PUNTOITALY N°2 - July - December 2012

THE ITALIAN MAGAZINE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS IN GELATO, PASTRY AND TRENDY FOOD-AND-DRINK 43 NEW MACHINES Once you feel that the actual making process is staring to take too long and you find yourself dreaming of getting a larger batch freezer for your birthday, it is safe to say that you have reached the stage where you should be thinking of increasing your volume of production. The best thing to do is to go back to internet or call your equipment supplier and ask him for what options he has on offer that would help you to produce more gelato in a shorter time. If your supplier is a good one, he will point out that you have a number of different products available at many differ- ent price ranges. One option would be to simply invest in a larger batch freezer, one able to produce 20-40 kg per hour without changing anything else in your production schedule. It’s im- portant to remember that the batch freezer doesn’t only freeze the mix, but also mix/churn smoothly at a constant speed. This is fundamental as it plays an important part in the absorption of air during freezing process and air is one of the three main ingredients of gelato, the other two being water and sugar. Air is a vital ingredient as it determines the final tex- ture of the gelato, without a good percentage of it you would end up with a heavy, tasteless block of ice. MORE FLAVOURS If you find that the flavours you have in stock are enough for your production requirements that is great. The very good point is that UTH mix doesn’t need any kind of treatment and you can turn out a fresh pan of chocolate gelato in 7 to 8 min- utes without any fuss. But when production increases… it’s time to get out of the lab, grab a calculator, sit down at the table and start making some calculation. This is the time when you have to start think- ing about either buying quality powder mixes, to which you would add water or milk; or starting from scratch with the basic raw ingredients. UPGRADE By now a good entrepreneur would have a clear idea of the cost per kg of his gelato and, thanks to the pile of recently paid invoices, he could make a plan trying to lower his cost. As soon as you understand that gelato can become a finan-