Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream Machines
Purchasing a commercial soft serve ice cream machine for your foodservice operation gives you a way to boost sales year-round. Soft serve machines are available in a wide range of sizes, including countertop and floor models, so you can find one that works for you no matter how much space you have available. Most soft serve ice cream makers have one or two hoppers, each of which can hold a different flavor. Some machines have three dispensing valves, with the middle valve swirling the two flavors together. More
Common Questions About Soft Serve Ice Cream Machines
How many servings of ice cream can I produce per hour?
The production capacity of commercial soft serve ice cream machines ranges from about 100 servings per hour to nearly 650 servings per hour. A machine's estimated per-hour output is usually based on 4-ounce portions. Operations that offer larger serving sizes or that let customers serve themselves may need to adjust their machine's production capacity to account for larger portions.
How many flavors can I serve with one ice cream soft serve machine?
Soft serve machines may be designed with one to five flavor pumps. While most machines only have one to three different flavor hoppers, some models offer twist options that will mix two of the flavors already in the machine. Be sure to check out the product description of your desired machine to see how many flavor hoppers it has equipped.
How do I clean my commercial soft serve ice cream machine?
Routinely cleaning a commercial soft serve ice cream machine will help prevent the buildup of potentially harmful bacteria left behind by dairy-based products. If your machine does not come with a self-cleaning system built in, you will have to manually clean it in order to produce a sanitary product.
The cleaning process starts by emptying the soft ice cream machine of any unused ice cream, while ensuring there is no leftover residue on the blades. Next, you should run water through your machine to make sure there are no blockages. It is recommended that any machine parts coming into contact with product ingredients be removed and soaked in warm, soapy water. After soaking, rinse the parts in cool water, dry them, and reattach them to the soft serve ice cream maker.
What is the difference between a "gravity fed" and "pump" unit?
Soft serve ice cream machines come in two styles: gravity fed and pressurized. Gravity-fed machines require operators to manually put the soft serve ice cream mix into the hopper and let gravity take care of the rest. Models designed with a pressurized pump, on the other hand, feed product to the machine and are designed to enable operators to control how much air goes into the mix. While gravity soft serve machines are typically cheaper than pump machines, pump machines generally produce more servings per hour to meet high-volume demand.