1. Key Concepts

Before diving into the production system, it helps to understand the key terms and how they relate to each other. These concepts are used throughout the calculator and production planning.

1.1 Mix Weight

Mix Weight is the total weight of all base ingredients that go into your pot or pasteurizer. This includes milk, cream, sugar, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and all other ingredients that make up the liquid ice cream base.

Mix Weight does not include inclusions (add-ins like chocolate chips, cookie dough, fruit pieces) or infusions (ingredients steeped and removed, like vanilla pods or tea leaves).

1.2 Inclusions (Add-ins)

Inclusions are solid ingredients that are folded into the ice cream after churning. They are physically present in the final product and take up space in the container, but they are not part of the liquid mix that gets pasteurized and churned.

Common examples:

• Chocolate chips, chunks, or shavings
• Cookie dough pieces
• Nut pieces, praline
• Fruit pieces, candied fruit
• Swirl sauces (caramel, fudge)

In the Recipe Editor, inclusions are marked with the Inclusion checkbox. This distinction is critical because inclusions affect volume and weight calculations differently from mix ingredients.

1.3 Overrun

Overrun is the percentage of air incorporated into the ice cream during churning. It is defined as:

Overrun % = ((Volume of ice cream − Volume of mix) / Volume of mix) × 100

For example, if you start with 10 liters of liquid mix and churn it into 12.5 liters of ice cream, the overrun is 25%.

Per-Recipe Overrun Each recipe stores its own overrun value. This is important because different recipes typically have different overrun — a dense gelato and a light soft serve will behave very differently. The overrun is set in the Recipe Editor and is used automatically in all production calculations.

1.4 Density

Mix density is how heavy the liquid mix is per unit of volume, measured in grams per milliliter (g/mL). A typical ice cream mix has a density of around 1.05–1.12 g/mL, meaning it is slightly heavier than water (1.0 g/mL).

The calculator computes the density automatically from the recipe composition. Higher fat and sugar content increases density; higher water content decreases it.

1.5 Evaporation

Evaporation is the percentage of water lost when cooking the mix on a stove. Typically 3–5%. If you use a pasteurizer (closed system), evaporation is usually 0%. Evaporation is set per recipe in the Recipe Editor.

When evaporation is non-zero, the Final Weight (after cooking) is less than the Mix Weight (what you weigh out). The relationship is:

Final Weight = Mix Weight × (1 − Evaporation %)

2. How the Numbers Fit Together

The journey from raw ingredients to a filled container involves several transformations. Each step changes either the weight or volume of the product.

2.1 The Production Flow

Weigh ingredients→ Cook / pasteurize→ Churn (add air)→ Fold in inclusions→ Fill containers

Important: Weight vs Volume The Production Planning system works in mix weight (kg). This is the weight you actually measure out on your scale. When you plan production using volume-based products (like “500mL cups”), the system converts the target volume back to the mix weight you need to prepare. Understanding this conversion is essential.

2.2 The Volume-to-Weight Conversion

When you define a Product as a volume (e.g., 500mL cups) and add it to the production plan, the system needs to work backwards from the final product volume to the mix weight you need to prepare. Here is how it works:

The result (16.4 kg in this example) is the Mix Weight — the number stored in your production plan. This is what you weigh on your scale.

3. Production Planning

3.1 Planning by Weight (Direct)

The simplest way to plan production is to specify the mix weight directly. You enter the weight in kilograms and the system uses this value as-is.

For example, if your recipe is 1000g and you want to make a double batch, set the planned quantity to 2.0 kg. The system will scale all ingredient quantities proportionally.

3.2 Planning by Containers

When you plan using containers (e.g., “fill 20 tubs of 2.5L”), the system calculates the mix weight for you using the conversion described in Section 2.2. This accounts for overrun, density, and evaporation to give you the correct amount of mix to prepare.

3.3 Planning by Product

Products are pre-defined combinations of a recipe, container type, and unit count. When you add a Product to a production plan, the system calculates the required mix weight based on the product definition.

For example, a Product might be defined as:

• Recipe: Vanilla Gelato
• Container: 500mL cup
• Units: 40

The system converts 40 × 500mL = 20L of final product volume into the required mix weight, accounting for overrun, density, evaporation, and inclusion displacement.

4. Ingredient Forecast

The ingredient forecast shows you exactly how much of each ingredient you need for your selected production plans. It scales all ingredient quantities proportionally based on the planned mix weight.

4.1 How Scaling Works

The system calculates a scaling ratio based on your planned quantity relative to the recipe’s mix weight:

Scaling ratio = Planned mix weight / Recipe mix weight

Every ingredient in the recipe (both mix ingredients and inclusions) is multiplied by this ratio. The ratio is based on mix weight only (excluding inclusions) because that is what the planned quantity represents.

