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Scottish scientists have developed a new ingredient that could prevent ice cream melting in hot weather.

A naturally occurring protein can be used to create ice cream which stays frozen for longer in hot weather.

The scientists estimate that the slow-melting product could become available in three to five years.

The development could also allow products to be made with lower levels of saturated fat and fewer calories.Slow melting ice cream to be developed

Teams at the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee have discovered that the protein, known as BsIA, works by binding together the air, fat and water in ice cream.

It is also said to prevent gritty ice crystals from forming – ensuring a fine, smooth texture.

The team developed a method of producing the protein – which occurs naturally in some foods as a friendly bacteria.

The researchers also had the prospect of reducing the sugar content and could be used in other foods such as chocolate mousse and mayonnaise to help reduce the calories.

They believe using the ingredient could benefit manufacturers too as it can be processed without impacting on performance and can be produced from sustainable raw materials.

Blue Bell has decided to recall all of its products because of a potentially lethal listeria contamination.

In a statement, the Texas-based company said its ice cream, frozen yoghurt and other products could be contaminated with listeria.

Listeria can cause “serious and sometimes fatal infections”.

The recall began last month in response to the deaths of three people in Kansas who had eaten Blue Bell’s ice cream.

Tests later revealed that five people in Kansas and three in Texas had been made ill by the bacteria. A batch of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was linked to the outbreak.Blue Bell recall listeria

Blue Bell now says that after further inspections, it found the bacterial infection had contaminated not just one batch, but several of its factories.

It said it “can’t say with certainty” how the bacteria was introduced to the manufacturing line.

“We’re committed to doing the 100% right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe,” said Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse in a statement.

Paul Kruse added the company would be instituting a new procedure called “test and hold”, in which all of its products will be tested first and held until the results indicate the products are safe.

This is the first recall in the 108-year-old company’s history.

It comes just a few weeks after Sabra Dipping Co recalled 30,000 cases of hummus, because of possible contamination with the same poisonous bacteria.

Listeria is a food-borne organism which can cause fever and nausea. In most cases, people make full recoveries.

The disease can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems and lead to miscarriages among pregnant women.

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The UK’s first-ever breakfast gelato menu has launched at Comboco in Soho, London.

There’s cereal milk gelato flavour, inspired by the sweet, starchy milk Americans are fond of adding to their breakfast bowls.

Then there is the unusual pancakes and maple syrup flavor, as well as toast with whipped butter.

For those on a diet, frozen yoghurt with granola may be the ideal option, and for those nursing a hangover, there are few more bracing starts to the day than a Bloody Mary gelato. The cocktail is re-imagined as an ice cool tomato sorbet, spiked with Tabasco and a heady hit of Worcestershire Sauce.

Customers can put some rocket fuel into their day with a rich coffee ice cream, the double espresso gelato.

Depending on the recipe and the person making it, dairy-based gelato contains around 16-24% sugar and 100g of the sugary treat packs around 216 calories.

However, while the breakfast ice cream may not aid dieters, it is said to help cure hangovers.

The cold effect causes more blood to be sent to the brain as a defense mechanism to try to keep the brain warm.

Comboco launched Breakfast Gelato menu

Comboco launched Breakfast Gelato menu

The increased circulation is said to help your brain recover from the dreaded booze-fuelled night before.

Also on offer for £3 ($5) a scoop at Comboco are other eccentric varieties such as the rich avocado, pear and gorgonzola, the mind-boggling scrambled eggs and, for those with more expensive taste, the opulent truffle oil and mushroom gelato, alongside more traditional flavors, such as bronte pistachio, kentish strawberry and Madagascan vanilla.

Comboco was founded by ex-City worker, Ashish Saggar, and have previously created special flavors for Pacha’s launch for River Island.

Speaking about their innovative new offering, the Comboco team said: “Our Breakfast Gelato Menu is a bit of fun to cheer up the Capital after this dull start to the summer.

