How Hiring Chillers Can Help Ice Cream Manufacturers To Expand
Ice cream making has become considerably more sophisticated since the days when Nero ruled
the Roman Empire (37-68). Back then, ice was brought down from mountains and combined with fruit toppings, to create a chilled delicacy. Arabs were the first to use milk and sugar as the two major ingredients in ice cream production; not being reliant on fruit meant they had perfected a means of commercial production and the ice cream industry was born, states Wikipedia.
About Modern Ice Cream Manufacturers Common Frustrations
These days, despite tough economic times, ice cream is big business: the ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt market has grown by 4.3 per cent since 2006, and in 2011, sales reached 1 billion, reports Mintel. That said, many niche market ice cream producers share the frustrations of thousands of other small UK food companies they are keen to expand, but do not have the capital to do so.
The UK ice cream industry has a number of large well-known names, for example: Unilever, R&R Ice Cream (who recently revived the Lyons Maid brand), and an increasing number of lesser-known niche manufacturers. Some of these companies are part foreign-owned but choose to make their products in Britain.
One option for smaller companies (and even some large ones) is to rent equipment, such as
chillers: large powerful cooling machines. This can enable them to grow without having to invest in expensive extra equipment until they are financially in a position to do so comfortably.
Hiring chillers from a chillier hire specialist is the answer. Hiring is quick and easy to arrange, as well as being surprisingly affordable, making it feasible for ice cream manufacturers to progress.
How Ice Cream is Made
Ice cream components include:
Fat (milk or vegetable) provides flavour, body and texture
Non-fat milk solids these include proteins, lactose and minerals. The proteins contribute to the structure of the ice cream and to the incorporation of air during processing
Sugar and sweeteners added to provide sweetness and improve texture. Sugars also control the amount of frozen water in ice cream and therefore the final products softness
Flavourings and colourings added to enhance the products appearance and taste
Emulsifiers and stabilisers these help bind all the ingredients during the manufacturing process and improve the whipping quality during mixing
Other ingredients, such as fruit or chocolate (depending on the flavour required), may be added to provide extra flavour and to enhance appearance.
According to Milk.co.uk, the production process involves:
Mixing the ingredients together
Pasteurisation to reduce the number of non-pathogenic bacteria
Homogenisation to allow the distribution of fat into as many separate small fat globules as possible
Cooling and aging processes the mixture is left to age for 24 hours, during this time all the dry ingredients are hydrated and the fat is crystallised
Freezing this includes a hardening process that freezes out most of the unwanted water
Ice cream manufacturers rely on ingredients being kept at a specific temperature at different
stages of the production process. Any deviance can allow ice crystals to build up, and that results in an inferior product. Also, for manufacturers, a small change in an orders size can put huge pressure on production, but they need to be able to fulfil these orders to enable their business to grow. This is where the option to lease chillers from a specialist can prove vital.
A Combination of Chiller Hire Utilisation and Patience is the Key
Of course, there is nothing like owning your own business premises and all the equipment; but availing of the option to hire chillers from a reputable company until that time comes can allow ice cream manufacturers to develop their business, and continue to vie in what is an increasingly competitive market.
Finally, sometimes the elements can help to keep a massive consignment of ice cream cool (and therefore saleable). In December 2011, two lanes of an Indiana interstate already busy with highway traffic were shut down for six hours after 40,000 pounds of ice cream (in tubs) toppled from an overturned truck. Fortunately for the ice cream manufacturer, most of the product was salvageable because of the freezing temperatures on that day, reports Jalopnik.com
by: Carl Webb
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