How to Manufacture Ice Cream Mixes with Silverson High Shear Mixers
Silverson Machines has been in business for 75+ years, with one of their first mixers being used for Ice Cream mixes! Now their latest video demonstrates how Silverson mixers can be used for this application.
Formulations vary widely, but all contain a variety of aqueous and powdered ingredients. Additional ingredients, such as hydrocolloids may also be used in some recipes as stabilisers.
Mixing powders into liquids is one of the most difficult mixing operations. This part of the process can cause issues in production, especially when using conventional mixing equipment such as agitators or stirrers. Many manufacturers using this type of equipment try and reduce the formation of agglomerates by premixing the powdered ingredients. But conventional systems do not provide sufficient shear to break down any agglomerates once they form. This can result in a filtration stage being required, further increasing processing times. Filtering out undispersed powders from the mix also increases raw material costs as the full yield of the ingredients is not achieved.
However, the action of a high shear mixer can disperse any powders without the formation of agglomerates. The high speed rotation of the rotor blades creates a powerful suction which draws the liquid and solid/powdered ingredients into the workhead. This ensures that the fat and aqueous phase ingredients are emulsified and reduced to a uniform and fine droplet size, which gives the product the desired stability.
In the ‘how to’ video, a typical premix for a small batch of ice cream is prepared using a Silverson in-tank Batch mixer. For larger batches, a Silverson In-Line mixer would be recommended. For recipes that incorporate large volumes of powder, the Silverson Flashmix would be most suitable.
The premix may be subjected to further processing with a high-pressure homogenizer to obtain the smallest possible droplet size. With this process, using a Silverson mixer to create a uniform premix offers considerable reductions in process time.
