In the United States, ice cream is a legal term: it must contain at least 10% milkfat and 20% total milk solids and weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon, which limits how much air can be whipped into it. Gelato is a denser, Italian-style frozen dessert with no federal definition, sorbet is made without any milk at all, sherbet sits in between with just 1 to 2% milkfat, and frozen custard is ice cream with at least 1.4% egg yolk solids. Kulfi is a South Asian frozen dessert made from slowly reduced milk and traditionally frozen in molds without churning, so it is the densest of the lot.
That's the quick version. The longer version is more fun, because every one of these desserts is really an answer to the same three questions: how much fat, how much air, and how cold it's served. Once you know those, you can walk up to any freezer case or scoop counter and know exactly what you're about to taste.
The three things that make a frozen dessert what it is
Every frozen dessert is a balance of a few simple parts: a liquid base (milk, cream, fruit juice, tea or plant milk), sugar, sometimes eggs, and air. The differences you can taste come down to:
- Fat. Milkfat carries flavor and makes a dessert feel rich and smooth. More fat usually means a creamier, softer bite.
- Air, called overrun. When a base is churned as it freezes, air gets folded in. Overrun is the extra volume that air adds. At 100% overrun, one gallon of base becomes two gallons of finished dessert, and half of what's in your bowl is air.
- Serving temperature. A dessert served a little warmer is softer and tastes more intense, because very cold food dulls flavor on the tongue.
Ice cream: the one with a legal definition
The US Food and Drug Administration sets a "standard of identity" for ice cream in the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 135.110). To be sold as ice cream, a product must have:
- At least 10% milkfat and at least 10% nonfat milk solids, for at least 20% total milk solids. (Flavors with bulky add-ins like nuts or fruit can dip a little lower, but never below 8% milkfat and 16% total milk solids.)
- A weight of at least 4.5 pounds per gallon.
- At least 1.6 pounds of total food solids per gallon, which limits how much of it can be water.
- Less than 1.4% egg yolk solids. Go above that and it becomes frozen custard.
That weight rule is the clever part. Air weighs almost nothing, so requiring 4.5 pounds per gallon effectively caps overrun at about 100%. Premium brands tend to sit well below that cap, which is why a pint of premium ice cream feels heavier in your hand than a budget pint the same size.
Anything that doesn't meet these numbers can't be labeled ice cream. That's why you'll see "frozen dairy dessert" on some lower-fat products and "non-dairy frozen dessert" on most plant-based pints. Those names aren't a judgment on quality. They're the rules.
Frozen custard: ice cream with egg yolk
Frozen custard lives inside the same federal standard as ice cream. The difference is eggs: frozen custard must contain at least 1.4% egg yolk solids by weight (with a small allowance for bulky flavors, but never below 1.12%). The regulation also allows the names "french ice cream" and "french custard ice cream" for the same thing.
Egg yolks make the texture silkier and the flavor rounder. Custard stands usually serve it fresh from the machine, dense and soft. If you're in the Triangle, Goodberry's has been making frozen custard since 1988, and we include it in our North Carolina road trip guide.
Gelato: denser, softer, served warmer
Here's the surprise: in the US, gelato has no federal standard of identity. The word describes a style rather than a regulated recipe. The dairy industry group IDFA has noted there is no federal gelato standard, and when a petition asked California to create one, IDFA opposed it.
As a style, gelato is usually:
- Churned more slowly, so less air gets in and it's denser.
- Made with more milk and less cream than American ice cream, so it often has less butterfat. That isn't guaranteed, though. US gelato makers vary their recipes just as ice cream makers do, so "gelato" on a label doesn't automatically mean "lower fat."
- Served warmer than ice cream, which is why it's scooped with a flat spade and feels soft and elastic. The warmer temperature lets flavor come through strongly.
So when people ask about gelato vs ice cream, the honest answer is that ice cream is a legal category and gelato is a way of making a frozen dessert. Many gelatos would technically qualify as ice cream, and many wouldn't.
Sorbet: no milk at all
Sorbet is fruit juice or purée (or another flavorful liquid, like tea or coffee) churned with sugar and water. There's no cream and no milk. It's bright, clean and refreshing, and its texture depends on how much sugar is in the base: more sugar keeps it softer and more scoopable.
"Sorbet" isn't a federally defined name either, but the closest US standard is for water ices (21 CFR 135.160). That standard says no milk or milk-derived ingredient may be used, and no egg ingredient except egg white. That last detail matters if you avoid eggs: a few sorbet recipes use a little egg white for texture, so a dairy-free sorbet isn't automatically vegan. Read the label. Our guide to dairy-free and gluten-free ice cream goes deeper on label checks.
Sorbet also takes beautifully to flavors you might not expect in a frozen dessert. Our Sulaimani Sorbet is black tea with cardamom and lemon, the same tea served after a feast in Muslim households across South India and the Middle East. Our Pineapple Hibiscus Sorbet pairs fresh pineapple juice and hibiscus with a pistachio-habanero brittle.
