A variegator and a process for using it. The variegator permits the manufacturer to obtain desirable patterns of distribution of sauce and chunks in frozen confections while at the same time permitting fast cleaning-in-place times to minimize factory downtime. The variegator comprises a) one or more conduits, each suitable for feeding a base frozen confection to a first opening or set of openings into a chamber, b) one or more conduits suitable for feeding a fluid variegating material such as a sauce through a second openings or set of openings at a level below the first set into the chamber below the base frozen confection opening, and c) a static mixer below the variegating material opening, the static mixer comprising at least two baffles.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks. Some machines include a refrigeration system to cool food or drink in a pod. The machines include an evaporator defining a receptacle sized to receive the pod. The evaporator includes an inlet port to receive refrigerant and an outlet port to discharge refrigerant.

Systems and methods of producing a frozen food product include mixing ingredients with a liquefied gas, e.g. liquid nitrogen. The texture and quality of the food product may be determined by sensing temperature or viscosity, and controlling the rate at which the liquefied gas flows into the mixture, i.e. dosing. This functionality may be achieved using one or more scoops, the position of which may be controlled by actuators. The dosing may be controlled by a program that receives input from one or more sensors, and the program may be responsive to input of the type or amount of ingredients being mixed. In addition, the dosing may be controlled by a human being through a user interface, e.g. by pushing a ‘dose’ button.

A method for making ice cream including a basic flavor in which an additional flavor of a different type is inserted includes the following steps: preparing a container for processing the basic ice cream product; cooling and stirring a basic preparation inside processing container to make a basic ice cream product; preparing a hermetically sealed capsule containing an additional flavor; opening the capsule; simultaneously transferring a portion of the basic ice cream from the processing container to the serving container and the additional flavor from the open capsule to the serving container, wherein the simultaneous transferring step comprises a step of delivering the additional flavor into a first predetermined spatial region and a step of delivering the basic ice cream into a second spatial region which contains the first spatial region, so that the additional flavor is fed into the basic ice cream in the serving container.

Individual portions of ice cream are dispensed from a bulk container. A motor drives a lead screw, to expand a scissor linkage and drive a dispensing head against the bulk container. Pressure applied to the container causes it to collapse and discharge ice cream from an outlet. The lead screw is orthogonal with the movement of the dispensing head and the axis of collapse of the container. The container, motor and lead screw are carried on a drawer which is slidably mounted in a refrigerated housing. Pressure is monitored to regulate operation of the motor. An encoder controls the motor for a specific portion size.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A ladle includes a handle, a cup, a squeegee mechanism with a sweeping arm, a trigger assembly, and a handle of the trigger assembly which causes the operation of the squeegee mechanism. The handle has a proximal end configured for gripping by a user and a distal end. The cup is coupled to the distal end of the handle. The squeegee mechanism is associated with the handle and the cup. The squeegee mechanism includes a sweeping arm pivotally connected to the cup and disposed adjacent an exterior of the cup and a trigger assembly supported on the handle and connected to the sweeping arm. The trigger assembly is configured to actuate the squeegee mechanism to sweep the sweeping arm along the exterior of the cup.

Systems and methods have demonstrated the capability of rapidly cooling the contents of pods containing the ingredients for food and drinks.

A ladle includes a handle, a cup, a squeegee mechanism with a sweeping arm, a trigger assembly, and a handle of the trigger assembly which causes the operation of the squeegee mechanism. The handle has a proximal end configured for gripping by a user and a distal end. The cup is coupled to the distal end of the handle. The squeegee mechanism is associated with the handle and the cup. The squeegee mechanism includes a sweeping arm pivotally connected to the cup and disposed adjacent an exterior of the cup and a trigger assembly supported on the handle and connected to the sweeping arm. The trigger assembly is configured to actuate the squeegee mechanism to sweep the sweeping arm along the exterior of the cup.

A refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet, a door, a sealed cooling system, and an ice cream unit. The door may include a door liner defining an icebox compartment. The door may include a chilled air supply opening and a chilled air return opening spaced apart from the chilled air supply opening. The ice cream unit may be disposed within the icebox compartment. The ice cream unit may include a freezing tank, a rotatable auger extending into the freezing tank, a tank jacket, and a unit duct or support base. The tank jacket may receive the freezing tank and define a cooling passage extending about the freezing tank from a jacket inlet to a jacket outlet. The jacket outlet may be open to the icebox compartment to exhaust air from the cooling passage to the icebox compartment.