Alcohols & Liqueurs
Alcohol 96°
Alcohol 96° is food-grade rectified ethanol (96% ethanol by volume, roughly 94% by weight, the balance water). In gelato it acts as a pure freezing-point depressant, adding no solids and no sweetness, only a very large anti-freezing (PAC) contribution used in trace amounts.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 0% |
| Water | 6% |
| Sugars | 0% |
| Fat | 0% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 0% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 0 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 697.2 |
Typical use: 0.2-2% of the total mix, rarely above 3%; even 1% measurably softens the finished gelato.
Balance alcohol 96° in a real recipe
Free balancer · no signup wall · watch PAC, POD and Total Solids update live as you add it.
Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Ethanol has the highest anti-freezing power of any common gelato ingredient, a PAC of about 743 versus sucrose's 100, roughly 7.4 times stronger per gram, because its small 46 g/mol molecule depresses freezing colligatively far more than 342 g/mol sucrose. That factor applies per gram of ethanol, not per degree on the label, so the rule is PAC = 743 times the grams of ethanol in 100 g of product, divided by 100. A 96 degree spirit is 93.8% ethanol by weight, so it contributes a PAC near 697 per 100 g and a POD of 0 (no sweetness), lowering serving hardness without changing the sugar balance. Because it is so potent, dose only fractions of a percent: as little as 1% noticeably softens the gelato and speeds melting. Use it to fine-tune scoopability, rescue an over-firm base, or dissolve alcohol-soluble aromas; overdosing gives a soupy mix that will not set.
Origin & background
Rectified spirit is capped near 96% because ethanol and water form a minimum-boiling azeotrope (about 95.6% ethanol by weight, boiling at 78.2 C) that ordinary fractional distillation cannot exceed, which is why the traditional '96 degree' grade exists. It is a pharmacopeial standard, formally described in the WHO International Pharmacopoeia monograph 'Ethanol (96 per cent)'.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- OIML Recommendation R22, 'International alcoholometric tables': 'q = (rho20 / rho20(100%)) x p', with q the strength by volume, p the strength by mass and 789.24 kg/m3 the density of pure ethanol. Table IVb gives 96 %vol = 93.84 %mass: https://www.oiml.org/en/files/pdf_r/r022-e75.pdf
- Dairy Science and Food Technology, 'Ice cream hardness': 'Alcohol (ethanol) | 46 | 7.4' in a table whose factor is defined as the molecular weight of sucrose divided by that of the solute, i.e. PAC 740 per 100 g of ethanol: https://www.dairyscience.info/cheese-dairy/ice-cream/228-ice-cream-hardness.html
- Jo Pistacchio, 'Sorbetto Spritz': 'L'alcol etilico ha un Potere Anti Congelante (PAC) pari a 743, contro il 100 dello zucchero saccarosio', and converts degrees to grams with the specific gravity of ethanol, 0.79: https://www.jopistacchio.it/sorbetto-spritz/
- icecreamcalc.com, 'Freezing point depression' (alcohol PAC 740, from the sucrose/ethanol molecular weight ratio): https://icecreamcalc.com/2020/07/24/freezing-point-depression/
- jhermann's Ice Creamery, ingredient table (ethanol PAC 740): https://jhermann.github.io/ice-creamery/info/ingredients/
- Underbelly, 'Booze Flavored Ice Cream', author's reply in the comments: 'The molecular weight of sucrose is 7.4 times that of ethanol. So you'd expect a gram of ethanol to have the FPD of 7.4 g of sucrose': https://under-belly.org/booze-flavored-ice-cream/
- Magis Pharma, converting alcohol percentages (volume to mass for rectified spirit): https://www.magis-pharma.be/en/converting-alcohol-percentages