Sorbet vs sherbet: the one-letter difference that matters
People mix these up constantly, and it's easy to see why. They look alike and both lean fruity. The difference is dairy.
Sherbet has its own federal standard (21 CFR 135.140). It must contain:
- Between 1% and 2% milkfat
- Between 2% and 5% total milk solids
- A weight of at least 6 pounds per gallon
- For fruit sherbets, a titratable acidity of at least 0.35%, which gives sherbet its tang
So sherbet is creamier than sorbet but far lighter than ice cream, which needs at least 10% milkfat. If you're avoiding dairy, sherbet is not a safe swap for sorbet.
Kulfi: dense, slow-melting and made from reduced milk
Kulfi is the frozen dessert of South Asia, and it works on completely different principles. Instead of churning cream with air, cooks simmer milk for a long time until it reduces and thickens, then sweeten and flavor it with cardamom, saffron, pistachio, rose or mango. Traditionally the mixture is poured into molds and frozen still, with no churning, so almost no air gets in.
The result is firm, dense and slow to melt, with a gentle cooked-milk sweetness. Most histories place kulfi in Mughal-era North India in the 16th century, and the name is usually traced to the Persian word qulfi, meaning a covered cup. We tell the whole story in What Is Kulfi?
Kulfi is the signature of our lineup at Elaka. Our Kulfi is made with milk, cardamom, saffron and pistachio. We break with tradition on one point: we churn ours, which gives it a slightly lighter, creamier texture while keeping that rich, reduced-milk flavor. With confidence, we think it's the best version around!
Side-by-side comparison
| Dessert | Base | Milkfat | Air (overrun) | US legal standard? | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice cream | Milk and cream, sugar | At least 10% | Capped at about 100% by the 4.5 lb/gallon rule | Yes, 21 CFR 135.110 | Creamy, scoopable, light to rich |
| Frozen custard | Ice cream base plus egg yolk | At least 10% | Usually low | Yes, within 135.110 (at least 1.4% egg yolk solids) | Dense, silky |
| Gelato | More milk, less cream, sugar | Often lower than ice cream, but varies | Low (churned slowly) | No federal standard | Dense, soft, elastic; served warmer |
| Sherbet | Fruit, sugar, a little dairy | 1% to 2% | Moderate | Yes, 21 CFR 135.140 | Light, tangy, slightly creamy |
| Sorbet | Fruit juice or purée (or tea, coffee), sugar, water | None | Low to moderate | No "sorbet" standard; water ices (135.160) allow no milk | Bright, clean, icy to smooth |
| Kulfi | Slowly reduced milk, sugar, spices, nuts | Varies with the milk used | Very low (traditionally not churned) | No US standard | Firm, dense, slow-melting |
So what does "frozen dessert" mean?
"Frozen dessert" is the umbrella over all of these. On a US label, though, it often signals that a product doesn't fit one of the defined standards. A plant-based pint made with coconut or oat milk can't meet the milkfat rule for ice cream, so it's usually labeled a non-dairy frozen dessert. A product with less fat or more air than the standard allows may be called a frozen dairy dessert.
At Elaka, "frozen treats" is simply what we call everything we make, from our dairy flavors to our sorbets. It fits a lineup that runs from Kerala to the Arabian souks to Surry County, and it leaves room for desserts like kulfi that never followed American rules in the first place. You can see the whole range in all flavors, or start with our trip through frozen desserts from around the world, including stretchy Arabic booza and Mexican paletas.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gelato and ice cream?
In the US, ice cream is legally defined: at least 10% milkfat and at least 4.5 pounds per gallon, which limits air. Gelato has no federal definition. As a style, it's churned more slowly so it holds less air, usually uses more milk and less cream, and is served warmer, so it tastes denser and more intense.
What is the difference between sorbet and sherbet?
Sorbet contains no milk. Sherbet must contain between 1% and 2% milkfat and between 2% and 5% total milk solids under US rules, so it's slightly creamy. If you avoid dairy, choose sorbet and check the label.
Is sorbet dairy-free?
Sorbet is traditionally made without milk, and the US standard for water ices allows no milk or milk-derived ingredients. A few recipes use egg white, and some are made on shared equipment, so check the ingredient list and allergen statement, especially if you have an allergy.
Is kulfi the same as ice cream?
No. Kulfi is made from milk that's simmered until it reduces, then traditionally frozen in molds without churning. That makes it denser and slower to melt than ice cream, which is churned to fold in air.
What does "frozen dessert" mean on a label?
It's a broad name for any frozen sweet, but on US packaging it often means the product doesn't meet a defined standard such as ice cream. Plant-based pints, for example, are usually labeled non-dairy frozen desserts because they don't contain the required milkfat.
Now that you know the difference, the best research is a tasting. Line up a dense, saffron-scented Kulfi next to a bright Sulaimani Sorbet, or build your own lineup in a curated 4-pack. We ship on dry ice (here's how shipping works), and we warned you: side effects may include sudden cravings at any time!
