Frozen Desserts −18°CEstimates

Ice Cream Mix Balance Calculator

Great ice cream is a balance of fat, milk solids, sugar and water. Enter your recipe by weight and see its composition against the targets for American, French custard, gelato or light styles, its freezing point, and how hard it will be straight from the freezer.

How to use it

Choose the style you're making.
Enter each ingredient and its weight in grams.
Read the gauges and suggestions, adjust the recipe, and check again before you churn.

How it works

Each ingredient is broken into fat, milk solids non-fat (protein, lactose, minerals), sugars, other solids and water from standard compositions. Gauges compare the mix with the typical ranges for each style.

Freezing follows the Goff & Hartel method from ice cream science: sugars and lactose (as sucrose equivalents) and milk salts lower the freezing point of the water, and as ice forms the remaining syrup gets stronger. That predicts how much of the water is frozen at −18°C (a home freezer) or −12°C (a gelato case), which is what makes ice cream soft or hard.

Assumptions: these results are estimates

Results are estimates from average compositions; brands, fruit and churning all change real results.
Alcohol, salt and dextrose soften ice cream; cocoa and chocolate firm it.
Targets are typical ranges, not rules; taste wins.

Tips

Swap 20 to 30 g of sugar per kilo for dextrose to soften without adding sweetness.
A little milk powder adds body and reduces iciness in low-fat recipes.
Age the mix overnight in the fridge for a smoother churn.