Do you want to start making your own ice cream or gelato?

Here’s the basic principles of how the ‘HOT’ Process is carried out…

There are 3 stages to production:

Firstly, you want to make a neutral base mix. The raw ingredients; milk, cream, skimmed milk powder, sugar and some form of stabiliser/emulsifying powder need to be heated and stirred to fully blend the base mix. Heating to a temperature of 65-85°C (depending on the ingredients and recipe used) for a specific time to achieve pasteurisation which then kills most of the bacteria present in the raw ingredients ensuring they’re at safe levels.

During this heating phase, flavourings could be added to the pasteuriser, such as Cocoa to make Chocolate Ice Cream or nut pastes to make Hazelnut and other flavours. Sometimes Vanilla Pods are also added, although in most cases the Vanilla is only added to the mix once cooled. Not all flavours like being heated and the quantity of each flavour required will determine if this is efficient or not.

Taylor UK’s range of pasteurisers work in a fully automatic way; evenly heating, mixing, holding and chilling your ice cream or gelato mix in the most efficient way possible. The whole process is usually completed in 2 hours. Available in three sizes with either 30, 60 or 130 litre tanks there’s a size perfect for all businesses.

Secondly, the heated mix must be cooled rapidly, regulations specify this must be done within 90 minutes, making sure the product reaches a temperature of 7°C or lower. A Taylor by Frigomat pasteuriser will continue this cooling process down to 4°C. Once the mix has cooled, it is recommended that the mix is allowed to age and rest for a few hours before flavours such as Strawberry, Mint or Vanilla paste can be added. This ensures that all of the ‘free water’ in the base mix is combined with the dry ingredients and that they fully re-hydrate. This helps prevent ice crystal formation in the finished product and stabilises the product during storage increasing the shelf life. Ageing isn’t essential if your planning on making, freezing and serving your ice cream in a short period.

The pasteurisers supplied by Taylor UK automatically chill your mix to 4°C, it will then automatically store it there until needed eliminating the need for additional storage or ageing vats. The on-board counter automatically displays how long the mix has been held for once chilling has been completed.

Finally, the base mix needs to be flavoured and frozen. Portions of the neutral base are decanted from the pasteuriser into either a large measuring jug or pail. Depending on the mix and batch freezer being used, typically 3.5 litres of base mix are required to produce one standard 5 litre Napoli of finished ice cream. The desired flavour is then blended into this portion of base mix just before the whole lot is poured into the batch freezer.

The flavoured mix is frozen to approximately -8°C, very quickly in about 8 to 10 minutes in a Batch Freezer by way of a churning/whipping process. During this freezing cycle the complete mixture is poured into the freezing chamber of the ‘Freezer’ to be frozen. Inside this chamber the mix is partially frozen incorporating air bubbles (overrun), resulting in a finished Ice Cream similar in consistency to a Soft-Serve Ice Cream when it is dispensed. Once the finished product has been dispensed into the serving Napoli it needs to be placed in either a blast freezer or good quality deep freeze to solidify the ice cream fully before it is transported or served.

Taylor UK has a wide range of batch freezers designed for every operation from small counter top freezers, like the C125, which will create half a Napoli per cycle right the way up to the Frigomat C116 which can create 5 Napoli’s per cycle.

Taylor UK understand that every business is different. For that exact reason, we prefer to offer our clients a one-on-one personalised service ensuring that you get all the information which you need to start making your own homemade ice cream, gelato and sorbets. Call us today on 0800 838 896 to arrange a no-obligation visit from your local area manager who will be able to advise you on all aspects of the business from equipment options, ingredients supply and serving methods.

We offer free one to one sessions at our training kitchen where we will go through the whole process from raw ingredients through to finished products showing you just how simple it can be. Our ingredients partners can be there at the same time to discuss the perfect ingredients for your business ensuring you get everything you need all in one place!

To find out more about making your own Ice Cream

call the Taylor UK Sales Office FREE – 0800 838 896

or fill in the enquiry form and we’ll call you back.