Fruit for Ice Cream Shops

Real fruit flavor in every scoop

Shops that make their own ice cream and sorbet need fruit with strong, steady flavor and color. Concord Wholesale supplies frozen fruit purées and individually quick frozen (IQF) fruit to ice cream shops, scoop shop chains and dessert parlors. Purée blends straight into your base with no cutting or straining, and IQF pieces fold in as mix-ins or go on top of sundaes and shakes.

Purées for ice cream and sorbet flavors

IQF fruit for mix-ins, sundaes and shakes

Pasteurized purée vs. IQF fruit: which to use

In the US, fruit purées are regulated as juice under the FDA's juice HACCP rule, which calls for a process that reduces harmful bacteria by 5 logs (99.999%), usually pasteurization, when purée is used in drinks. IQF fruit pieces are frozen raw fruit, so they are not covered by that rule and do not go through a kill step.

• Drinks, toppings and other no-cook uses: ask for pasteurized purée.
• IQF fruit: washed, cut and frozen at facilities certified to GFSI-recognized food safety standards. Handle it according to your own food safety plan and local health code.
• Documentation: spec sheets and COAs show whether each purée is pasteurized.

Working with fruit purée in ice cream

• Purée adds water, so balance it with sugar and solids in your base to keep the texture smooth and scoopable.
• If purée goes into a base that has already been pasteurized, or into a sorbet with no cooking step, use pasteurized purée.
• Use seedless purée for smooth sorbets and purée with seeds where visible fruit is part of the look.
• Fold IQF fruit in at the end of churning so pieces stay whole.
• Test new flavors with samples before you commit to a full case.

See every industry we supply on our foodservice industries page.