Either way ice-cream is, quite expensive prices differ. I have noticed as, other members say when ice cream melts it seems to be less of it… I have watched a few videos online only showing them filling containers up with finished product. I love how they dip in chocolate its, all so perfection. Human couldn’t be accurate like a machine
Commercial ice-cream is “blown”, that is air is mixed into it as it is chilled. When it melts the air escapes so the volume is reduced. As we by it by volume not weight there is some uncertainty how much ice-cream you get per litre tub. However if you really want to know the nutritional panel is done by weight so you can determine the approximate content.
This seems a bit silly to me as the mouth feel of ice-cream depends to some degree on the air entrained so you may as well have the one you like and forget about the amount of air.
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All ice cream has air in it - in varying levels. This website explains why air is important ‘ingredient’ in ice cream:
Interesting to note the publisher in the link - ‘The American Chemical Society’.
It’s a great explanation of how to convert the two principle ingredients, essentially Fat and Sugar into Ice cream. In their raw state we might eat less of either or reject both on taste. As they said in the article,
Why is air so important? If you have ever had a bowl of ice cream melt, and then refroze it and tried to eat it later, it probably did not taste very good.
The one thing missing is advice to consume in moderation. As if we don’t already know how to! 
Gelato may be a tastier option, served in small portions and containing less air. Better value or healthier than ice cream is open to challenge.
Any beating, creaming, whisking, churning, of a mixture will add air, even if it’s done by hand…but machines do a better job…
It’s the reason the creaming of butter and sugar makes fluffy, smooth, ‘airy’ cakes 
Yes indeed but blowing is the preferred method commercially where home makers do not generally have such equipment.
Domestic machines usually stir the mix while cooling it. However, you can make a very nice semifreddo that involves little skill and without a special machine or anything more complex than an egg beater. I have recipes!
Worth a monthly food challenge?
Best recipe for traditional homemade. IE all forms of ice cream maker banned. And the more modern ‘alternate method’.
Excuse any ignorance about the history. I suspect there is a wealth of real knowledge out there. My few feeble attempts are distant memories, and not really successful.
Coincidently Mark, it’s one of the topics that’s already in the ‘bag of ideas’ of the food champions 
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That’s great. @syncretic sparked a memory. Growing up my mum and Gran made their own, all without the aid of any machinery other than a hand egg beater, and the fridge freezer. Think 50’s!
We seem to have been reprogrammed by the market into accepting soft serve and factory produced product all of similar consistency as the only true product. Consumer convenience wins.
This process adds air. As the ice cream mixture thickens, the more air is added by the stirring process.
Hand making ice cream also usually has regular stirring or whipping to make any ice crystals smaller and to add air.
While commercial machines possibly are more efficient at the process and optimise the amount of air in the final product, ice cream made at home also has air added
The only way not to add air is to ensure ingredients are combined with minimal stirring and then freeze. This will result in a hard block of ice cream mixture.
And we don’t want that.
Sorry to revive an old thread (again) but I just weighed my 2L Bulla Cookies and Cream tub and found it at 1006 grams.
Seems very light.
I would imagine that tub itself would be 50g too.
Now the cookies may add some air to the tub but I heard someone say somewhere recently that ice cream must be less than 50% air but that was an American YouTuber.
I stil enjoy this but it’s a bit sad to see how light the tub is.
Is this a case of ‘shrinkflation’ or are cookies just very light weight?
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Welcome to the Community @Bob_182
In the case you cited 2L is a volume not a weight. If interested in the weight, a proxy for density, have you weighed other varieties and brands for comparison?
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In Australia the requirements under the Food Standards Code are:
2.5.6—1 Name
This Standard is Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 2.5.6 – Ice cream.
Note Commencement:
This Standard commences on 1 March 2016, being the date specified as the commencement date in notices in the Gazette and the New Zealand Gazette under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). See also section 93 of that Act.2.5.6—2 Definitions
Note In this Code (see section 1.1.2—3):
ice cream means a sweet frozen food that is made from cream or milk products or both, and other foods, and is generally aerated.
2.5.6—3 Requirement for food sold as ice cream
A food that is sold as ‘ice cream’ must:
(a) be ice cream; and
(b) contain no less than:
(i) 100 g/kg of milk fat; and
(ii) 168 g/L of food solids.
There isn’t any aeration requirements. The code acknowledges ice cream is aerated. Ice cream however has to meet the milk fat and food solids minimum levels.
Edit: reviewing online information, ice creams generally have a density between about 0.5g/mL to 0.9g/mL (note: g/mL can also be presented as kg/L). The Bulla ice cream would fit into the lower bulk density end of the spectrum. The Bulla ice cream is unlikely to to be ‘shrinkflation’, but making a ice cream which is light in texture and to suit the palette of the consumer’. Lighter ice creams are preferred by some as they generally are easier to consume (scoop easier and possibly better texture on the palate.
If one would like a heavier bulk density, pick up two containers (of the same volume and flavour) by different manufacturers) to see which is heavier - or go to the scales in the fruit and vege section and weigh the ice creams before returning them to the freezer section.
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As you will read up thread entraining air as it sets is a key part of making icecream, it is important for texture and mouth feel. However the amount of air is not a fixed recipe. To some degree it is subjective, some like the softer mouth feel of lots of air and some like more substance.
You will find that some of the premium icecreams will be much denser, they will also have more kilojoules per gram and cost much more.
If this was a staple food where the balance of healthy and not so healthy and neutral components is important then the amount of filler (air in this case) would be more important. You would be rightfully concerned if (say) mince meat had added water to bulk it up but this is a different situation.
Icecream is discretionary food, it is something we try to limit to keep our diets balanced and healthy because most of us already have plenty of fat and sugar in our diets (icecream has lots) and too little fibre and veges (icecream has little or none). The rare times I buy it I choose on how much I like it and what it costs not what the nutrition panel says.
So my view is that if you like it then enjoy it and forget about the density. Think of it this way, you are buying a tub of pleasure not an essential diet component, so judge on smiles per gram.
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