Alcohols & Liqueurs
Rum
Rum is a distilled sugarcane spirit (typically 40% ABV) used as a flavoring in gelato. It carries essentially no sugar, fat, or protein, but its ethanol is an extremely powerful freezing-point depressant, so it sharply raises PAC and softens the gelato while adding zero sweetness (POD 0).
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 0% |
| Water | 66.6% |
| Sugars | 0% |
| Fat | 0% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 0% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 0 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 248.2 |
Typical use: 1-4% of the mix (hard cap around 5%)
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
In balancing, 40% ABV rum contributes about 248 PAC per 100 g but 0 POD and no meaningful solids, so it lowers the freezing point and serving temperature and makes the gelato softer without adding sweetness or body. That figure comes from the grams of ethanol, not from the degree on the label: a 40% ABV spirit holds 33.4 g of ethanol per 100 g, and ethanol scores 743, so 743 x 0.334 = 248. Because ethanol is so anti-freezing, additions must be small, or the base stays soupy and will not set in the batch freezer. When using more than a splash, reduce sugars slightly to keep the freezing curve in range, and add the rum cold near the end of maturation since alcohol and aroma are volatile. It pairs classically with raisins, chocolate, coffee, and custard bases.
Origin & background
Rum was born in the 17th-century Caribbean sugar colonies, where plantation workers found that molasses, a byproduct of sugar refining, could be fermented and distilled. The word 'rumbullion' appears in a Barbados manuscript dated around 1651, one of the earliest known references to the spirit, marking the island as a cradle of rum production.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/174817/nutrients (USDA FoodData Central, Alcoholic beverage, distilled, rum, 80 proof: 66.6 g water, 33.4 g alcohol, 0 g sugar/fat/protein per 100 g)
- https://www.dairyscience.info/cheese-dairy/ice-cream/228-ice-cream-hardness.html (dairyscience.info / Food Science & Technology, Wiley: 'Alcohol (ethanol) | 46 | 7.4' in a table whose factor is the molecular weight of sucrose divided by that of the solute, i.e. PAC 740 per 100 g of ETHANOL, not per degree of the bottle)
- https://www.oiml.org/en/files/pdf_r/r022-e75.pdf (OIML Recommendation R22, international alcoholometric tables: 'q = (rho20 / rho20(100%)) x p'; table IVb gives 40 %vol = 33.30 %mass, matching the 33.4 g of ethanol USDA measures per 100 g)
- https://www.jopistacchio.it/sorbetto-spritz/ (Jo Pistacchio: 'L'alcol etilico ha un Potere Anti Congelante (PAC) pari a 743, contro il 100 dello zucchero saccarosio', converting degrees to grams with the 0.79 specific gravity of ethanol)
- https://medium.com/@gelatologist/what-pac-is-and-how-to-calculate-it-2f1ade1bd5df (PAC/POD methodology; ethanol freezing-point depression relative to sucrose)
- https://spiritedlicks.com/recipes/alcohol-freezing-point-chart/ (Spirited Licks: 40% ABV / 80 proof standard, freezing-point depression by alcohol content, ~20% cap of base weight)