When it comes to making ice cream, one of the main factors is overrun. So, what is overrun and what is the difference between high and low overrun?
Overrun is simply the percentage of air incorporated into the mix during the freezing and churning process. In other words, it increases the volume of the mix compared to the original liquid ice cream mix.
The more air pumped into the original ice cream mix, the more volume and the fluffier the ice cream will become. This process is known as high overrun as you’re incorporating more air into the product to create an airier, lighter, and possibly more mild-tasting ice cream product.
On the other side if you incorporate less air into the ice cream mix, this will result in a much denser, richer, and texturally creamier product. This process is known as low overrun which typically results in a more intense and flavorful ice cream product.
At the end of the day, what equipment you are looking to purchase will depend entirely on what type of product you want to serve. Soft serve is typically a higher overrun product as more people want that fluffy texture while true ice cream tends to be more on the low overrun side.
However, this is not always the case. Some people prefer a fluffier ice cream and a denser soft serve; it really depends on what you’re looking to achieve for your business. That is why we at Lane & McClain recommend coming in and doing a demonstration with our equipment to see what settings work best for you and your product before purchasing.
