Description
Chocolate ice cream is a flavour of ice cream which is the second most common flavour of ice cream, after vanilla. Chocolate ice cream is made by blending in cocoa powder in along with the eggs (optional), cream, vanilla and sugar used to make ice cream. The cocoa powder gives the ice cream a brown colour. Chocolate ice cream is used in the creation of other flavours, such as rocky road. Other flavours of ice cream contain chocolate chips mixed in with the ice cream (for example, Chocolate Chip ice cream, Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream made with mint ice cream, or plain Chocolate Chip ice cream made with vanilla ice cream. This ice-cream can also be made sugar-free by substituting sugar with sugar-substitute and also sometimes made low-fat by using low-fat ingredients like low-fat milk, low-fat cream etc.

How to select
Choose from the varieties of chocolate ice-cream and brand available in market. Always check for dates of manufacture and expiry along with the seal. When making at home, check for the freshness of ingredients like milk, cream etc and maintain hygiene.

Culinary uses
• Chocolate ice-cream can be served as a dessert by itself.
• This ice-cream is also used in chilled frozen drinks like milkshakes, cold coffee and smoothies.
• It can also be used in a variety of desserts like sundaes, pies etc.
• This ice-cream blends extremely well with vanilla ice-cream and is used to create some scrumptious sundaes like rocky road, chocolate fudge etc.

How to store
Always store the ice-cream sealed in an air-tight container in the freezer.

Health benefits
• Chocolate ice-cream being made from milk is a good source of calcium, protein and carbohydrates.
• However, since it contains a high amount of sugar and cream, weight-watchers should be careful with the portion size.