Fresh Ingredients, Fresh Desserts

Fresh ingredients, words that more and more businesses are using to describe their products, but what does that actually mean?

Larica Treats uses only the freshest ingredients, from butter, milk, heavy cream, yogurt, and eggs, to fruit. Our ice cream sandwiches, for example, are 100% homemade, from the ice cream to the brownie. All of our ice creams are made with fresh whole Vigor milk, fresh 40% cream, organic yolks from fresh eggs, and sugar. The ice cream is super creamy and isn’t overly sweet. Fresh means we do not use any shelf-stable dairy in any of our desserts. We use fresh milk and cream to make all of our desserts, and you can taste the difference. Our desserts don’t make you feel heavy after eating them; they are perfectly balanced in flavor.

Shelf-stable dairy, better known as UHT milk or cream, can be stored at room temperature for 6-9 months without being opened, and 2-3 weeks after opening. UHT stands for Ultra High Temperature and refers to the pasteurization process that it goes through that allows the milk to be shelf-stable and go unrefrigerated for months without spoiling. The milk is heated above 135*C and held there for 2 seconds before it is cooled down rapidly. The UHT process slightly cooks the milk solids, giving it a slightly cooked flavor that tastes somewhat artificial.  Fresh milk, on the other hand, lasts about 7 days in the refrigerator, since the pasteurization process is done at a much lower temperature for a longer time around 72*C for 15 seconds. Fresh milk and cream can only be held at room temperature, outside of the refrigerator, for 2 hours before spoiling.

So why is it important to use fresh dairy instead of the cheaper UHT dairy? Besides the simple fact that UHT can never be considered to be a fresh ingredient, it has a “funky/artificial” taste to say the least and therefore has to be covered up usually with sugar. What better ingredient to mask the flavor of UHT products than by using another incredibly shelf-stable, cheap, ingredient like sugar. When using fresh milk and cream, very little sugar can be added to the dessert, enough to sweeten it, unlike a dessert made with UHT milk or cream that has to have a lot of sugar to mask the flavor. If you grew up in Portugal, however, you might not notice the funky/artificial flavor, since 92.9% of the population drinks UHT milk. Whether or not you like the flavor of UHT milk and cream, desserts made with them can never be considered fresh.

If you go to your local café and ask for a “galão” coffee with milk, the milk you are getting is UHT milk, not fresh milk. If you go to a high-end restaurant and ask for a crème bruleé, it is likely made with both UHT milk and UHT cream. Do you as a customer assume that because a restaurant or bakery is more expensive they must use fresh ingredients? In Portugal, it is a common practice to use UHT milk and cream when making desserts. But then the question stands, is a cake or a dessert actually fresh, if it is not made with fresh ingredients? The dictionary definition of fresh is, newly made. Larica makes fresh desserts, with fresh ingredients.