Types of Ice Cream Machines: Buying Guide

We all scream for ice cream—and rightfully so! Ice cream, frozen custard, gelato, sorbet and other frozen treats make for a refreshing cooldown on a hot summer day, or the perfect palate cleanser after a meal. Especially if the ice cream is made in-house, that handmade touch adds to the overall experience. If you’re looking to add a commercial ice cream maker or machine to your restaurant, café, cafeteria or other foodservice establishment, our buying guide will give you a rundown on what you need to know to find the perfect unit for your business.

In general, there are two types of commercial ice cream machines: soft serve and batch freezers. Depending on the type of confection you want to make and the quantity you need to produce will determine which unit you add to your commercial kitchen.

Here’s how each type of ice cream machine functions at a glance:

Soft Serve Machine Features

Soft serve ice cream machines typically produce a light and airy ice cream that has a soft texture to it, hence “soft serve.” These units allow operators to dispense on-demand cones and cups with the pull of a lever, which can also help with portion control. Soft serve machines can also be used to dispense other treats like frozen yogurt, which also give other confections that light, soft texture.

Soft serve machines have many variations to them, but in general these variations can be broken down into number of flavors, capacity (countertop or floor models), feed systems (gravity or pressure) and cooling systems (air-cooled or water-cooled).

Types of Soft Serve Machines

First, let’s cover the number of flavors. Soft serve machines come in:

• Single flavor
• Double flavor
• Double flavor with twist function (swirls or “twists” the the main flavors together)
• Shake units (for making milkshakes)
• Combination units (serve both cones/cups and shakes)

Depending on the variety of flavors or what you’re looking to serve customers, you’ll want to consider a unit that can dispense one or multiple flavors to accommodate.

Unit Capacity & Model Orientation

Next item to consider is your ice cream maker’s capacity, which is dependent on the model type you require. Soft serve ice cream machines come in both countertop models and floor models, and each one has its own type of variations:

Countertop Models:

• Smaller footprint—takes up less space and can fit on counter
• ~13-28 qt. capacity—low to medium volume of production

Floor Models:

• Larger footprint—requires floor space within your business, which can take up additional room
• ~17-32 qt. capacity—medium to high volume of production

Gravity-Fed vs. Pressure-Fed Machines

Another major consideration is the type of feed system you want with your soft serve machine. These units come in two variations: gravity-fed and pressure-fed. These two systems are how the ice cream mix is fed into the freezing cylinder and ultimately prepared for dispensing.

Gravity-Fed Machines:

• Utilizes gravity to feed the liquid ice cream mix into the freezing cylinder so it can become soft serve
• Stores and refrigerates mix in the hopper
• Limits the amount of air—or “overrun”—introduced into the product

Pressure-Fed Machines:

• Utilizes pumps within a transfer system to feed the mix into the freezing cylinder where a precise amount of air is added to the mix
• Pressure is used to push the frozen mix out of the cylinder
• Generally has better control over ratio of air—or “overrun”—that’s introduced into the product

Condenser Types

Finally, there are two types of cooling systems you can choose from: air-cooled and water-cooled. See the section about the different condensing units down below for more information, and what factors to keep in mind.

Batch Freezer Features

For more solid frozen desserts like traditional ice cream, gelato, custard, sherbet and more, batch freezers are the perfect option. Just as the name suggests, batch freezers allow you to produce a batch of one type of frozen dessert (varies depending on capacity of exact unit), which allows for more quality control and assurance.

Batch freezers prepare frozen desserts by whipping and freezing the liquid mix into a creamy, smooth texture. Usually, there is a lower amount of overrun added in the mixture—between 30%-35%—which makes the ice cream or gelato denser than soft serve but still palatable.

Just like soft serve ice cream machines, batch freezer units are also classified by type, capacity (including countertop or floor model variations) and condenser types (air-cooled vs. water-cooled).

Types of Batch Freezers

First, there are four types of batch freezers to consider, including:

• Vertical — Tall, narrow units that are traditionally associated with batch freezers. The frozen dessert will dispense “vertically,” and allows the operator to add any mix-ins during the process.
• Horizontal — Modular units that can produce large batches, and are more commonly seen in ice cream parlors or gelato shops (see image to the right). Horizontal batch freezers allow the operator to scoop out the batch into a pan to be transferred to a cold case.
• Multi-Purpose/Multi-Function — Possesses both heating and freezing capabilities to allow for the production of other desserts on top of frozen ones.
• All-in-One Combination/Combination — Also possesses both heating and freezing capabilities for quick batch production and can be more compact units.

Unit Capacity & Model Orientation

Next to consider is the batch freezer’s capacity and orientation. Batch freezers come in a variety of capacity sizes and in both countertop and floor model variations.

Countertop Models:

• Smaller footprint—takes up less space and can fit on counter
• Small capacity—Can produce smaller batches between 1 qt.-7 qt. depending on model

Floor Models:

• Larger footprint—requires floor space within your business, which can take up additional room
• Small to large capacity—Can produce 7+ quarts depending on model, with some models able to produce 30+ quarts

Condenser Types

Finally, there are two types of cooling systems you can choose from: air-cooled and water-cooled. See the section about the different condensing units down below for more information, and what factors to keep in mind.

Types of Condensing Units: Air-Cooled vs. Water-Cooled

Just like ice machines, ice cream machines also have two types of condensing units to help cool and refrigerate frozen products: air-cooled and water-cooled. While their names are pretty obvious to their function, there are some key distinctions to be made as you make your decision.

Air-Cooled

Air-cooled units draw in air to cool the condensing unit in order to cool down the ice cream machine so it can produce frozen desserts. Because air-cooled units take in air, they need to maintain space from the wall and other pieces of equipment to efficiently cool down the condenser.

Water-Cooled

Water-cooled units utilize water to cool down the condenser. In order to do so, the unit will require a water supply and connection to function. However, water-cooled units do not require the same kind of space as air-cooled units and can be arranged close to other pieces of equipment if needed.

What is Overrun?

Overrun is an important aspect to ice cream production and for the decision-making process on which unit to choose. Overrun is the amount of air that’s introduced into the ice cream mixture during production, and is often represented as a percentage.

To make good ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt and other sweet treats, your ice cream machine will need to produce a certain amount of overrun; as discussed above, different types of commercial ice cream makers will add particular amounts of overrun depending on the variety of frozen dessert you’re trying to make.

For example, if you’re producing 1 gallon of soft serve ice cream with a 30% overrun, that means the ice cream has 30% mixed into liquid form during production. As a result, your yield will wind up being 1.30 gallons of frozen soft serve. The higher the overrun, the higher the yield of product.

For more information and help with your particular unit, take a look at our collection of commercial ice cream machine articles for troubleshooting tips, maintenance and cleaning instructions.