Example

Your recipe has 1000g mix weight plus 100g chocolate chips (inclusion). You plan to produce 5.0 kg (5000g) of mix:

• Scaling ratio = 5000 / 1000 = 5.0
• Each mix ingredient weight × 5.0
• Chocolate chips: 100g × 5.0 = 500g (also scaled correctly)

The forecast total will show 5500g (5000g mix + 500g inclusions) — the total weight of ingredients you need to purchase or have in stock.

Forecast includes everything The forecast shows all ingredients you need, including inclusions. While the planned quantity is the mix weight, the forecast correctly shows the full list of what you need to buy and have on hand.

4.2 Expand to Raw Ingredients

If your recipe uses recipe-derived ingredients (e.g., a praline paste that itself is made from a recipe), the forecast can expand these into their raw components. Toggle the “Expand to raw ingredients” switch to see the full breakdown of what you need to purchase.

4.3 Stock Status Colors

5. Production (Mark as Produced)

When you produce a batch, the system deducts ingredients from your stock based on the same scaling ratio. The production dialog shows you the ingredient breakdown and current stock levels before you confirm.

5.1 What Gets Deducted

• All mix ingredients are deducted proportionally based on the produced mix weight
• Inclusions are also deducted (they are used from stock even though they are not part of the mix)
• Infusion ingredients are deducted too (they are used during cooking, even though they are removed before churning)

5.2 Recipe-Derived Ingredients

If a recipe produces a recipe-derived ingredient (e.g., producing “Vanilla Base” that is used as an ingredient in other recipes), the system automatically increases the stock of that derived ingredient by the produced quantity. This is shown in the production dialog as a green row with a factory icon.

6. Quick Reference

6.1 Glossary

6.2 Key Formulas

This is a Premium feature. You can access it from Production > Recipe Sets & Labels, or by navigating directly to /recipe-sets.

What Is a Recipe Set?

A recipe set is a named collection of recipes, each with a quantity. For example, a “Praline Box Christmas 2025” set might contain 4 Hazelnut Truffles, 4 Dark Chocolate Ganaches, and 4 Salted Caramel Bonbons. The app combines all these recipes to produce one unified label with the correct nutrition values, ingredient list, and allergen declarations — weighted by the quantities you specify.

Recipe sets are reusable. You can update quantities, swap flavors in and out, and generate new labels whenever your lineup changes.

Creating a Recipe Set

1. Click the New button in the top toolbar.
2. Enter a name for your set (e.g., “Summer Variety Pack”) and click Create.
3. The new (empty) set is automatically selected and ready for you to add recipes.

Set names must be unique — the app will warn you if a set with the same name already exists.

Adding Recipes to a Set

There are two ways to add recipes:

Add Recipes — Click this button to open a recipe selection dialog showing all your recipes. Select the ones you want, then click Add. You can add the same recipe multiple times if needed.

Add from Set — Click this button to import recipes from another existing recipe set. A dialog lets you pick a set, then select which recipes to bring over. Recipes already in the current set are marked with an “already added” badge, so you can avoid duplicates.

The Recipe Table

Once you have recipes in a set, they appear in a table with these columns:

• Checkbox — Controls whether the recipe is included in the combined label calculation. Unchecked recipes stay in the set but are excluded from the label.
• Recipe — The recipe name. Double-click to open the recipe properties dialog.
• Qty — The number of units of this recipe in the set (e.g., 4 pralines). You can type any decimal value.
• Weight — The total weight in grams for this recipe (Qty × weight per unit). You can also edit this field directly — the quantity will be recalculated automatically.
• Actions — Three icon buttons: open recipe in the Recipe Editor, edit recipe properties, or remove the recipe from the set.

The table columns are sortable — click a column header to sort by recipe name, quantity, or weight.

Selecting and Deselecting Recipes

Use the All and ☐ None buttons above the table to quickly include or exclude all recipes. You can also hold Shift and click a checkbox to select or deselect a range of recipes at once — the same way you would select files in a file manager.

When you check a recipe that has zero quantity, the quantity is automatically set to 1. When you set a recipe’s quantity to zero, it is automatically unchecked.

Summary Row

Below the table, a summary row shows the total count of selected recipes, total quantity, and total weight of all included items.

Current Recipe Shortcut

If you have a recipe open in the Recipe Editor, you will see a Current Recipe option at the top of the recipe set dropdown. Selecting this creates a temporary, single-recipe set from whatever recipe you were last editing. This is a quick way to generate a report for a single recipe without creating a permanent set.

Combined Label Summary

Below the recipe table, the Summary panel shows the combined label data calculated from all included recipes. The summary updates in real time as you change quantities, add or remove recipes, or toggle checkboxes. It is divided into three sections:

Nutrition Information (per 100g)

A table showing the standard EU nutrition declaration values for the combined set, calculated per 100g:

• Energy (kJ / kcal)
• Fat and saturated fat
• Carbohydrates and sugars
• Fiber
• Protein
• Salt

These values are weighted by each recipe’s quantity and weight, so a praline box with more chocolate ganache than fruit jelly will reflect the heavier chocolate contribution.

