Continuing our discussion with Andrea Bandiera on the organization of production processes, as in the articles on stock management, the instructor explains how the same concept can also be applied to the pasteurization of bases.
"In the off-season, rather than pasteurizing small quantities every day, with the machine consuming energy as if it were fully loaded, I do a 40-liter batch and then divide it up as needed." Andrea divides the batch according to how and when he plans to use it: one part he uses immediately to make gelato and the other he stores for later use. Considering that the mix only has a three-day maximum shelf life, if things don’t go as planned – for example a stretch of bad weather – it wouldn’t be possible to store it in the refrigerator at +4°C waiting for things to improve. He found that one solution to this problem is to use vacuum packing.
In fact, vacuum packing insulates the product from external factors and allows the mix to be frozen at -18°C, increasing the possibility of storing it up to one month. Obviously "once the mix is defrosted, the product shelf life countdown restarts at three days. Three days if it was vacuum packed as soon as it was produced, otherwise, if the mix has already spent a day in the pasteurizer, there will be two days left,” Andrea points out.
In his experience, Andrea estimates that on average about 40-60 liters of white base are produced per week during the off-season. However, if this total quantity is divided into three or four 20-liter batches because you’re working with the idea of producing only the gelato you need in the next few days to preserve its quality, it’s obvious that you’re forced to wash the pasteurizer three times, tripling consumption and labor. To overcome this problem, Andrea pasteurizes a single full load and then freezes what he doesn’t need right away. This way the pasteurizer only needs to be washed after a single use and the mix can be defrosted as needed, day by day.
The process of thawing the mix must be done in the safest way possible. In fact, the mix is defrosted by leaving it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before use so that it’s restored to the temperature of +4°C correctly and without excessive temperature fluctuations. Upon reaching +4°C, the mix is ready to be used to produce the missing flavors. "By planning my daily production in advance, I can defrost packs of mix in time and eliminate issues related to delivery time, delays, and so on." It goes without saying that this method only works if you have one or more -18°C freezers.
There are numerous other advantages to working with vacuum packing, one of them being that it helps with production planning. If the shop is closed one day a week, it’s best to turn off the equipment on that day so as not to consume water and electricity. If you have to produce mix the day before you close, you can use the vacuum-packed bags prepared earlier and frozen. Vacuum packing also obviates the problem of product dehydration, which occurs when you store products that aren’t vacuum packed. "When there’s bad weather I can prepare vacuum-packed bags of sauces, toppings, and fruits for use at peak times (sunshine, fairs, events)." On a practical level, Andrea says that 30x40 cm bags can contain up to 3500 grams of product, and the best ones have a thickness of 140 microns. They’re strong and don’t break easily, as happens with the cheaper 90-micron bags.
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