What is a good or bad ice cream pasteurizer?
To paraphrase our famous scribe, “there is no good or bad pasto”. But if we had to summarize the important points to check before investing in making ice cream, here is a short buying guide to help you choose the right one. ice cream pasteurizer with a small non-exhaustive list of important characteristics to check before deciding.
What is the main function of a pasteurizer?
First of all, as its name suggests pasteurizer is used to pasteurize a product and in our case a mix or a syrup. The term pasteurization dates back to Professor Louis Pasteur who filed a patent in 1865 to validate the process of pasteurization in order to destroy the majority of pathogenic germs.
Concretely, it is theaction of heating above 85 degrees Celsius as well as cooling to +4 degrees Celsius (with a cooling phase strictly less than 2 hours).
Benefits
Le Pasteurizer therefore replaces the saucepan and automates the pasteurization process. Of course, the advantages will be numerous on paper
- Regularity of product mixes
- Observance of hot and cold instructions.
- Cooking and cooling phase in the same space
- Work in a closed tank synonymous with saving liquid materials.
Several criteria must be taken into account to choose the most suitable ice cream pasteurizer for your activity.
So here is our little guide to buying the ideal ice cream pasteurizer for artisanal ice cream parlors.
Bowl size
The size of the tank is of great importance in your organization.
Depending on the daily production, the size of the tank should be larger or smaller. For example, a 60 liter tank will supply a 14 liter turbine if several pasteurization cycles are carried out per day with different flavors.
Always linked with ice turbine 14 liters, you can also use a 120 liter tank to make a single perfume per day. A single weighing phase, the last cycle is done in the pasto with maturation for the night.
All this will depend on the organization in the company, the number of people who will work and the time devoted to each phase of production.
If you are working on your own, choosing a larger tub can give more flexibility to free up ice cream production time.
Some suppliers will offer pasteurization tanks of up to 240 liters such as the pasteurizer of the company Hubert Cloix.
type of heating
Different types of heaters exist: double wall with heat transfer liquid, circular or submerged heating resistors or plate heat exchanger.
Type of cooling
The two main types of cooling are air cooling or water cooling.
The advantage of air cooling is to reduce energy consumption such as water, but will have a significant balance on the ambient temperature of the laboratory. It will be necessary either to provide a good air circulation, or an air extraction so as not to overheat the laboratory.
An alternative, but only possible on installations of a certain size, is to move the air-cooled condensers outside.
Otherwise the second type of cooling will be water cooling. It has the advantage of not impacting the temperature of the production laboratory. Of course, the environmental impact is not optimal and consumption can quickly generate large bills.
Here again, a good alternative will be to work in a closed circuit with glycol water to combine the economic advantages of air cooling with the increased performance of water cooling.
As we can see, it's all about configuration. For a small installation, we recommend air-cooled condensers. For larger installations, glycol or chilled water circuits.
Tank outlet
The outlet of the tank and its closing system is important depending on the volume of ice cream treated. Possibility of dismantling the valve for cleaning, possibility of connecting an sms pipe to transfer the pasteurized ice cream mix to a maturation tank.
Engine(s) sizing
A motor with a low service factor or with an actual consumption close to the nominal will tend to cause premature wear of the mechanics. These are interesting points to check to make sure you acquire equipment that will last a long time.
Easy to clean
Are the removable parts (mixer, lid) easily removable and/or cleanable? The question is essential. Cleaning is an important and time-consuming part of being an ice cream maker. Saving time for washing the various components is a double win, more production per day and less temptation by omission or not to rush the cleaning of the machine.
Type of agitation and/or wall scraping
Depending on the brands and models, the management of the agitation differs. There is always a quick stirrer in the tank which guarantees good mixing of the mix. Some brands like us the company Hubert Cloix, offer their ice pasteurizer with a slow scraper to ensure good scraping of the walls of the tank. And this in order to avoid ending up with part of the burnt wall caused by slightly thick mixes.
Agitator of a Hubert Cloix ice cream pasteurizer
Program
Printed circuits, PLCs, capacitive or sensitive touch screens.
Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. Touch screens will provide more opportunities to customize pasteurization curves or to facilitate the addition of ingredients (25, 35 and 45 degrees for example).
PLCs and electronic cards are proven technologies. It is necessary to check the tightness of the component and its resistance to wear but it remains a relevant choice for anyone looking for robust and reliable equipment.
Autonomous pasteurizer or pasteurization line
From a flow rate of several thousand liters per day, switching to an in-tank pasteurization line can be an interesting development path.
Operation is simple: two tanks pasteurize the mix alternately and the mix is cooled in a plate heat exchanger before migrating to maturation tanks.
Conclusion
As we have seen in this article, the pasteurizer is an essential machine in the glacier laboratory and some parameters are important to take into account.
Each machine will have its pros and cons and it will be necessary to take into account its environment and its methodology.
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