Ingredients

A merged ingredient list combining all sub-ingredients from every included recipe, sorted by percentage in descending order — exactly as required for food labeling. Allergens are shown in BOLD UPPERCASE.

If your recipes include ingredient groups (e.g., “Chocolate Coating” or “Hazelnut Praline Filling”), these appear as separate lines with their sub-ingredients listed underneath.

If no sub-ingredients have been defined for your ingredients, a message will prompt you to add them. For details on how to set up sub-ingredients, see the Ingredients article.

Allergens

The allergen section collects allergen data from all included recipes and displays:

• Contains: — Allergens confirmed present (e.g., Milk, Nuts, Wheat).
• May contain traces of: — Cross-contamination warnings.

If you have configured user-defined allergens on your ingredients, those will appear as well. Any “other warnings” (free-text warnings) are displayed as highlighted alert boxes.

Generating Reports

Once your set has at least one included recipe, you can generate professional reports and label documents.

Best Before Days

Before generating a report, check the Best Before field in the toolbar below the recipe table. This value is automatically calculated as the minimum Best Before Days from all included recipes — the shortest shelf life in your set determines the overall best-before date. You can override this value manually if needed.

The checkbox next to the Best Before field controls whether the app always asks you to confirm the Best Before days each time you generate a report. If unchecked, it uses the current value without prompting.

Generate Report

1. Click the Generate Report button.
2. If “always ask” is enabled, confirm or adjust the Best Before days in the prompt dialog.
3. Select a template from the template dropdown. System default templates are marked with a star icon. Your own custom templates also appear here.
4. Optionally expand Format Settings to change the decimal separator (period or comma) for numeric values.
5. Click Generate to produce the report, or click Edit Templates to open the template editor.

The generated report opens in a full-screen preview where you can review and print it. For details on creating and editing templates, see the HTML Reports article.

Details View

Click the Details button to open a debug/detail view of the current recipe set. This shows the raw data that goes into label calculations — useful for verifying that the combined values look correct before generating a report.

Saving, Copying, and Deleting Sets

• Save — Saves any changes you have made to the current set (quantities, included/excluded status). The button is only active when there are unsaved changes.
• Copy — Creates a duplicate of the current set with a new name. Useful for creating variations (e.g., copying a Christmas box to make an Easter version).
• Delete — Permanently deletes the current set after a confirmation prompt. This cannot be undone.

If you try to navigate away or switch to a different set with unsaved changes, the app will ask you to confirm before discarding them.

Sales Orders

Sales orders are historical snapshots of a recipe set at a specific point in time. While recipe sets are living documents that you update as your lineup changes, sales orders freeze the recipes and quantities for record-keeping.

Saving a Sales Order

1. With a recipe set loaded and at least one recipe included, click Save as Order.
2. The dialog pre-fills a name using a sequential number format (e.g., SO-000001). You can edit this name to anything you prefer.
3. Optionally add a note (e.g., “Customer ABC delivery” or “Market event batch”).
4. Click Save Order.

You can customize the order naming format by expanding the Naming Format section in the dialog. Here you can change the prefix (default: “SO-“) and the number of digits (3 to 6).

Viewing Sales Orders

1. Click View Orders to open the sales orders dialog.
2. Browse your order history. Use the search field to filter orders by name.
3. Click the expand arrow on any order to see its recipe list and quantities.
4. From an expanded order, you can click the history icon next to a recipe to view the latest production log for that recipe.

Each order in the list shows its name, note, and creation date. You can sort the table by any column. From the action buttons you can:

• Open — Load the order into the main page for viewing and report generation.
• Edit Note — Update the order’s note.
• Delete — Permanently remove the order.

When viewing a sales order, the page header changes to show a blue “Sales Order: [name]” chip instead of the recipe set dropdown. You can generate reports from a sales order just like you would from a recipe set. Click the X on the chip to close the order and return to your recipe sets.

Importing Sales Orders

Click the Import CSV button in the sales orders dialog to import orders from a CSV file. This is useful if you track orders in a spreadsheet and want to bring them into the app for report generation.

Copying a Sales Order to a Recipe Set

If you want to reuse a past order as the basis for a new recipe set, open the sales order and then click the Copy button. This creates a new recipe set with all the recipes and quantities from the order.

Tips

• Use the Weight column to enter the total weight you need, and the app will calculate the quantity for you — handy when you know you need 500g of a recipe but are not sure how many units that is.
• Temporarily exclude a recipe by unchecking it rather than removing it. This way you can quickly compare labels with and without a specific flavor.
• The Current Recipe shortcut is the fastest way to generate a report for a single recipe — no need to create a recipe set first.
• Save a sales order before making changes to your recipe set. This gives you a snapshot you can always return to.

