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Awal Dairy – the home of ice cream and ice lollies in
Known throughout the kingdom and
Its delicious delicacies are so popular that it also keeps the Bahrain Defence Force cool as well as the US Navy stationed here.
Samad Al Khaja, marketing manager, said: “Ice cream is about excitement, happiness and being in a good mood.
“Every year we try to launch new flavours and customers always look forward to see what we will bring out next.
“Last year we only introduced two but this year we have gone all out to delight our customers with nine new tastes.
“We make good affordable ice creams that appeal to every kind of audience and at any income level. We also have sugar free, low fat ice creams for those health conscious consumers who enjoy life.
“Our ice lollies are priced at 50 fils a piece and contain 15 per cent real fruit juice and supplements of vitamin C. Our ‘Pirate’ ice cream, made of whole milk and real chocolates, retails at just 50 fils a piece – the cheapest anywhere in the Gulf.”
The secret of creating the perfect dreamy, soft and sweet cloud of ‘lickiness’ lies in the making and preservation, as Mr Al Khaja explained: “The best ice creams are those that use the best ingredients and have the finest body texture.
“They should not melt during any part of the process of the production cycle or during distribution.
“Air pumped during the production cycle prevents solids from getting stuck together and gives the ice cream a soft feel.
“Consumers can easily check if the processes have been maintained to the highest standards. On opening a pack there will be no gap between the ice cream and the container and no shiny crystals formed on the top.”
Exotic flavouring comes from the Indian sub-continent and
Highly confident that
THE PROCESS
FabioN ice creams are made at the Awal Dairy’s factory in Al Hajar, off
Rupesh Nerukar, senior production supervisor, took a GulfWeekly delegation around the set up, which has been awarded an ISO 22000 for its hygiene and safety control.
As soon as you enter the factory, where temperatures are controlled with plastic curtains and insulated doors, the overpowering smell of sugar and cookies is unmistakable.
We witnessed the first process of ‘mixing’ where water, fresh milk, butter, sugar, cream, vegetable fat, stabilisers and emulsifiers were brought together.
The second step involves pasteurisation, a process used to kill harmful bacteria where the mixture is heated up to 85C and then cooled to 4C.
Mr Nerukar explained that the process also helps increase the shelf life of the ice cream.
We were then led to a marvellous machine that can give the ice cream a selection of shapes – bar, round, sticks or even a face.
It can also coat the bars with liquid chocolate. In the other end of the room another machine was producing ice creams in cups and cones and giving it beautiful effects like ripples.
The process is completed after the ice creams pass through a hardening tunnel (-40C) and are packed into wrappers before being sent into the storage freezer.
At the end of the process computerised information details the time and date of manufacture, the operator’s code and mixing batch on the wrapper shortly before the ready ice creams are packed.
