Gelato Makers

Commercial Gelato Makers

Read on to find out everything you need to know about Gelato Makers and why they will help your business increase its profits.

What is Gelato?

Gelato is a form of ice cream and is basically the Italian equivalent to what we refer to as ice cream in the UK. It does have its differences from ice cream and you can definitely taste the difference. It is sometimes referred to as Artisan Gelato and the definition of Artisan is “a worker in a skilled trade, one that makes things by hand”. Today’s machines may help us in the making of Gelato, however, the philosophy remains. Gelato is healthier and lower in fat than ice cream and is made in small batches using fresh, natural ingredients.

What is the difference between Ice Cream and Gelato?

Gelato is still a frozen dessert but it is much more dense and intense compared to ice cream. The process to make Gelato starts with a similar custard base to ice cream. It has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of cream and eggs, sometimes no eggs at all to form the ingredients and it is churned at a much slower rate. The slowing churning rate results in less air being incorporated into the mixture which gives it a much denser and fuller flavour compared to ice cream. It is served at a slightly warmer temperature to ice cream which means its texture stays smoother and creamier. Gelato has a lower percentage of fat incorporated into its mixture which results in the main ingredients flavour really standing out and zinging your taste buds.

Its really difficult for people to say which one is their favourite, ice cream or gelato as their tastes and textures are quite different and it largely depends on the mood you are in as to which one you would choose. Gelato is often preferred in the industry if you want to serve it as delicious and flavoursome desserts for your customers as well as serving it in a cone or as part of a sundae. Choosing a commercial Gelato Maker makes your business more versatile and enables you to offer more delicious ice cream options to your customers.

What are Gelato Makers?

A Gelato Maker is a machine that enables you to make batches of delicious and flavoursome gelato quickly using the correct proportion of ingredients and the right churning speed which makes it a different texture and taste to ice cream. If you are looking at expanding your dessert menu or offering ice cream cones to your customers then a good Gelato maker will help you with this and take you on the journey to see your profits grow.

What to think about and look for in Gelato Makers?

There are now lots of Gelato machines available to choose from and it can sometimes be confusing understanding the functions you need. As with anything the more features a machine has then the higher the price, however, more features give you more options to serve your customers and normally takes away the need for as much manual input. Always do your research carefully and choose a machine that fits your business needs and budget.

A good and highly reputable supplier of Gelato Machines will have many machine options available for you to choose from. They will spend time with you to help you understand the best machine for your business, team and customers, they will be able to offer you different contract plans with servicing included, have their own specialised UK wide technicians, spare parts readily available and all without compromising the machine’s quality and performance.

One of the most important things to think about is the functions the machine offers, however, you also need to be aware of how the machine will look in your business. Normally a Gelato Maker will be in a place where your customers can see it so you always want to have a professional and sleek looking machine that is easy to keep clean.

Find out what the machine is made from and how readily available spare parts are as if it breaks down you need to know you can get it fixed quickly. Often a machine made of stainless steel is easier to keep clean and germ-free and this hygiene factor is very important for your food hygiene rating.

Choose a machine whose parts are easily removable to make the cleaning and sanitising easy for you and your team. Some machines now come with a cleaning cycle and these make them a convenient and hygienic option.

Some machines are now digital with lots of advanced features that allow you to have consistent and time efficient production of your gelato mixture. Some also come with timers and reset functions and some even have operational efficiency remote monitoring systems to provide you with analysis of usage, efficiency, cleaning cycles and alerts to any potential malfunctions, also allowing remote diagnostic support when required.

Finally, look for a commercial gelato maker that minimizes the manual input time and includes a double cover which allows you to add ingredients as the mixer is working and prevents the mixture from spilling out everywhere.

Why Gelato Makers for your Business?

A Gelato Maker gives you the versatility of sweet, delicious and dessert options you can offer your customers without too much manual intervention. Gelato can be used to make ice cream cones, wild and different dessert options or as an accompaniment to a staple dessert. A professional Gelato Maker will give you consistent and delicious flavours that your customers will love as well as increase your business’s profits.

What profit can you make from Gelato Makers?

People often underestimate the profit there is in Gelato and Ice Cream and commercial Gelato Makers and Ice Cream machines can generate high-profit margins for your catering establishment. A good, quality, commercial gelato maker can make an ice cream for as little as 22p versus the average selling price of a cone being £2.00 and more, and an ice cream dessert costing a customer anything from £3.95 upwards.

By adding variety and choice for your customers you can easily increase your profits:

• Gelato Ice Cream Cones with nuts, sauces and flavour combinations
• The traditional 99 Gelato Ice Cream with a Flake stuck in the top
• Bunny Gelato Ice Cream, simple but delicious with two light crispy biscuits stuck in the top to look like bunny ears
• Gelato Ice Cream Pots with nuts sauces and flavoured sauces, you can even add a sweet or gobstopper at the bottom for an added extra
• Gelato Ice Cream Sundaes are limitless and you can come up with many different flavours and combinations
• Gelato Ice Cream is an amazing accompaniment to a fudge cake, apple crumble and many more desserts
• Limitless Gelato Ice Cream Machine where you can add as many sweets, sauces and nuts to make it exactly your flavour and combination, the kids really love this option
• Gelato Ice Cream Sodas, simply add a dollop of gelato to lemonade and this really is a refreshing and tongue zinging drink for your customers
• Summer Fruit and Gelato
• Gelato Ice Cream, Meringue and Fruit to make a delicious Eton Mess
• What about a Fruit Pavlova to get those taste buds tingling
• Just Gelato – pure and simple but delicious any day of the year

If you take a 2.5oz Gelato Ice Cream Cone as an example, selling 50 a day, for 310 trading days in a year, selling at a cost of £2.00 per cone then your annual ice cream profit would calculate at £21,390.

