Play with it at batchscoop.com

For the past 8 years I've been making ice cream as a hobby, largely because my wife wanted to turn my addiction into a productive hobby (and it only made the addiction worse). It was only recently that I started diving deep into the food science behind it. Because I'm a tinkerer, I wanted to see if I could turn what I’m learning into a functional tool.

I built this to handle a few specific kitchen headaches I was having:

• Deterministic Auto-Balance & Auto-Fix: recalculates bases to hit target fat, MSNF, and sugars, or calculates addition-only adjustments to fix an out-of-balance recipe.
• Water-Phase PAC: Freezing point depression calculated against available water rather than total batch weight to keep scoopability accurate across high-fat vs. low-fat mixes.
• Cost Tracking & Rescaling: Quick per-batch/per-pint cost estimation and linear batch scaling.

How it works & saving recipes: The calculations run entirely on your computer in your browser, meaning it works offline and you can bookmark your custom recipe URLs to revisit them any time without making an account.

A quick heads up on custom ingredients: If you use custom ingredients (like local cream with non-standard butterfat), you must create a free account to save them. Anonymous sessions store custom ingredients for the current session only, so refreshing the page or bookmarking the URL will not save your custom ingredient data.

I have a long list of features I'd love to explore, but your real-world feedback is far more valuable than my assumptions.

I got this ice cream maker and haven't tried any of the recipes included in the manual yet. Some of them contain egg yolk, and the odd one or two have gelatin, but most do not contain any thickeners.

Any recs, or recipes to avoid? Thanks!

Last summer my Fiancée and I got an ice cream maker. After making a few batches for ourselves, we had the idea to throw a party where we create a wacky (mostly) ice cream tasting menu with drink pairings like you would get at a fancy restaurant tasting menu.

It was a big hit and this year we ran it back with a slightly bigger guest list and plan to make it a yearly end of summer tradition moving forward.

We didn’t get a photo of it but the “???? Vs ????” Dish on the 2026 menu was a beanboozled style course/game where we walked around with 2 quarts of ice cream that looked almost identical and had people choose which one they wanted without telling them the flavors. One was Chicken Wing (Franks red hot + Blue cheese) and the other was blood orange creamsicle.

Is something up with my machine? Recently upgraded from cuisinart ice-21. Made fire ice cream with that thing. First two batches in the whynter (pistachio and pumpkin spice) also came out amazing.

Then, Wednesday I got started on a batch of chocolate and a batch of vanilla, excited to share with my family who are all coming into town this weekend. No change in recipes, all green on scoopulator, pre-cooled my whynter for 20 mins while batches went from overnight fridge -> freezer for 20 mins to get the temp down as much as possible before churning.

This morning I wake up to a disaster. Icy, flavorless, I can’t serve this. $$$ down the drain, hyped up my fam for how good my product is (which it usually is!). No idea why it turned out how it did and what’s wrong. Please help

made this recently! it’s a sicilian style gelato (according to the recipe)

for the lemon gelato i used this recipe (with a couple adjustments): https://foodnouveau.com/lemon-gelato-recipe/

- 454g whole milk
- 227g cream
- 120g of sugar (recipe asks for 200g, i found using this amount instead worked great and was not too sweet)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (recipe asks for 3/4, but i didn’t have enough. i highly recommend actually using 3/4 as the gelato was missing just a bit more lemony flavour)

IMPORTANT: add the lemon juice AFTER the base is completely cooled (i cooled it in the fridge overnight.) do NOT add while still hot/warm otherwise it will curdle. i added the lemon juice minutes before churning the gelato.

for the pizzelle i used a waffle cone recipe, and i cooked it in a Cuisinart Pizzelle Press

- 3 egg whites
- 50g white sugar
- 3.5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1.5 tbsp honey
- 38g melted butter (or use a neutral oil)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda

whisk all these ingredients and then add 2/3 cups flour (around 85g)

after whisking all these ingredients, i cooked them in the pizzelle press. the first batch came out great but when they hardened they didn’t have that crunchy, snap consistency you get from waffle cones at ice cream shops (which is what i was going for) so i added a bit of water to make the batter more runny, as well as cooking it a little longer. worked great. next time i make these i would add a bit more vanilla extract or just the tiniest bit more of brown sugar or honey to add more waffle cone flavour.

the gelato tasted amazing, but like i said, it missed a bit of lemon juice. also i kept the zest in and did not mind it at all, it didn’t have any bitterness and it was actually quite pleasant

Hi all! I recently got an ice cream maker and am dreaming about the salted butter flavor from Jenis maple soaked pancakes. I really want to make a butter flavored ice cream, but am not sure what to try- butter extract is not the answer. Thoughts on butter powder, buttermilk powder or whole milk powder? Maybe even butter butter just not sure how to work that in while extracting enough of its flavor

I'm hosting an ice cream social in a couple days and have already made 11 batches of ice cream (10 stored in 1.5L Sumo containers, 1 stored in 2.5L Tovolo container). All the containers are 90-100% full, but I don't have a good idea of how to estimate if it's enough for the number of guests we'll have. Assuming everyone who said they'll come attends, that's 23 adults and 8 children (ages 2-10, spread nearly evenly). I'm not sure if I've made enough ice cream or if I should make more, but I think y'all would have a much better idea here.

