After the bulb is baked or boiled, it can be eaten like a baked sweet potato but with a sweeter taste. This can then be crushed and mixed together with the whipped to give it a sweeter taste and a more solid texture. Modern sweeteners Cane sugar When sugar was introduced by the first European traders, it changed the eating habits of coastal First Nations people as it was a unique taste to them and it later became a treasured ingredient. It was mixed with Indian ice cream but it was said that too much would ruin the flavour. Whipping process The Thompson tribe used timbergrass (Calamoagrostis rubescens) to both dry and whip the berries as well as using the Rocky Mountain maple bark as beaters. Some tribes have also whipped soapberries with bunches of inner cedar bark, thimbleberry branches or salal branches in birch bark bowls. It takes about ten minutes to whip them this way, if whipping briskly. The berries are placed into a great bowl that is absolutely free of oil or fat and are mixed with a sweetener. The mixture of berries is crushed and vigorously beaten in the manner of whipping cream in order to raise the typical foam of the confection. Similar to whipping egg whites, foaming is reduced in the presence of lipid contamination (grease, egg yolk, etc.). Foam depends on the ability of the surfactant (saponins in soapberries, denatured proteins in egg whites) molecules to bind with each other and create a hydrophobic interaction at the interface. When lipids are present, they interfere with this interaction and reduce the viscoelasticity of the foam. Nutrition In 125mL (100g) of Indian ice cream, an average of all common recipes, there are 37g of fat, 7g of protein, 130 mg of calcium, and small traces of iron, vitamin A, thiamin, and riboflavin. 125mL (50g) of soapberries contain only 1g protein, 10 mg calcium and traces of fats. To achieve the above nutritional profile, the Indian ice cream recipe used likely has added ingredients which differ from the traditional recipe which could include milk, eggs, nuts and dried fruit. Consumption The consistency of the dessert ranges from a thin, frothy liquid to a thick foam, which is determined by the amount of water added to the recipe. First Nations that originate from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, Upper Tanana, and Flathead regions prefer to use larger amounts