A machine for producing and dispensing products such as ice cream, frozen beverages or granita has a transparent product container which is provided with a tap for dispensing the product and which contains an evaporator of a refrigerating circuit or cooling the product in the container and a mixer element for stirring the product. The machine is configured for diffusing a thin stream of moving air over the outer walls of the container. The machine may have a fan which emits an air flow inside a diffuser element which is arranged above the container and which defines a mouth around the top of the container and blows downwards the thin stream of air onto the outer walls of the container. The diffuser element may be advantageously formed in the lid the container.

An ice maker having an ice tray horizontally suspended within a housing and a drive body rotatably coupled to a transverse axis of the ice tray and configured to oscillate the ice tray about the transverse axis. The cold side of a thermoelectric device is thermally coupled with a bottom surface of the ice tray, and a hot side opposes the cold side. A barrier extends around the periphery of the ice tray within the housing, and separates the housing into a first chamber and a second air chamber. A heat sink is thermally coupled with the hot side of the thermoelectric device and extends into the second air chamber. An intake duct member is coupled with the housing proximate the second air chamber, and is configured to dispense a cold air flow over the heat sink. The barrier restricts the cold air flow from entering the first chamber.

The disclosure extends to methods, systems, and devices for producing a conditioned ice or snow cone products and providing toppings thereto in a mobile configuration. The system may comprise an ice shaving or snow cone machine, a mobile edifice, and a topping dispenser attached to the mobile edifice. The mobile edifice may comprise telescoping members for moving the edifice from an open position to a closed position and vice-versa.

The disclosure extends to methods, systems, and devices for producing a conditioned ice or snow cone products and providing toppings thereto in a mobile configuration. The system may comprise an ice shaving or snow cone machine, a mobile edifice, and a topping dispenser attached to the mobile edifice. The mobile edifice may comprise telescoping members for moving the edifice from an open position to a closed position and vice-versa.

Creation of surgical slush having desirable mechanical properties by chilling a closed slush container with liquid saline and an air gap. The closed slush container having interior surfaces that are smooth and hydrophobic to resist adherence of ice crystals. Moving the closed slush container so the contents move in a complex set of motions rather than constant rotation around a longitudinal centerline of the slush container as the liquid saline is converted into surgical slush with a mixture of liquid saline and ice crystals. Interior surfaces of the closed slush container move into and out of an air gap to help shed any ice crystals forming on the interior surfaces. In some instances, as the orientation of the closed slush container relative to gravity changes over time, different interior surfaces shed the ice crystals. An optional method for delivering surgical slush to the sterile field is included. The full range of the disclosure exceeds the scope of this brief abstract.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for automating the cleaning and sanitizing processes of a food dispensing machine. The systems and methods may be set to run automatically and may keep a dispensing system cleaned and sanitized for an extended time. The systems and methods disclosed are designed to make cleaning easier for the operator, shorten the overall cleaning time, reduce the amount of labor involved, and improve the convenience, reliability, and repeatability of the cleaning processes.

The invention relates to a glucose(-containing) syrup replacement composition for use in food applications, such as in bakery, beverages, ice cream, confectionery and the like. The glucose(-containing) syrup replacement composition comprises at least 80 wt % of maltodextrin having a dextrose equivalence (DE) of from 15 to 20 and up to 20 wt % of sorbitol and glycerol. The invention also covers the use of the composition in a food product to replace at least partially or completely nutritive mono- and disaccharides having an energy density of 4 kcal/g, preferably to replace at least partially or completely glucose, sucrose and/or fructose, generally in the form of syrups.

A drink maker is described that includes a housing, a mixing vessel configured to be removably coupled to the housing and receive a drink product, a dasher configured to mix the drink product within the mixing vessel, a drive motor configured to drive the dasher, and a controller. The controller is configured to detect an unsafe condition associated with the drink maker and, in response to detection of the unsafe condition, execute at least one control action comprising at least one of: alerting a user of the drink maker, deactivating the drive motor, preventing activation of the drive motor, or any combination thereof.