Sorry, But Drumsticks Don't Contain Real Ice Cream. Here's What They Are

As with many online scandals these days, the outrage began on TikTok, where one user shared a video showing a Nestlé Drumstick sitting on their kitchen counter. According to the video, it had been there for 22 hours, and although it was certainly in a more liquid state than when it was straight out of the package, the Drumstick was hardly melted. It sat in a clear liquid that had separated from a partially softened cookies-and-cream interior. And if you've ever eaten ice cream, you'll know that this just isn't how it usually works — except Drumsticks aren't ice cream.

Take a look at a Drumstick package. In the bottom right corner on the front of the box, it shows how many Drumsticks are inside — but it doesn't say "ice cream cones." It says "frozen dairy dessert cones." This may seem like a minor quibble (and in some ways, it is), but when it comes to food, word choice matters.

You see, ice cream has a legal definition — it must contain 10% milk fat from a dairy source like milk or cream, and it must have 20% milk solids. Frozen dairy desserts use oils — like the coconut, palm, and soybean oils found in Drumsticks. Now, the cones still contain milk, cream, and sugar; just not in the proportions required to meet the legal definition of ice cream. They include additional ingredients as well.

So, Drumsticks aren't legally ice cream — but that doesn't quite explain why one wouldn't melt after nearly a full day outside the freezer. To understand the non-melting properties, look further down the ingredients list. Drumsticks contain a number of emulsifiers and stabilizers, like guar and carob bean gum, monoglycerides, and soy lecithin. These ingredients bind the other components, improve the dessert's creaminess and texture, and reduce ice crystal growth (keeping the "ice cream" fresh longer in the freezer). They also slow the melting process. The milk and cream in the dessert do actually melt as they would in true ice cream, but the other ingredients hold them together, maintaining the appearance of solid ice cream instead of a puddle of dairy.

The number of added chemicals, along with their seemingly magical ability to prevent visible melting, might give some dessert eaters pause. However, these ingredients occur naturally in oils and beans, and are frequently added to processed foods. The FDA recognizes them as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) foods, although some people may have dietary restrictions or allergies to these ingredients.

Nestlé faced criticism this time, but this TikTok video wasn't the first to call out a non-melting "ice cream" product. In 2014, another viral YouTube video showed Walmart's Great Value ice cream sandwiches failing to melt in the sun — for the same reasons as Drumsticks. The addition of emulsifiers and stabilizers is a common technique in creating many processed foods. For example, guar gum has been used for thickening and stabilizing ice cream since the 1950s, and soy lecithin is found in everything from salad dressing to infant formula to chocolate.

If you prefer to avoid these kinds of additives, there are some store-bought ice cream brands you can turn to (Häagen-Dazs famously states that its ice cream contains no artificial emulsifiers or stabilizers), or you can make your own homemade ice cream using a stand mixer. But if you don't have time to break out the churn — or you just love a novelty frozen treat — you'll at least now know why these desserts don't quite meet the standards of real ice cream.