Regular versus churned ice cream — what’s the difference?

Anyone who has ventured down the ice-cream aisle at the local grocery store has probably noticed the prevalence of ice cream advertised as churned or slow-churned or double-churned or xtreme-churned.

What the hell is churned, and why does it matter? Churn is a noun that refers to a homemade ice-cream maker; it’s also a verb to describe what the dasher (the paddle inside) does to the milk and cream: “I took the dasher out of the churn after churning until it wouldn’t turn.”

But makers of store-bought ice cream are trying to give it a new meaning. By churning low-fat ice cream longer, companies claim to have made it as smooth, creamy and delicious as the real fatty stuff.

But not so fast.