The love affair people have with soft serve ice cream has been around for quite a long time, and while this savoury treat has always been one of the most preferred ones on hot summer days, recently its demand is yet again on the rise which is why foodservice operators have began offering it all year round. Whether you are a new entrepreneur or not, if you plan to invest in an ice cream machine, keep in mind that there are some important things you need to consider before making the purchase.
Although there is the option to get a used ice cream machine, statistics show that nothing beats the quality and longevity a brand new one can offer. When speaking about the main things to consider, the first one to take into account is the type of soft serve frozen machine you want to have. Generally speaking, there are two types of them available on the market – full and self serve frozen yogurt machine out of which the latter one is an all-time favourite. To start with, a self serve frozen yogurt machine can help you reduce labour cost as no ice cream man is needed for it to do its job and it can be placed anywhere you want. What’s more, these types of machines are more consistent in the product they serve than the full-service machines and are more preferred by consumers as well. The only benefit of full-service machines is that they are better for shops that want to experiment with flavours.
When it comes to the design, the ideal one is that which provides easy access from the front so you can easily clean any area of the machine for the purpose of better sanitation. Another thing to consider is the machine’s option to refill and clean, as well as external water and drain connections. This is important as you can save a lot of time and effort when cleaning it, and consequently, machines that do not have a connection to a water supply can make cleaning more time-consuming.
The machine’s capacity is another thing you should not forget, and this can be measured by the servings it produces per minute. Generally speaking, each serving is around 112g per cup wherein low volume is about 1 to 2 servings per minute, medium volume is about 4 servings per minute, and high volume is around 7 servings per minute. According to specialists, if you are looking to buy such machines for self-serve venues, you can place several low volume machines in the shop. On the other hand, if you are more focused on the sale of frozen yogurt, it is recommended to invest in several high volume self-serve machines to produce larger volumes faster.
The last thing to take into account is a mix alarm or also known as low mix alarm that indicates when the products mix is running too low. Once the alarm starts beeping, the machine will automatically shut down its compressor and dasher in order to prevent its blades and tubes from freezing.