Machines

This section refers to machines used to freeze all varieties of machine-churned frozen desserts for small-batch production. These include ice cream, gelato, sherbet, and sorbet. Small-batch production should not be confused with what one would make at home for personal consumption, either in the amount produced or the machines used. Home ice cream machines are not recommended for restaurant or hotel production because they are slow and inconvenient and often yield poor results.

The amount that is needed in a 50-seat restaurant will be different than that needed in a 300-seat restaurant or a hotel, but both cases are still considered small-batch production if a batch freezer is used and the human element plays a big part in its production. If a 5000-room hotel in Las Vegas makes its own ice cream, is it still small-batch production? It can be. In small-batch production, there is an actual person involved in most of the process (weighing out ingredients, making the base, loading the machine, storing the frozen product, and cleaning the machine). There are batch freezers that can churn up to 41 liters (11 gallons approximately) per batch, and 190 liters (50 gallons) per hour. It all comes down to the type of machine used.