Tips & Tricks¶

General Recipe Hints¶

These are some basic facts applying to all recipes.

1. Most of the recipes here can be put back into the freezer after processing, and remain scoopable for days without processing them again. Plan ahead accordingly.

   Another advantage of such recipes is you can do the processing during the day, and enjoy your ice cream in the evening or at night without disturbing anyone with Creami noises.

   Or, if you prefer soft-serve consistency, you can dig in immediately.

2. Recipes are optimized for flavor and texture, not for the number of ingredients. If you use a kitchen scale and immersion blender, this workflow makes the number of ingredients not that important:

   • Put the tub on the scale and weigh the wet ingredients one after another using TARA, and the same for the dry ones into one additional bowl.
   • Then pour the dry stuff into the wet stuff and blend away.

3. Ingredient amounts fit the 720ml (24oz) container size of the Creami Deluxe. For the base model and the Swirl, scale the recipes by using ⅔ of all ingredients (66%).

Regular Cleaning is Key¶

Regular cleaning ensures continuous enjoyment of your creamis, and ensures the machine operates under the best conditions, especially when it comes to a strong paddle / rod connection.

After you're done with processing a tub, clean the tip of the rod with a damp cloth, instantly and every time. Throw the lid and paddle into your (shallowly) filled sink, so they're submerged. That gives you ample opportunity to dig into your freshly made creami, without residue drying up or congealing.

⚠️ Using a Dishwasher
The manual might state everything is dishwasher safe, but generally plastic ages faster when exposed to the harsh chemicals in a dishwasher. Cleaning by hand, if you do it regularly, is over in a minute or so.

Later, clean the lid by lifting it out of the water and shaking it horizontally, repeating the submerging and lifting+shaking cycle several times. You can also hold it under the running tap, the good hole for running water through the lid is the rectangular one in the lever.

Finally, shake every drop of water out of the lid, and let it dry in a rack. Keep a firm grip when doing that (don't drop the lid).

Also, take out the gasket from time to time (at least once a month), and clean it and under it. When ice cream overflowed the rim, do that immediately. Do not overstretch the gasket when removing, cleaning, and putting it back.

🤓 Remotely Monitor Your Freezer¶

Freezers, especially auto-defrosting ones, do strange things. If as a nerd you want to have an eye on that, and also know how cold your tubs come out of it, you can use a smarthome remote sensor that works via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

SwitchBot IP65 outdoor thermometer / hygrometer

Prepared Dry Mixes¶

Some of the recipes have 'Mix' in their name. These are partial recipes where you can weigh a mix of most or all of the dry ingredients in bulk.

You typically prepare enough for 4-10 tubs, making the overall process more efficient. Ingredients that only need small amounts are also easier to weigh, due to the upscaling for several portions.

When you make the final base, you weigh that mix, making it easier to use only a kitchen scale, most of which are not that precise with low amounts.

Choosing Processing Modes¶

Each mode has specific speeds and durations for the down / up movement, optimized for different recipe types.

Here's a breakdown of how speed and duration vary by mode:

• Ice Cream: Spins at medium speed to incorporate air, resulting in a creamy and smooth texture. Needs "normal" ratios of sugar and fat.
• Lite Ice Cream: Similar to Ice Cream, but optimized for lower-fat bases, with higher spin speeds and slower movement. Often used for milk alternatives and protein shakes.
• Sorbet: Fast speed downwards to prevent large ice crystals from forming, creating a smooth, icy texture. Fast retraction at low speed.
• Gelato: The same as Ice Cream.
• Smoothie Bowl (NC30x): The same as Light Ice Cream.
• Frozen Yogurt (Deluxe): The same speeds as Light Ice Cream, but 5 min total duration, split equally in half. This is the safest mode of all, but also induces the most heat.
• Milkshake: Downwards the speed of sorbet with the duration of ice cream, and a very fast retraction at low speed.
• Mix-in: A low-speed setting used to fold in mix-ins like chocolate chips.
• Respin: Timed like Mix-in, but at about 2.5 times the speed, to integrate crumbly spins or induce heat for softer consistency.

Detailed movement durations and spin speeds for different modes
^{(source: Dream Scoops • IngoCoffee's video)}

Mode details for the 'Swirl'
^{(source: Reddit u/rodzlenz)}

Scrape Test, Always¶

Always perform a scrape test before processing, to judge what mode fits the specific tub before you best, and whether you should leave the tub on the counter for 5 to 15 minutes to make it soft enough for processing ('soft' still means frozen here, just less so).

When soft enough, scrape down any hump that might have developed during freezing, to get a paddle-friendly flat surface.

Handling of Icy Sides & Bottom¶

The way a Creami processes your base means that the tub sides and bottom remain partially frozen, since the paddle can never touch the sides or bottom of the container, within normal operating conditions.

To fix that, after the 1st (main) processing step, run cold tap water (20..25°C) over the container, tilted a little to the side and while turning it to treat the container wall fully. Do that for 15..30 seconds, depending on the consistency of the base.

Then, for already relatively soft bases, do a 2nd run on "Mix-in" to minimize the additional heat induced, otherwise perform a "Respin." You can also scrape down the sides with a spoon (upside of the spoon oriented towards the wall), to bring the icy parts to where the paddle can reach them.

If your ice cream gets too soft that way, put it back into the freezer for at least an hour. Once you made a recipe, you know how it reacts and can plan ahead accordingly.

Recipes with a PAC value of above 25 typically need a refreeze — see it as an advantage since you can spin a base during the day and enjoy it late at night without any noise pollution. And later on, any left-overs can be consumed directly out of the freezer, since they remain scoopable permanently.

💡 Make a Milk Shake¶

💭 If life gives you icy residue, make a milk shake.

The icy bottom often is not influenced by a scrape-down run and remains. Put it to good use by making a milk shake from the bottom half inch or so (≈1.5cm).

1. Fill the tub to a third or half with your preferred milk.
2. Add sweetener or flavor drops of choice, and possibly a dollop of cream.
3. Froth it up with a blender, incorporating all of the ice cream.
4. Pour into a long-drink glass.

We might eat out of the tub, but only babarians drink out of it. 😉

⛔ No Premature Thawing¶

It is not recommended to use hot water before the 1st (main) processing step!

You risk your machine since the frozen block can get loose and spin within the tub, with commonly catastrophic consequences — burn-out of the machine, shearing of the rod tip and paddle.