Related Articles

• HTML Reports — Creating and editing report templates
• Ingredients — Setting up sub-ingredients and allergens
• Production System — Overview of production features
• Recipe Overview — Managing your recipes

Navigate to the Traceability page from your Production dashboard by selecting the traceability option marked with a warning-colored track-changes icon. You will find two tabs: Forward Trace and Backward Trace.

Why Traceability Matters

Food safety regulations require ice cream producers to identify, within hours, every product affected by a supplier recall. Traceability also works in reverse: when a customer reports a problem with a specific batch, you need to pinpoint which ingredient lots were involved.

The Ice Cream Calculator builds this traceability chain automatically as you purchase stock and produce batches. No extra record-keeping steps are required beyond entering supplier lot numbers when you record deliveries.

Forward Trace — Supplier Recalls

Use the Forward Trace tab when you need to find all production batches that consumed a specific ingredient lot. This is the tab you reach first when you open the page, and it is labeled “Supplier Recall” in the interface.

The tab provides two search fields: Supplier Name and Supplier Lot Number. You can fill in one or both fields to narrow results. The Search Lots button remains disabled until you enter at least one value.

After searching, a table of matching purchase lots appears with the following columns:

• Date
• Ingredient
• Supplier
• Lot #
• Quantity
• Expiry
• Actions

To trace a lot forward through production, click the Trace button in the Actions column for that row. The system then searches for every production batch that consumed any quantity from that specific lot.

The forward trace results appear in a second table below, showing all production usages from the selected lot. The columns in this results table are:

• Production Date — when the batch was produced
• Batch Code — clickable link that opens a production details dialog
• Recipe — the recipe used for that batch
• Ingredient — the specific ingredient consumed from the lot
• Qty Used — how much of the lot was used in that batch
• Batch Total — total quantity produced in that batch

If the lot has not been used in any production batch, a green success alert appears with the message: “No production batches have consumed from this lot yet.” This confirms the lot is safe to quarantine without affecting finished goods.

Backward Trace — Customer Complaints

Use the Backward Trace tab when a customer reports a problem and you need to identify every ingredient lot that went into a specific production batch. The tab is labeled “Customer Complaint” in the interface.

Two search fields are available: Batch Code (for example, 20260205-001) and Recipe Name. Enter at least one value, then click Search Batches.

The search results table lists matching production batches with these columns:

• Date
• Batch Code
• Recipe
• Quantity
• Operator
• Actions

Click Trace on the batch you want to investigate. The backward trace results appear grouped by ingredient name. Each ingredient group displays its own table with these columns:

• Supplier — the supplier who provided the lot
• Lot # — the supplier’s lot number
• Lot Expiry — the lot’s expiry date
• Qty Used — how much of that lot was consumed
• Cost/kg — the unit cost recorded at purchase
• Actions — contains a “Trace Lot” button

If no lot-level traceability data is available for the selected batch, a warning alert appears: “No lot-level traceability data available for this batch. Lot tracking records are created automatically when batches are produced with FIFO stock consumption active.”

Cross-Tracing Between Tabs

The backward and forward trace tabs are designed to work together. When you are viewing backward trace results and click Trace Lot on any ingredient row, the system automatically switches to the Forward Trace tab. It fills in the supplier name and lot number from that row and runs the search for you.

This cross-trace lets you quickly answer the follow-up question in any recall scenario: “This batch used lot X from supplier Y — what other batches also used that same lot?” You do not need to manually re-enter search criteria.

The Traceability page also supports deep linking from other parts of the application. The Production Log page and the Production Details dialog both include a “Trace” button on each batch. Clicking it navigates directly to the Traceability page with the Backward Trace tab pre-selected and the batch code pre-filled.

When the page loads with these parameters, it automatically runs the search. If exactly one production batch matches, the system also auto-traces it, immediately showing you the ingredient lot details without any extra clicks.

How Traceability Data Is Created

Traceability data is built automatically from two routine actions you already perform in the production system. No separate traceability step is needed.

1. Record purchases with lot numbers. When you add stock in Stock Management, enter the supplier name and supplier lot number for each delivery. This creates the lot records that traceability depends on.
2. Produce batches through the production system. When you log a production batch, the system automatically creates ProductionLotUsage records that link the batch to the specific supplier lots consumed. Stock is consumed using FIFO (first in, first out) order.

Both steps are essential. If you skip entering lot numbers during purchasing, the backward trace will have no lot-level data to display. The forward trace similarly requires lot numbers to identify which specific deliveries to search for.

Tips

• Always record the supplier lot number when receiving deliveries. Without it, traceability cannot link ingredients to specific supplier lots.
• Use the Batch Code field for quick backward traces. Batch codes like 20260205-001 are unique and return a single result, triggering the automatic trace.
• When investigating a recall, start with Forward Trace to identify all affected batches, then use the batch codes from the results to check distribution records.
• If backward trace shows “No lot-level traceability data available,” check whether the batch was produced before you started recording lot numbers, or whether FIFO stock consumption was active at the time of production.
• Click any Batch Code link in the forward trace results to open the full production details dialog, where you can review batch notes, operator, and quantities.