Now think about ice cream vans in the summer, in the park, at fetes or festivals, there will always be a queue of people waiting to be served, therefore calculating your profit on selling 50 Ice Creams a day is really minimal.

In the summer, nothing soothes and refreshes quite like an ice cream and it is well known that it is one of the UK’s favourite treats….. if you sell them at the right price then the profit will be limitless. An ice cream van or parlour could sell anything from 400 to 600 ice creams a day with the right location on a busy summers day. If you base this on 10 working hours in a day it averages out between 40 and 60 ice creams an hour. If you then average this out over the year to take into account your quieter months then selling an average of 200 ice creams a day over 310 days in the year works out at a massive £85,560 ice cream profit alone.

Why choose Carpigiani for Gelato Makers?

Whether you want to start a business, add a new dessert or cold sweet option to your restaurant’s menu then a commercial gelato machine is something you need to consider. Carpigiani has been the industries leading supplier of Ice Cream and Gelato Makers for over 70 years.

The Carpigiani Gelato Journey

To produce good gelato you need quality raw ingredients and to follow a key 5 step process:

1. Pasteurisation
Pasteurisation is a heat treatment that ensures the safety of the ingredients and preservation of the gelato. After heating, the liquid mixture remains at an elevated temperature for the time necessary to guarantee the process; then cooled rapidly before being stored at a maximum of +4°c.

2. Homogenisation
Gelato is produced by continuously stirring a mixture containing milk, sugar and natural flavourings as it freezes. A mixer is an indispensable tool for mixing, homogenising and diffusing any solid or fibrous ingredients into the mix. This helps obtain a consistent, uniform base.

3. Production
Any syrup or flavours that are required are introduced into the cylinder and mixed through with the agitator. During this phase, the machine incorporates air into the mix and begins to freeze as the base makes contact with the side of the cylinder, forming tiny crystals which give gelato its smooth characteristic.

4. Blast Freeze
The gelato is extracted from the machine at -7/ -9°c and should then be placed in a freezer capable of further reducing the core temperature to -12°c as quickly as possible. This helps to keep the structure, texture and taste of the gelato while in storage or when served.

5. Store, Display and Serve
At Carpigiani we offer a wide range of display cabinets, each one perfect for displaying your artisan gelato safely and attractively to your customers making it an attractive sweet treat or dessert option.

Our Carpigiani University

Our Gelato University was established in 2003 to educate students in the art of artisan gelato and soft serve ice cream. Today, Carpigiani Gelato University is recognised internationally for developing successful gelato entrepreneurs around the world. Featuring a comprehensive training programme, cutting-edge teaching and a team of internationally recognised Gelato Masters. Just over 6,000 students pass through our courses each year globally.

Introductory sessions
We offer a complete range of courses in locations around the country as well as free monthly taster sessions which are ideal for anyone interested in gelato and the significant profit opportunity that artisan gelato can achieve. If you are looking for new ideas, techniques, or recipe inspiration then take a look at our website for the next introductory course available near you.

Taking the next step and our advanced courses
We also offer a range of more advanced courses for those looking to understand more about the science, the production process and more advanced techniques such as fruit gelato, gelato on a stick, single portion desserts and gelato cakes. These range from one to five days and the courses are held around the country. They are run by our very own, highly experienced, Development and Training Chefs and on completion, you will have the knowledge to create your very own recipes and strategically plan the perfect mix to create a bespoke offering for your business or kitchen. Each attendee receives a special certificate of their participation and completion of the course, demonstrating their commitment to producing wonderful frozen desserts, artisan gelato and sorbet.

Carpigiani Service & Support Service

We have our own telephone support team that is able to help you with any query or concern you may have as we understand that machine downtime has an impact on your customers and profit. Our highly skilled Customer Service Advisors are ready to take your call when you need us and our national team of qualified technicians are available for dispatch to help you with any technical issues you may have or if you need a part replacing. We work to Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators which are set by us and our customers to ensure we continually improve response times and increase our first-time fix rates.

We offer a fully inclusive service contract which is a great way to ensure you are able to plan for all costs associated with your equipment at the outset, reducing any unwanted surprises as well as our extended warranty period. All our service contracts incorporate a planned and preventative maintenance visit which further improves the smooth running and reliability of your equipment, minimising costly downtime. We offer service contracts for all new equipment for up to 5 years.

We have made a huge investment in our spare parts stockholding with a constant review of all items held. We have a dedicated Spare Parts Department to ensure spares are available for direct dispatch to you by mail order from our HQ stock holding on a next day delivery basis. In addition to this, all our technicians hold ‘van stock’ spares that are monitored to ensure they can be dispatched to you quickly and carry out first-time fixes without delays.

The Teorema system is used exclusively with Carpigiani machines and allows remote monitoring of the operational efficiency and continued reliability of an individual appliance. It is accessed through a dedicated online portal, via a computer or mobile device and the system is able to provide analysis of usage, efficiency, cleaning cycles and also alerts the operator to any potential malfunctions, whilst allowing our dedicated Carpigiani engineers to remotely diagnose and support when you need it.

Contact Carpigiani

If you are interested in learning more about our Gelato Makers then give us a call today on 01432 818357 and one of our experts will be able to answer any questions you may have and we can start our Gelato Journey together.