“Every flavor is made using the finest organic milk but we don’t recommend that city dwellers enjoy this indulgent treat every day…it’s just for special occasions!”

Comboco quirky breakfast flavors on offer:

Cereal Milk Gelato
Pancakes & Maple Syrup Gelato
Toast with Whipped Butter Gelato
Frozen Yoghurt with Granola
Bloody Mary Sorbet
Double Espresso Gelato

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Designer Zac Posen has created an evening gown completely covered in 24-karat gold paillettes.

Zac Posen’s $1.5 million dress was made to look like melting ice cream and was created in honor of Magnum’s new Gold ice cream bar.

The 32-year-old designer said: “Creating my first-ever 24-karat gold dress was a truly priceless experience.

“I’m naturally drawn to luxury and love to push my creativity, so the design process of creating a couture dress made of gold was thrilling.”

Zac Posen’s $1.5 million dress was made to look like melting ice cream and was created in honor of Magnum's new Gold ice cream bar

Zac Posen’s $1.5 million dress was made to look like melting ice cream and was created in honor of Magnum’s new Gold ice cream bar

Zac Posen added: “I pulled inspiration from Magnum Gold?! for the dress design… the train reminds me of melting ice cream. The dress is so decadent.”

The gold dress will make its debut on April 18th in a short film for Magnum Gold?! starring Joe Manganiello.

Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, the movie is called As Good As Gold.

This isn’t the first time Magnum has collaborated with the fashion industry, however.

Karl Lagerfeld and Rachel Bilson joined forces in 2011 for a three-part short film series, which featured Chanel model Baptiste Giabiconi directing Rachel Bilson, who demanded a Magnum to continue, at a fashion shoot.

Magnum Gold?! ice cream bar is made of vanilla bean with swirls of sea salt caramel and a “golden” milk chocolate coating.

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Scientists at the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, Switzerland, are helping specialists from Nestle to study how ice cream’s structure changes when it is stored in a household freezer.

Samples of ice cream have been scanned with an X-ray machine more typically used to study the ice crystals which are key to avalanche formation.

Nestle is hoping to reveal the exact conditions under which ice crystals merge and grow.

When the crystals get big enough they change the texture of ice cream and alter how it feels when it is eaten.

The X-ray tomography machine at the institute is one of the few that can take images of tiny structures at sub-zero temperatures.

“Previously, we could not look inside ice cream without destroying the sample in the process,” said Nestle food scientist Dr. Cedric Dubois.

Via the research, summarized in a paper published in the journal Soft Matter, Nestle hopes to find a way to combat the gradual degradation of taste ice cream often suffers. As with many foods, the structure of ice cream is the key to the way it tastes.

Nestle hopes to find a way to combat the gradual degradation of taste ice cream often suffers, as its structure is the key to the way it tastes

Nestle hopes to find a way to combat the gradual degradation of taste ice cream often suffers, as its structure is the key to the way it tastes

Dr. Cedric Dubois said the research had revealed that the white frost of ice crystals found on ice cream forms as a result of the temperature changes it undergoes as it is transported, sold and stored.

“Most home freezers are set at -18C, but the temperature doesn’t remain constant,” said Dr. Cedric Dubois.

“It fluctuates by a couple of degrees in either direction, which causes parts of the ice cream to melt and then freeze again.”

Time-lapse images of ice crystals only a few microns across were gathered during the study which cycled samples through a small range of temperature changes.

This showed that as water froze out it formed ice crystals that affected the structure of the ice cream and made it chewy. This could also make the dessert icier, hard to scoop, and less pleasurable to eat.

The study has started to reveal the “life cycle” of the crystals and the conditions which trigger some of them to merge, enlarge and significantly alter the texture of the ice cream.

“We already know the growth of ice crystals in ice cream is triggered by a number of different factors,” said Dr. Cedric Dubois.

“If we can identify the main mechanism, we can find better ways to slow it down.”