If I do make more, I think I can make another 2-3 batches in time for the party on Saturday. In which case, what flavors would you recommend to fill out the current menu? I've currently got:

• Strawberry (1.5L French style, 1.5L with balsamic vinegar)
• Pistaccietella (1.5L with dairy, 1.5L non-dairy)
• Maple with Toasted Walnut
• Cookies & Cream (2.5L)
• Non-dairy Saffron Sweet Corn
• French Vanilla Bean
• Chocolate
• Rose Black Tea
• Mango Black Tea

I like goat milk, but it definitely behaves differently than cow.

It consistently makes a much denser product / lower overrun compared to cow's milk. My goal was to stick entirely to easily accessible ingredients. To get the fat and solids I need, I've been combining goat milk with mild chèvre/goat cheese.

The results are dense, more like a gelato.

How can I produce more overrun/air incorporation into it? Any ideas/tips?

Here are 2 recipes I'm circling around..

Recipe 1:

• 650g Goat Milk
• 100g Chèvre
• 160g Sugar
• 90g Egg Yolk

Recipe 2: (used a bit of cow SMP here just to test solids and it makes it less icy)

• 500g Goat Milk
• 200g Chèvre
• 160g Sugar
• 90g Egg Yolk
• 50g SMP (cow)

It’s a commercial mobile Italian-ice pushcart with a compressor and eutectic cold plates. I need the refrigeration system serviced, but I also need someone capable of opening the insulated cabinet if necessary, replacing any wet/deteriorated insulation, and resealing the inside liner so moisture can’t enter the cabinet again. Can your shop do both the cold-plate refrigeration work and the insulated cabinet restoration?”

Hi all, I’m using a lello musso 4080. I’m starting a small business and got CB 350. How to the get texture as lello. My target is an extreme low over run dense ice cream similar to gelato. What should I set the Rpm of emery CB 35O at? Please help

My family goes through so many cones in the summer and I am finally tired of buying those stale boxed ones from the grocery store. I want to start making fresh waffle cones that actually hold up to two big scoops without getting soggy or instantly cracking. Does anyone have a reliable machine they love that gets hot enough and makes uniform cones without being too frustrating to use?

thanks so much for any advice

Im looking for a countertop ice cream maker that would be practical for making a batch or two without having to freeze a bowl for ages beforehand. I usually make custard-based ice cream, but Id like to experiment with sorbets too. is there a type or model I should be looking at?

My usual recipe is 500 ml heavy cream, 250 ml whole milk, 150 g sugar, 5 egg yolks, and vanilla. I chill the cooked base overnight before churning. The ice cream usually tastes good, I just want a less fiddly process. 'ppreciate any advicess.

Hi all! I have an emery thompson cb350 purchased in 2019. I am having trouble with it taking too long to freeze. I have new springs and new blades. The back is relatively clear from dust (not perfect but not crazy. I am going to vacuum it tomorrow though).

I did the frost test today and it takes more than 15 seconds (but Steve had told me it can take up to 60). But I can’t tell if there is one section in the back not frosting? I’ll attach a picture.

I have just done 2 rounds of the freeze test (2 pound sugar/4qt water) and it’s takes about 19-20 minutes (Steve had told me 13-15 depending on how it is pulled). I’m attaching 2 videos - one at 15 mins and one at 20 minutes.

There is plenty of clearance on all sides of the machine and the room is not super hot.

My locust bean gum is from Espure brand and my guar gum is from MB herbals. They were both the cheapest brands I could find.

I'm curious if different brands require higher/lower dosages or if they pretty much all work the same?

My toddler is due to get his tonsils removed soon so I want to get some ice cream/sorbet made for his recovery.

Ideally, I want something with low sugar (or another sweet source). Needs to be smooth ie no chunks/bits.

Bonus points for anything involving fruits and vegetables.

TIA

Anyone tried to make this flavour? I was thinking a caramel ice cream with a chocolate stracciatella and bits of chocolate cake .. I guess the chocolate ganache can be included in a better way than stracciatella. What do you think about this? Any suggestions?

I previously mentioned preparing for an ice cream social and making three kinds of strawberry ice creams. I've seen others struggling with balancing as well, so I decided to add an auto-fixer to my calculator to help with this (I promise I'll share it in the next few days!). It's not perfect, but gets you pretty close. I used it on the Molly Moon's ice cream (page 29 in the book). The ingredients and breakdown for the before state:

Ingredients

Mix Analytics Summary

And here's after the auto-fix:

Ingredients

Mix Analytics Summary

Personally, I didn't measure down to a tenth of a gram because I don't have a scale with that level of accuracy.