Related Articles

• Production Overview
• Stock Management
• Production Logging

To open Stock Management, navigate to /production/stock or select it from the Production hub. A back arrow in the top-left corner returns you to the main production page at any time.

The Stock Overview

At the top of the page you will find a row of summary statistics that give you an instant health check on your inventory. These cards show the total number of ingredients tracked, how many are currently in stock, how many are at low stock level, and how many are out of stock.

If you have any pending purchase orders, an additional card displays the count of orders still awaiting delivery. When any of those orders are overdue, the overdue count appears in red so you can follow up with suppliers immediately.

Two more cards may appear depending on your inventory state. An expiring soon card shows the number of stock lots that will expire within seven days, and an expired card shows lots that have already passed their expiry date.

Below the summary cards you will find filter chips that let you narrow the stock table to a specific status. The available filters are:

• All — shows every tracked ingredient
• Low Stock — ingredients at or below their low-stock threshold
• Out of Stock — ingredients with zero quantity remaining
• Expiring Soon — ingredients with lots expiring within seven days (only shown when applicable)
• Expired — ingredients with lots past their expiry date (only shown when applicable)

Three action buttons sit alongside the filters: Add Ingredient Stock, Find Untracked, and Find Obsolete. Each of these is covered in detail below.

Adding Ingredients to Stock

Click Add Ingredient Stock to begin tracking a new ingredient. The system first checks whether any ingredients used in your recipes are not yet being tracked in stock.

If every recipe ingredient is already tracked, you will see an informational message letting you know there is nothing to add. Otherwise, you are taken to the ingredient selection page at /ingredients/select where you can pick the ingredient you want to start tracking.

After you select an ingredient, you are returned to the Stock Management page and the Edit Stock dialog opens automatically. Here you can set the initial stock level, cost per kilogram, low-stock threshold, and expiry date. Once you save, the ingredient appears in your stock table.

Recording Purchases

When you receive a delivery from a supplier, click the shopping cart icon in the Actions column of the relevant ingredient row. This opens the Quick Add Stock dialog where you record the details of the purchase.

The dialog asks for the following information:

1. Enter the supplier name so you can trace stock back to its source.
2. Enter a lot number for the batch you received.
3. Set the expiry date for the lot.
4. Enter the cost of the purchase.
5. Enter the quantity received.
6. Click save to add the stock to your inventory.

The purchase is recorded as a Purchase stock movement, and the ingredient’s current stock level increases by the quantity you entered. Supplier, lot, expiry, and cost information are all stored for traceability purposes.

Inline Editing

The stock table supports inline editing for two key fields so you can make quick adjustments without opening a dialog. Both the Current Stock column and the Cost per kg column contain editable text fields directly in the table row.

Simply click into the field, type the new value, and the change is saved automatically after a one-second debounce delay. The stock field shows a “g” adornment to indicate the unit is grams.

Note that the cost field is disabled for recipe-derived ingredients because their cost is calculated from sub-ingredients rather than set manually.

The stock table is sortable by clicking any column header. You can sort by ingredient name, stock level, cost per kilogram, or last restocked date. Clicking the same header again toggles between ascending and descending order.

Each row in the table is color-coded to help you spot problems at a glance:

• Green — stock level is healthy
• Orange — stock is low (at or below the threshold you set)
• Red — ingredient is out of stock
• Red highlight — ingredient has expired lots
• Yellow highlight — ingredient has lots expiring soon

Status chips reading “Out of Stock” or “Low Stock” also appear next to the ingredient name for extra visibility. On the Last Restocked column, you will see the date of the most recent purchase along with expiry information displayed as a chip or quiet text depending on urgency.

On mobile devices, the table switches to a compact card layout. Each card shows the ingredient name, a status badge, the stock weight, cost, and expiry date in a space-efficient format.

Beyond inline editing, each row offers a full set of action buttons:

• Quick Add Stock (shopping cart icon) — record a new purchase as described above
• Stock History (history icon) — view all stock movements for that ingredient
• Edit (pencil icon) — open the Edit Stock dialog to change stock level, cost, low-stock threshold, or expiry
• Clear Stock (minus icon) — set the stock level to zero after a confirmation prompt (only available when stock is greater than zero)

Pending Orders and Expiry Alerts

If you have any purchase orders that have not yet been received, a Pending Orders section appears above the main stock table. This table shows each pending order with the ingredient name, quantity ordered, supplier, expected delivery date, and current status.

Orders are marked as either Pending or Overdue. Overdue orders — those past their expected delivery date — are highlighted in red so they stand out. Each row has a Received button that opens the Mark Received dialog where you can confirm the delivery has arrived.

