Machine-Churned or Pacotized

It is important to understand that an ice cream made in a factory that manufactures thousands of gallons a day is not the same product as that of a small operation. It is similar in nature and ingredients, but there are differences that make small-batch-production ice cream unique, and ultimately better, but with a significantly shorter freezer shelf life. While the USDA loosely regulates industrial manufacture by providing guidelines as to what constitutes a certain product (minimum and maximum fat content, overrun, etc.), there is no government regulation for small-batch production. In this chapter, all of the categories for dairy-based frozen desserts are defined and explained, as well as the different methods and machines that can be used to manufacture them.