One of the key elements of our service here at Antonelli is to introduce fledgling ice cream and gelato makers to the ice cream industry.
The main areas that we cover in those crucial first stages are: what’s involved in the manufacturing of ice cream, the commercial benefits, the trends they should be aware of, and the different options of products and machinery required to make a truly delicious product.
So, what should you consider when starting your own ice cream business? Let’s take a look…
Choosing your location
First things first, you need to consider the location of your business.
If you’re planning on manufacturing your own gelato, is your chosen location clean? Or is it near a waste site? Let’s be very honest, nobody wants a dirty gelato, so this is of critical importance.
You should also take into account whether your location is accessible to receive pallet deliveries or couriers; we once worked with a client who had unfortunately chosen a location that restricted deliveries to 12-4am. Of course, this was unfeasible long term.
Most importantly, is your location near an established retail site? It’s no coincidence that you’ll often find chain restaurants in the middle of retail parks; the best way to capture the attention of your target audience is to set yourself up in a location where people are already looking to spend money.
Assess the inside your space
Of course, once we have the ideal location, we need to consider the space within:
- Does it have a good finish on the walls, ceiling, and floor?
- Will it successfully reach environmental health standards?
- Is the drainage adequate?
- Is it well ventilated or will you need air con?
Utilities considerations are key, specifically whether you have single phase or three phase electric points. For an ice cream business, it is more likely that you will require three phase, so if your location doesn’t cover this, it could cost you thousands (not to mention a great deal of time) to rectify.
Good water pressure is also a must-have as most machines available within the UK are water cooled. Whilst air cooled is available, you may struggle during hotter months, unless you have air conditioning.
Choosing your manufacturing process
Now we’re getting to the good stuff, will you choose a hot or cold process to produce your ice cream recipe? There are three processes you could choose from, and to make this crucial decision it’s important to understand the pros and cons of each…
Cold process
This refers to a process in which you add your ingredients (typically milk, cream, sugar, milk powder and stabiliser) into a jug or bucket, mix them together until all is dissolved, age the mixture for 30 minutes and then add it to your batch freezer. This will then freeze to around -7°c (temperature may vary), before removing from your batch freezer and into a blast freezer.
Pros – Cost is one of the main benefits of the process as you are only required to invest in a batch freezer and a blast freezer (no need to invest in a pasteuriser). With this method you can also adjust your recipes per each individual batch to give your products a consistent scoop-ability, not to mention different flavour profiles.
Cons – First and foremost, this process is a LOT of work in measuring six or seven different ingredients at a time, leading to high labour costs. Secondly, cold process stabilisers are usually more expensive than its hot process counterpart. Lastly, the shelf life of your product will be nowhere near that of a hot process product (3 to 5 days in a cabinet and potentially a month and a half maximum in deep freeze storage).
Hot process with aging
The most common process used by the ice cream industry. Here we invest in a pasteuriser (usually 60 to 120 litres), adding in your milk, cream, sugar, milk powders and stabilisers, heating the mix to 85°c, before cooling it back down to fridge temperature. This mix is then aged for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours to get the best results (mx. 72 hours before it is no longer safe to eat) and transferred into a jug, where your flavour is added before batch freezing to -7°c and then blast freezing.
Pros – Time saving is a big benefit here, making it a more cost-effective way to produce gelato or ice cream because you aren’t weighing or mixing your ingredients, it all simply goes into one big batch. This process is also where you will get the maximum shelf life for an artisan method, 7 to 10 days in your cabinet (depending on your recipe) and 3 to 6 months in the deep freeze (again depending on the recipe). Thirdly, you have a significantly less chance of making a mistake as you are only producing one recipe for multiple flavours. And last, but certainly not least, your hot process stabiliser is cheaper.
Cons – As you only have one recipe for each flavour, this may affect the scoop-ability recipe to recipe, meaning you will have to adjust this later in the process. Secondly, your start-up cost for using this process is the highest of all three options, as you are having to invest in a pasteuriser, batch and blast freezer. And, of course, on the off chance you do make a mistake during pasteurisation, you will lose a LOT of mix.
Hot process with immediate freezing
Unlike the former hot process, this process is where you invest in what we call a ‘combination machine’ – a pasteuriser and batch freezer all-in-one. Here you weigh all your typical ingredients, mix them together in a jug and then pour into the pasteuriser, heating your mix up to 85°c (temperature can vary). Once complete you then drop the mix from the pasteuriser, straight into the batch freezer, taking it from the highest temperature straight down to -7°c. We call this process ‘thermal shock’. The mix does not require aging, and therefore it can come out of the batch freezer and be placed in the blast freezer straight away.
Pros – Through this process you can truly approach each recipe individually with a true artisan perspective, adjusting your recipe to compliment flavours such as chocolate or nut flavours to give the best possible taste, as well as adjusting sugars to improve scoop-ability of each batch. Of course, as this process requires the purchase of only a combination machine and blast freezer the start-up costs are less. And with added benefit of cost-effective hot process stabilisers and a shelf life of up to three months, this process can prove to be effective if it meets your own business’ requirements.
Cons – Again one of the biggest drawbacks of this process is time due to the lengthy process of measuring each ingredient and mixing. Ultimately, you’re working very hard with a much higher chance of making mistakes than you would should you choose the hot process with aging.
Choosing your equipment
Once you have weighed up your options and have chosen a process that works for you, then you can consider equipment. This will depend entirely on the size of your business. Will you need a walk-in freezer or a standing freezer? Chest freezers are also an option, but we would only recommend these if you’re considering a flat ice cream, they’ll be no good if you plan on doming or shaping to wow your customers.
We have only just scraped the surface on those crucial first decisions when setting up your own ice cream business. Whilst it may sound daunting, fear not, there is support, guidance, and training out there to ensure your business gets off to the best possible start.
If you’d like to learn more about Antonelli’s ‘So you want to make gelato?’ training courses that we run each month, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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