Our horizontal Carpigiani Maestro in action.
As we previously discussed gelato batch freezers will be one of the most expensive machines you’ll need to buy before opening your own gelateria.
One mistake, can literally cost you thousands of dollars (or euro, or pesos..you get the idea!) so it’s really important to make all the research you can to get the machine that is best for your needs. I can help you with all that in great detail, but here is a useful comparison between the 2 most common type of batch freezer you’ll encounter: the old school vertical one, and the more modern horizontal.
The difference (vertical or horizontal) is given by the position of the cylinder and how the machine spins to freeze.
Vertical Batch Freezers for gelato
These are the traditional gelato batch freezers, the first of its kind that took the design from the old way of freezing gelato: a tub on the floor, ice and salt, and another smaller tub where you’ll put the gelato mix to be spun around manually with a long paddle.
This machine is narrow and tall, has a long arm with a paddle and a cylinder that’s at the bottom of the machine and that you load from the top with your gelato mix. This big arm acts as you beater and spins the gelato around incorporating a bit of air and assuring a consistent structure all across the batch.
These machines are more manual, they give you more control, have a nostalgic feeling (at least in Italy) and will probably last longer. But are they worth it?
Pros: more control over the final product (you can see the gelato that’s freezing and stop it as it reaches the perfect consistency), less air incorporation in general, ideal for mix-ins (you can pour them directly in from the top as the gelato is almost done), works supposedly better for granita & sorbetti, it has a cooler/vintage look, you can use it to create a little show or entertaining your guests as you extract gelato, could last longer because older model have less technology and better craftsmanship.
Cons: harder to clean & sanitize, less air incorporation, in general takes you longer in production, you need to know how to use it and how to properly extract your gelato with the long paddle, they don’t have an “all in one” version therefore you must buy a pasteurizer to go with it or work “cold”.
Horizontal Batch Freezers for Gelato
These are the more modern version of the batch freezer. They were introduced to improve speed, reliability and consistency and overall make the life of the gelato make easier without compromising on the quality of the product. I would say these are by far the most common gelato machines these days, especially if you are just starting out.
Pros: are more technologic, no need to wait and see the machines calls you when it’s ready, easier to clean and load (from the top), easier to assemble/disassemble, you can cook/pasteurize too (in specific models), you can buy an “all in one” so that you don’t need a separate pasteurizer, some even make jams, toppings, cook fruit and more, easier to use, help with consistency and in general are faster in production, easier to extract the final product and will help you in decorating pans.
Cons: cannot really pour in mix-ins or melted chocolate (must mix manually upon extraction), not as much control over the structure, more technologic & therefore a bit more delicate, a bit louder.
So here you have it, in general the newer horizontal batch freezer take the cake and you can see it from what’s being sold on the market: R&D and catalogues from all major manufactures are focused on these models.
What you need to consider is also who will be making gelato in your business: if you need to delegate production, then a more consistent, easy to use machine is imperative. Also speed must be considered: you probably will only buy one machine to start therefore the fasted you can produce the less you’ll need to work.
Quality of the final product is not different, nothing the customer will ever notice anyway. But, from a professional stand point, the old vertical machine normally produces great results with sorbetti & granita (italian water ice).
I’ll always remember what one of my teachers (and one of the best gelato chef in the world) once told me:
“People might have a vertical machine in the front to look cool and “old school” and show off a bit, but if you run a busy gelateria you then have many horizontal batch freezers in the back doing the bulk of the work!”
I think this sentence sums it up pretty well :)
Hopefully this was helpful & valuable!
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A presto amici!
Vincenzo