Below the pending orders, an Expiring Soon Alerts section appears if any stock lots will expire within seven days. The table lists the ingredient name, remaining quantity, expiry date with a countdown in days, and the supplier.

Expiry dates are color-coded for urgency. Lots that have already expired appear in red, while lots expiring within three days or fewer appear in orange. This gives you time to use up stock before it goes to waste or to plan replacements.

How Stock Deduction Works

One of the most valuable features of Stock Management is automatic stock deduction. When you produce a batch through the production system, the application automatically calculates the weight of each ingredient used and subtracts it from your tracked stock.

The deduction process works as follows:

1. You complete a production batch through the production logging workflow.
2. The ProductionService reads the recipe and calculates the weight of each ingredient for the batch size produced.
3. Each ingredient’s stock level is reduced by the calculated weight.
4. A stock movement record of type “ProductionUse” is created for every ingredient consumed.

Stock is consumed using a FIFO (first in, first out) method. This means the oldest purchased stock is used up first, which mirrors best practices for perishable ingredient management.

If you have set costs on your ingredients, the system also calculates production cost automatically based on the cost of the stock consumed. This gives you accurate per-batch cost data without any manual bookkeeping.

Stock Movement History

Click the history icon on any ingredient row to open the Stock Detail dialog. This shows a complete chronological record of every stock movement for that ingredient, so you always know exactly how your inventory has changed over time.

Each movement record includes the date, the type of movement, the quantity changed, and any relevant details such as the supplier or production batch reference. The five movement types you may see are:

• Purchase — stock added through a recorded purchase, with supplier, lot number, expiry date, and cost tracked
• ProductionUse — stock automatically deducted when a batch is produced
• Adjustment — a manual correction you have made to the stock level
• Wastage — stock removed due to waste or spoilage
• Expired — stock marked as expired and removed from available inventory

This history is essential for traceability. If you ever need to trace a finished product back to its ingredient sources, the movement records link production batches to specific purchase lots with supplier and lot number information.

Finding Untracked and Obsolete Ingredients

Over time your recipe collection and your stock list can drift apart. Two tools help you keep them aligned.

Click Find Untracked to open the Untracked Ingredients dialog. This scans all your recipes and identifies any ingredients that appear in at least one recipe but are not currently being tracked in stock. You can review the list and bulk-add them to stock tracking in one step. When you close the dialog, a message confirms how many ingredients were added.

Click Find Obsolete to open the Obsolete Ingredients dialog. This does the reverse: it finds ingredients you are tracking in stock that are no longer used in any recipe. You can remove these from tracking to keep your stock list clean and relevant.

Running both of these checks periodically — for example, whenever you add or retire recipes — ensures your stock tracking stays accurate and free of clutter.

Tips

• Set a meaningful low-stock threshold for each ingredient based on how quickly you use it and how long reordering takes. This ensures the Low Stock filter warns you in time.
• Always record purchases through the Quick Add Stock dialog rather than editing the stock level directly. This preserves supplier and lot information for traceability.
• Use the Expiring Soon filter regularly to plan production around ingredients that need to be used up.
• After a stocktake, use the Edit dialog or inline editing to correct any discrepancies. These are recorded as Adjustment movements in the history.
• Run Find Untracked after adding new recipes to make sure every ingredient is covered by stock tracking.
• If an ingredient’s cost comes from a recipe (for example, a custom base mix), the cost field will be disabled because it is calculated automatically from sub-ingredients.
• The stock table remembers your sort preference during the session, so set it to the column you find most useful.

Related Articles

• Production Overview
• Production Logging
• Traceability
• Ingredients

Production Planning is a premium feature. If you are on a free plan, you will see an upgrade prompt when navigating to the Planning page. Upgrade to Premium to unlock full access to scheduling, forecasting, and work order generation.

Getting Started with Planning

Navigate to Production Planning from the Production hub by selecting the Planning option. The page opens with two tabs: Calendar View and List View.

Calendar View is your primary workspace for day-to-day scheduling. List View gives you a broader look at plans across a date range, along with a powerful ingredient forecast. You will likely use both tabs regularly depending on whether you are scheduling or purchasing.

Calendar View

The Calendar View displays a full week from Monday to Sunday, with each day shown as a column. Use the left and right arrow buttons to navigate between weeks, or click the “Today” button to jump back to the current week.

Each day column shows your planned recipes as individual cards. Every plan card displays the recipe name and the planned quantity in kilograms. Hovering over a card reveals a tooltip with container details, notes, and production status.

At the top of each day column, you will find an Add button to create a new plan for that day. If plans already exist for a day, a print icon also appears, allowing you to generate a work order for that day’s production.

