Ice cream, a seasonal item?
Ice cream is traditionally considered a seasonal product, with demand peaking in the spring and waning in the fall. On a frosty winter day, even a cozy café is usually sparsely populated with people eager to indulge in the dessert. The only exception is one type of ice cream: soft serve. Remember the lines that formed on the streets of our city a few years ago for "Princess" ice cream? In recent years, interest in this type of ice cream among Russian entrepreneurs has waned. Meanwhile, their more forward-thinking counterparts abroad are widely offering soft serve ice cream in fast food outlets , stores, cafes, and restaurants. It's no coincidence that McDonald's has included it in its menu, using powerful freezers from the American company Taylor .
Soft serve ice cream is served whipped and chilled without hardening (the process by which the creamy mixture turns into firm ice cream). Its temperature is 4-6°C. This product is typically made from a ready-made mixture, either dry or condensed, which is quickly diluted with water to the desired consistency. The mixture is then churned in special machines called freezers. This process transforms the milk mixture into a creamy mass with a temperature of -4-6°C. In the freezer, the mixture is simultaneously whipped and aerated. Depending on the recipe and the amount of air added to the mixture, the volume of the mixture (overrun) can be increased by 50-100%. 
Since unhardened ice cream cannot be stored or transported, the optimal solution for a restaurant considering adding this product to its offering is to purchase its own freezer . The machine's capacity is 10-40 kg per hour—ample enough to meet the needs of a high-traffic fast food restaurant. A model with built-in or freestanding mixers allows for the addition of milkshakes and fruit smoothies to its beverage offering. Freezers are divided into two types: batch freezers and dynamic freezers. (for soft ice cream). The former are top-loading. The container into which the mixture is placed also serves as a cooler. The finished product is unloaded from the top using portioned scoops. The preparation time for soft ice cream with a full load is 10-15 minutes. The only drawback of a batch freezer is its intermittent operation. For this reason, such equipment is more suitable for restaurants and cafes. Dynamic freezers ensure a continuous ice cream preparation process. The operator unloads the finished product through a special dosing device. These freezers are convenient where large quantities of a single type of ice cream are sold: in street cafes, cafeterias in large stores, etc. Since purchasing even a small freezer involves a significant investment, some buyers purchase
used equipment . Incidentally, experts from companies selling ice cream freezers predict increased interest in soft-serve ice cream , frozen yogurt , and frozen juice production
due to the high profitability of this business. According to their calculations, such a machine can generate $5,000-$15,000 in profit per year. And if the establishment also produces frozen juices and slushies , which are 90-95% water, this figure could be even higher. Furthermore, there's another argument in favor of this type of ice cream: domestic entrepreneurs still have the opportunity to offer a product that hasn't become as commonplace as regular ice cream. Freezers are available in two configurations: tabletop and floor-standing . The bright design of the machine is ideal for placement in a café's sales area. Various machines are designed to make ice cream with one , two , or a mixture of flavors
. Some have syrup containers at the bottom of the machine. These are dispensed into the ice cream cone using special pumps. The type of ice cream and syrup is selected by pressing a button on the control panel. An independent refrigeration system maintains a constant temperature of the liquid mixture. Operator control is facilitated by an electronic system that monitors the ice cream preparation process. Flavor variety is often achieved by using special toppings poured over the finished ice cream. The article is copyrighted by food-service.com.ua. Copying without citing the source is prohibited.
