Gone are the days when one would indulge in the toothsome that a single ice cream cone had to offer on a hot summer afternoon. And gone are those days when dessert only meant ice cream or cake. The dairy world has expanded and how! Where does that leave the humble ice cream we’ve grown to love with competitors like gelato, sorbets, sherbets and more. It’s turning out to be a tad bit daunting for us, so how exactly do you tell one from the other? With a little help from us, you can do more than just that.

1. ICE CREAM- FROZEN MILK

No shocker here, ice cream is frozen cream with milk and sweeteners added to it. But doesn’t it surprise you a little bit when you burrow your way through all that ice cream, only to be met by the bottom of the carton a little too soon? No, you weren’t all that hungry, stop blaming yourself! That’s because 60 percent of the volume of the container is actually air. We’ve been eating air all along.

2. GELATO- THE DISTANT COUSIN THAT GOT AWAY

So what’s this thing called a ‘gelato’ that has been doing the rounds of late? The difference between a gelato and ice cream is that gelato contains only 20 percent of air in it as opposed to the 60 percent that the ice cream has. It all boils down to the content of air whipped up into the product. The result? A denser, more flavoured dessert that doesn’t harden when frozen. We’ve been giving up flavour for air all along. Who’s up for a gelato instead?

3. SORBET- THE PALATE CLEANSER

Made from fruit puree with flavouring such as herbs and spices is this frozen dessert that goes by the name of Sorbet. How is it different from the rest? It’s dairy-free (suitable for people allergic to milk) making it a palate cleanser. For a light burst of fruity flavour, dig into a sorbet.

4. SHERBET- CREAMINESS RELOADED

First things first, the ‘r’ in sherbet is silent. It is a crime to mispronounce a delectable dessert and yes, we take it quite seriously. Now Sherbet, looks like a distant cousin of the sorbet barring one addition, that of milk. It has milk added to it for creaminess. This fruit based dessert comes with as little as two percent of butterfat.

Generation Z (X is passe now) sure is complicating the dessert world for us! Palates are being assaulted (in a good way), and the humble sweet tooth is certainly getting more spoilt for choice.