From Anzola Emilia on 29 January 2020, Carpigiani, the global leader in machines for artisan gelato, reported on its technology for food retail at Sigep 2020. The focus was gelato in foodservice and pastry, and the growing international trend of premium soft serve.

Foodservice and pastry technology

The big launch was a pair of new countertop batch freezers, Ready 6/9 and Ready 8/12, which completed the range introduced in 2019. Both are single-phase and have three pasteurisation programs that guide cooks and pastry chefs through each stage of gelato production. A hot washing system and a delayed cleaning program look after hygiene. They also feature the new Crystal program, which suits cakes and gelato in a jar, thanks to a higher air content and a consistency that portions well.

ReadyChef is a 58 cm countertop machine for pastry shops and restaurants. It holds 32 programs, from creams and chocolate tempering to gelato, slushes and cremolatas, with six cycles devoted to sauces and toppings. It connects to single-phase power and has a dedicated cleaning program that saves kitchen time. Demonstrations of its pastry and foodservice uses came from instructors of Gelato Pastry University in Tokyo and Foodservice Professionals in London, the two specialty schools launched by Carpigiani Gelato University in 2015 and 2017.

Premium soft serve and four concepts

Premium soft serve, sometimes called gelato espresso or soft gelato, is dispensed straight from the machine with a soft curl on top. It was popular in the 1950s and 1960s and has returned with refined ingredients, led by milk, and eye-catching shapes and colours. To meet the trend, Carpigiani announced a Soft Serve Consulting service. It helps customers choose the right technology, develops exclusive recipes, applies food design and advises on running one or more sales points. Four complete concepts were shown for the first time:

• Love: creamy chocolate and caramel gelato with heart-shaped fruit chocolate decorations, aimed at chocolatiers who want to adapt their offer to the season.

• Cinema: popcorn gelato topped with crunchy popcorn and served in packaging that recalls the 1950s.

• Spring: a wavy soft serve inspired by the Centifolia rose and set in a Middle Eastern tearoom, infused with Damask rose and honey and decorated with butterfly-shaped chocolate.

• Jewel: inspired by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a Fiordilatte gelato with Tahiti vanilla served in a small bowed gift box with cotton candy studded with sugar gems.

Blockchain, Soft Serve Core and Automat

For the first time in the world, Carpigiani showed a machine with blockchain technology that makes pay-per-use possible. An advanced control system lets owners track the mix poured into the machine and send transaction data to the blockchain platform.

The Soft Serve Core function for the 191, Mister Art and Super Tre AV Evo models fills the soft serve with a core of syrup dispensed at the same time, creating a surprising flavour combination.

A dedicated area also showed Automat, an automatic machine that turns juices and ready-made drinks into fresh gelato. Pick a sealed bottle from the fridge, press one button, and the machine does the rest, which suits convenience stores and rest areas with minimal running costs.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Premium soft serve is just as relevant to cafes, dessert bars and bakeries here. Explore Carpigiani soft serve machines, or look at batch freezers and pastry machines for a restaurant or pastry kitchen. Majors Group can talk you through the options and arrange finance.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for New Zealand by Majors Group.