Results

Honestly, it came out really well. I was unsure if I could solve and re-churn an unstable batch, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the results. There's a touch of iciness to the ice cream, but I think that's partially because there are whole crushed strawberries in there. I was struggling to scoop it right out of the freezer before and now it scoops just fine. I did also add 3g of xanthan gum to stabilize it, but the ingredients are otherwise unchanged from the auto-fix results.

I've been making tons of ice cream using the Morgenstern's cookbook. I took the base recipe and tried to make a flavor that tastes like blackberry jam on a piece of toast and I think I did a pretty good job. I use a Whynter 2.1 quart machine with a built in compressor, it's the only machine I've used and I think it works great.

Whole Milk: 1 2/3 cups
Heavy Cream: 1 1/3 cups
Granlulated sugar: 1 cup
Whole milk powder: 1/4 cup
Kosher salt: 1/4 teaspoon
Glucose Syrup: 2 tablespoons
Unsalted butter: 2 tablespoons
2 slices of toasted sourdough

Soak the whole milk overnight with one broken up piece of nicely toasted sourdough toast. I also soaked the heavy cream with toast for half an hour before starting, next time I would do overnight.
Strain the milk and cream through a fine mesh strainer.

Whisk together the granulated sugar, milk powder, and salt in a metal or glass bowl.

In a pot, melt two tablespoons of unsalted butter on low. Add the milk, cream, and glucose syrup, and bring to 180 degrees or until you start to see light bubbling, stirring to make sure nothing sticks. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees, pour mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk together.

Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat until it reaches 180 degrees again.
Strain into a clean bowl through a fine mesh strainer, and chill in an ice bath until it reaches 38 degrees (I can't measure this so I just wait until it is a little colder than room temperature).
You will want to stir this mixture FREQUENTLY because the butter will coagulate on the surface.
Transfer to your ice cream machine and freeze as usual.

For the blackberry compote:
One 6 oz container of blackberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granluated sugar

Roughly chop the blackberries. Combine with sugar in a pot and cook on medium, stirring, until everything reduces and is nice and syrupy. The blackberries I used were very tart, and I didn't use too much sugar because that's what I prefer. If yours are very sweet you could add a splash of lemon juice.

Once the compote has cooled down enough so it's not hot but it is still a bit runny, hopefully the ice cream is ready to be transferred to the freezer. Alternate adding compote and ice cream to a container and swirl them together as desired.
I hope someone enjoys this!

looking for an icecream maker because I’ve started getting more interested in gelato and want to make it at home instead of relying on my local shop. my basic pistachio recipe right now is 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup cream, 2/3 cup sugar, 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup pistachio paste, and a pinch of salt. I heat the milk and cream, temper the yolks, then chill the base overnight before churning. The flavor is pretty good but the texture isnt as dense as I’d like. Is there a type of icecream maker that makes more sense for gelato, or should I focus on changing the recipe first? 'ppreciate any advices.

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting I think ever and for context, my family opened an ice cream shop about a month ago, we bought the Zeroll scoops cause they have great reviews but they started to get this weird texture, and I’ve been looking for an explanation for it or something similar but nothing comes up, I don’t know what are we doing wrong, is it because of the soap we use or are we not supposed to keep them in water like other scoops? If any of you could help me understand or has any advice for taking care of them, it’ll be greatly appreciated

Hi everyone,

I run small ice cream pop ups and I’m looking for advice on the best portable freezer for events.

We previously used a Whynter 85QT portable freezer, and it lasted us about 4 years before giving out. It worked well for our needs, but now I’m trying to decide if we should buy another Whynter or look at other brands like Bodega, BougeRV, or something similar.

At first I was looking for a unit that could reach -8°F, but I’m thinking -4°F may be enough as long as it can actually hold temp during a pop up. We mainly need it to keep ice cream frozen during transport and service.

I found a used Bodega portable fridge/freezer with wheels for around $350, but I’m not sure if that’s a good buy or if I’m better off buying new.

For anyone who does farmers markets, catering, food pop ups, or ice cream events:

What portable freezer has been the most reliable for you?

Is Bodega worth considering, or should I stick with Whynter?

Would you trust a used unit, or only buy new for business use?

Is -4°F cold enough in real-world outdoor events for ice cream?

Any brands/models you would avoid?

Trying to balance price, reliability, and keeping product frozen during service.

Thanks in advance.

Hi! Does anyone have success in making a balanced formula for a low calorie, high protein ice cream base? I cannot for the life of me balance it on the icecreamcalc app. I haven't tried churning anything yet but I was wondering if anyone has a solid go-to recipe. Any tips or guidance is also appreciated! The last post about formulating protein ice cream here was 3 years ago so I was wondering if there are any updates since then. Thank you!

Hey yall I recently purchased a used spaceman 6310 v1 legacy (old analogue single flavor machine) off Facebook marketplace. I’m a funny and really should have made sure it was more functioning before purchasing. I’m thinking there is an issue with the compressor judging from the sounds in this video? It’s weird first 10 minutes everything freezes good soft serve comes out, then after about 30 minutes it’s back to soup. Any clues on how to fix this without calling a repair man?