地，在冰、脂肪和空气之间取得正确的平衡是很重要的。为实现这一目标，需要混合和加热原料，然后冷却和冷冻——这一过程既耗时又耗能。设计师和工程师正在努力使用新的专用设备改进生产过程，使其越来越自动化。然而，就目前而言，即使有机器人和 3D 打印机的帮助，从测试一种新的冷冻甜点产品到提供给消费者也可能需要长达两年的时间。

And demand is only going up. According to the food packaging company Tetra Pak, more than 25 billion litres of ice cream were eaten worldwide in 2021. While the US and China are the biggest consumers, data from NielsenIQ shows that people in the UK bought 28% more ice cream during the UK's record-breaking summer compared to a year earlier. Clearly, rising temperatures can explain why some people are buying more ice cream, but it's not the only explanation. The pandemic has seen people reaching for pleasures they can enjoy at home, which include eating indulgent foods. And worries about the cost-of-living crisis could have a similar effect, as even a premium ice cream is an affordable treat.

需求只会上升。据食品包装公司利乐公司称，2021 年全球消费了超过 250 亿升冰淇淋。虽然美国和中国是最大的消费国，但 NielsenIQ 的数据显示，英国人在此期间购买的冰淇淋数量增加了 28%与一年前相比，英国破纪录的夏季。显然，气温升高可以解释为什么有些人会购买更多的冰淇淋，但这并不是唯一的解释。这场大流行病让人们开始寻求他们可以在家里享受的乐趣，其中包括吃放纵的食物。对生活成本危机的担忧可能会产生类似的影响，因为即使是优质冰淇淋也是一种负担得起的款待。

So, what new things can we expect on a stick or in a cone? Consumers of all ages buy ice cream, but it is millennial consumers who are driving interest in more original flavours, including spices. Dairy still dominates, but plant-based ice cream, sorbets and low-calorie choices are a growing part of the frozen dessert market. But, according to Elsebeth Baungaard, portfolio manager at Tetra Pak, the next global trend will be less about innovation and more about portion size. "I'm sorry to say it's simply shrinking", she says. "But the quality will be higher."↳

那么，我们可以期待棒状或圆锥状的新事物是什么？所有年龄段的消费者都购买冰淇淋，但千禧一代消费者正在推动对包括香料在内的更多原味口味的兴趣。乳制品仍然占主导地位，但植物冰淇淋、果汁冰糕和低热量选择在冷冻甜点市场中的份额不断增长。但是，根据 Tetra Pak 投资组合经理 Elsebeth Baungaard 的说法，下一个全球趋势将不再是创新，而是更多地关注份量。 “我很遗憾地说它只是在缩小”，她说。 “但质量会更高。”

词汇表

treat 美食，享受
taste 口味
evolve 变化，演变
production process 生产过程
drive (a change) 推动（变化）
flavour 口味
complex 复杂的
get the balance right 把握好…的平衡
texture 口感
increasingly automated 越来越自动化
frozen dessert 冷冻甜品
indulgent 作为一种享受的
premium 优质的，顶级的
affordable 买得起的
on a stick 在棍子上的
in a cone 在锥形蛋筒里的
dairy 乳品
plant-based ice cream 植物基冰淇淋
sorbet 冰糕，雪糕
global trend 全球趋势
portion size 份量
shrink 变小，缩小