You may have seen it on labels for whipped topping or for cosmetics like lip products. What exactly is it, and what does it mean for products such as Master Martini Monna Lisa Deluxe that make the claim?

To put it simply, freeze-stable or freeze-thaw stability testing is a quality control process performed on biodegradable products. It puts them through rigorous temperature tests, freezing, then melting and repeating the process. This process can affect the structural integrity of the product or its packaging. This process is done to test the product’s ability to withstand extreme temperatures.

If you ever found that ice cream, when thawed and refrozen, had a grittier or icy texture, it’s because it’s not freeze-thaw stable to begin with. In contrast, most cakes are freeze-thaw stable as they can be taken in and out of the fridge without losing too much of their integrity. Basically, the water ice crystals (the main culprit behind freezing and thawing problems) grew too large.

Normally, when ice cream is being made, it’s churned while it’s freezing, which prevents the ice crystals from growing too big. If there’s no churning action, those crystals overgrow, changing the texture. This means it’s not freeze-thaw stable. With something like a cake, the moisture does freeze once it’s in the freezer, but the freezing process doesn’t change the texture much.

If a product or packaging is certified as freeze-thaw stable, it means it remains the same after repeated freezing and thawing. Foods that fit the bill are typically vacuum-sealed in a moisture-free environment. Now, this doesn’t always hold, but adding stabilisers such as guar gum or locust bean gum can prevent water crystals from expanding too much in the mixture.

Why would this matter for cakes?

Now that you know more about the process, why does this matter to you? Well, if you ever put a cake frosted with whipped cream into the freezer and then let it thaw, you’d notice the cream would split or become grainy. Now, if you freeze buttercream on a cake, it will hold its shape and maintain its beautiful appearance.

It’s important to know which frostings hold up best after being frozen and then thawed. Some of the best homemade varieties of frosting that maintain their shape after being frozen would be:

American Buttercream (Butter and icing sugar)
Swiss meringue buttercream (Butter, whipped egg whites, and icing sugar)
Italian buttercream (Whipped Egg Whites, sugar syrup, then butter)
German buttercream (a custard-based buttercream with whole eggs and cornstarch before you add butter)

There are plenty of options, but if you’re looking for an alternative frosting that doesn’t require any extra ingredients, try Master Martini’s Monna Lisa Deluxe. It’s a shelf-stable product and only requires refrigeration after opening. Make sure to use it within 3 to 4 days of opening. Similarly, you can use a stabiliser for whipped cream, such as IRCA Panna Fit, to make it more stable and easier to work with for larger projects.

For the best results, refrigerate Monna Lisa Deluxe before whipping to bring the product to approximately 4 degrees Celsius. It offers a brilliant white colour, pre-sweetened taste, and freezes well. Create Distribution’s internal R&D team tested the product in-house to see how it holds up. From our findings, it holds its shape and does not collapse. We took extra measures to test this in multiple environments, such as at room temperature for 24 hours, fridge temperature for 24 hours, freezer for 24 hours, back to fridge for 24 hours, and then back to room temperature for 72 hr. Even after all these rigorous temperature fluctuations, this product did not weep or lose its shape.

If you’re a fan of flavoured frosting, this product holds up even better when something like fruit puree or melted chocolate is incorporated. Monna Lisa Deluxe Whip Topping is an inexpensive option compared to fresh cream, yielding 3-3.5x its original amount when whipped and offers professional-grade quality for vegetarian-friendly bakeries and bakeries alike.

Now that you know more about freeze-thaw stability testing, let us know your results if you decide to try Monna Lisa Deluxe or Panna Fit.