Development of Direct Service, Soft Ice Cream and Milkshake Dispensing Equipment

Ice cream is often called "The Great American Dessert". Although the product is typically American, the U.S. cannot claim its origin. Very little is known of the early history of ice cream; however, the product is definitely known to have been introduced from Europe. The ice cream industry as we know it today, however was wholly developed in the United States.

Ice cream undoubtedly evolved from iced beverages and fruit ices that were popular in early medieval periods, some of which probably contained milk or cream. The practice, in early times, of cooling drinks in ice and snow containing salt is a matter of record. It seems possible that in overcooling some of these punches, the "ice" was discovered. At any rate, various records of frozen fruit flavored ices have been found in European history and frozen ices are still more popular in continental Europe than in the United States and Canada.

The United States has gained undisputed leadership among all other countries in the production of ice cream. The industry grew slowly until about 1900, when the output of ice cream did not exceed 25 to 30 million gallons per year. The annual production has been on a continuously increasing rate, with production of both soft and hard ice cream now at more than one billion gallons. This represents a per capita consumption of more than 19 pounds. Approximately 9% of the total U.S. milk production is utilized by the ice cream industry.

Development of Direct Service, Soft Ice Cream and

Milkshake Dispensing Equipment

The early 1930's saw several companies enter into the development of relatively small freezers, designed for use either in a small wholesale ice cream business or retail ice cream store. These early freezers were all of the batch type, designed to freeze a definite quantity during one operation and when empty, refilled again for the next batch. Generally, these batch freezers were incorprated with a hardening cabinet and were located in a room separate from the serving area. Very few automatic features were incorporated in these early machines. The operation was generally carried out by the use of manual control, requiring a trained operator on duty at all times.

By the middle '30's, it was recognized by a few of the manufacturers, that this type of equipment could eventually eliminate the hand dipping of ice cream. Therefore, all effort was channeled into the development of automatic, continuous freezers that would be simple to operate, clean and assemble. The design of the serving gates were changed to make it more easier for the operator to build cones, ala modes and sundaes. The last few years have seen a rapid increase in the use of this type of dispensing freezer. (sweden freezer)


See also : sate,



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