Each plan card provides several action buttons along its bottom edge:

• Up and down arrows — reorder plans within the same day to set your preferred production sequence
• Play button — start production from this plan, which takes you to the Produce page with the planned quantity pre-filled
• Edit button — open the edit dialog to change the date, quantity, notes, or containers
• Delete button — remove the plan after a confirmation prompt

Plans that have been produced are visually distinguished with a green accent, while unproduced plans appear with a blue accent. Once a plan is marked as produced, the reorder and produce buttons are disabled.

Adding a Production Plan

To add a new plan, click the Add button on the desired day in Calendar View. The process follows several steps to ensure your plan is complete and accurate.

1. A recipe selection dialog opens. Search for and select the recipe you want to produce.
2. The system checks whether your recipe uses a derived ingredient (such as a base mix). If a base recipe is detected and not already planned for that day, you are asked whether you want to automatically add the base recipe to the plan as well.
3. A plan is created with default values: the quantity is set to your recipe’s final weight converted to kilograms, and the pan size defaults to 4 kg.
4. The edit dialog opens immediately so you can refine the planned date, quantity, and notes before confirming.

If you cancel the edit dialog after a plan has been created, both the new plan and any auto-added base plan are automatically deleted. This ensures you never end up with incomplete or unintended plans on your calendar.

Containers and Volume Calculation

When editing a plan, you can specify your production quantity in two ways. The Enter Weight mode lets you type a weight in kilograms directly, with batch multiplier buttons and fixed-weight presets for quick entry. The Calculate from Containers mode lets you work backward from the containers you need to fill.

Weight Entry Mode

In weight mode, you see a row of multiplier buttons (such as 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x) that scale your recipe’s base weight. Below that, fixed weight buttons let you jump to common batch sizes like 1 kg, 5 kg, or 10 kg. You can also type a custom multiplier or weight directly.

A settings panel (accessed via the gear icon) lets you customize both the multiplier and fixed-weight presets to match your typical production sizes. These settings are saved per user and persist across sessions.

If your recipe has density and volume data, you will also see volume target buttons for mix volume and ice cream volume. Clicking these opens a dialog where you can specify a target volume, and the system calculates the required batch weight accounting for overrun and evaporation.

Container Calculation Mode

In container mode, you build a list of containers to fill. Click “Add” to add a container row, then select a container type from the dropdown. Containers can be either preset types (system-defined sizes like 5L) or custom types that you define yourself through the container management dialog.

For each container row, you select the container size and specify a quantity. The system displays the total volume per row and calculates the overall ice cream volume. You can adjust the overrun percentage and add a buffer to account for waste or spillage.

The dialog shows two calculated results: the mix weight you need to prepare, and the total ice cream volume after churning. The mix weight calculation accounts for overrun, density, and evaporation from your recipe settings.

List View and Ingredient Forecast

Switch to the List View tab when you need to see plans across a broader date range and forecast ingredient requirements. The top of the page provides quick range buttons: This Week, Next Week, Next 2 Weeks, and This Month. You can also set a custom date range using the start and end date pickers.

The left panel shows all plans in the selected range as a checklist. Each entry displays the recipe name, date, planned quantity, and a “Produced” badge if the plan has already been completed. Use the Select All and Clear buttons to manage your selection quickly.

The right panel displays the Ingredient Forecast, which updates automatically as you select or deselect plans. The forecast aggregates all ingredients required across your selected plans and compares them against your current stock levels.

An Expand to raw ingredients toggle is available above the forecast table. When enabled, derived ingredients (such as base mixes) are broken down into their component ingredients, giving you a complete picture of raw material needs.

Understanding the Forecast Table

The ingredient forecast table is sortable by any column and provides a comprehensive view of your supply situation. Each row represents one ingredient across all selected plans.

The table columns are:

• Ingredient — the ingredient name
• Required — the total quantity needed across all selected plans, displayed in grams or kilograms
• Stock — your current stock level for that ingredient
• On Order — quantity currently on order from suppliers but not yet received
• Expiring Soon — quantity of stock nearing its expiry date; hover over this value to see individual lot details including quantity, expiry date, and supplier name
• Net Status — your overall supply position for this ingredient
• Actions — quick buttons to add stock or view stock movement history

The Net Status column uses color-coded labels to indicate your position at a glance:

• Covered (green) — you have enough stock on hand
• Covered when delivered (blue) — current stock is insufficient, but pending orders will cover the shortfall
• X short (Y on order) (amber) — you are short even after accounting for pending orders
• X short (amber) — you are short with no orders pending

A summary at the top shows the total number of ingredients and how many have a shortfall. Use the Print Shopping List button at the bottom to generate a printable list of ingredients you need to purchase.

Producing from a Plan

When you are ready to produce, click the play button on a plan card in Calendar View. This navigates you to the Produce page with the recipe and planned quantity pre-filled, so you can begin logging your production immediately.

The Produce page displays a Planned Production card showing the planned quantity and any containers you configured. After you complete the production process, the plan is automatically marked as produced and you are returned to the Planning page.

Produced plans remain visible on the calendar with a green accent so you can track what has been completed. The produce and reorder buttons are disabled for completed plans to prevent accidental changes.

Work Orders

To generate a work order, click the print icon at the top of a day column in Calendar View. The system compiles all plans for that day into a single report.

Work orders include the following information:

• Production date and summary
• Details for each planned recipe, including scaled ingredient quantities
• Container assignments for each plan
• Combined ingredient list across all plans for the day

The report opens in a dialog where you can preview it and print or save it. Work orders use the app’s HTML report template system, so they follow the same formatting as other generated reports.

Tips

• Use the reorder arrows on plan cards to set the production sequence for each day — this order is also reflected in work orders.
• If your recipe uses a base mix as an ingredient, take advantage of the base recipe detection to automatically add the base to your plan when adding the main recipe.
• In the ingredient forecast, enable Expand to raw ingredients before printing your shopping list to ensure you account for all raw materials, especially when producing base mixes in-house.
• Customize your batch multiplier and fixed-weight presets in the edit dialog settings to match your standard production sizes for faster plan entry.
• Use the Quick add stock button in the forecast table to record incoming deliveries without leaving the Planning page.
• The container calculation mode is especially useful when you need to fill a specific number of tubs or pans and want the system to calculate the exact mix weight, factoring in overrun and evaporation.
• Check the Expiring Soon column in your forecast to prioritize using ingredients that are close to their expiry date.

Related Articles

• Production Overview
• Production Logging
• Stock Management
• Working with Bases
• HTML Reports

Producing a Batch

The Produce page is your primary production interface. To open it, click the Start Production button from any recipe view. You can also arrive here from the Planning page, in which case the batch size and container information are pre-filled from your plan.

At the top of the page you will see the recipe name and a navigation button labeled either “Back to Recipe” or “Back to Planning.” The green Mark as Produced button sits in the top-right corner on desktop, or appears as a floating action button on mobile.

If your recipe uses sub-recipes (derived ingredients such as a pastry base or a sauce), a navigation bar of chips appears below the header. Click any chip to switch between the main recipe and its sub-recipes while staying in the same production session.

Setting Your Batch Size

The Batch Size card gives you several ways to scale your recipe. Choose whichever method best matches how you work in your kitchen or production facility.

Multiplier buttons let you scale relative to the base recipe, with default slots of 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x. The active multiplier appears as a filled button, and a custom multiplier field lets you enter any arbitrary scale factor.

Fixed weight buttons set the total batch to a specific weight, with defaults of 1 kg, 2.5 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg, and 20 kg. A custom weight field (in grams) lets you enter any exact target weight.

Volume target buttons appear when your recipe includes volume data, showing labels like “Mix: 1.2L” and “Ice Cream: 1.8L.” The container calculator (calculator icon) opens the Production Volume Dialog where you specify container count, size, and overrun percentage to calculate the exact mix weight needed.

At the bottom of the card, a summary line shows Total weight in grams, the base recipe weight in parentheses, and any add-in weight separately. For example: “Total: 5000g (base: 4200g) + 800g add-ins.”

Customizing Your Presets

Click the gear icon in the Batch Size card to open the settings panel where you can customize all six multiplier slots and six fixed weight slots. The 1x multiplier slot cannot be changed.

1. Click the gear icon to expand the settings panel.
2. Edit the multiplier values (the 1x slot is locked).
3. Edit the fixed weight values in kilograms.
4. Click Save Settings to keep your changes, Reset to Defaults to restore originals, or Cancel to discard edits.

Your customized presets are saved to your account and persist across sessions.

Planned Production

When you arrive at the Produce page from the Planning page (via a plan ID), the Batch Size card is replaced by a Planned Production card. This card displays the planned quantity in kilograms and any plan notes.

If your plan includes containers, they appear as clickable cards. Tap each container to toggle it between unchecked and checked (filled) state as you work through your production run. This gives you a visual record of which containers have been filled.

The Ingredient Checklist

Below the batch size controls, a progress bar tracks how many ingredients you have checked off, showing both a count (e.g., “4/12 ingredients”) and a percentage.

The ingredient list supports two display modes via the Grouped and Recipe Order toggle. Grouped view organizes ingredients into categories, while Recipe Order shows them in the sequence they appear in your recipe.

In Grouped view, ingredients are sorted into categories with emoji labels and subtotal weights:

• Liquids — milks, creams, water, liquid sweeteners
• Powders — sugars, milk powders, stabilizers
• Inclusions — chocolate chips, cookie pieces, fruit chunks
• Infusions — vanilla beans, tea leaves, spices

Each group header shows the combined weight for that category. To mark an ingredient as weighed, click or tap its card and a green checkmark appears; click again to uncheck. The Reset All button clears every checkmark at once.

Each ingredient card shows the ingredient name and its scaled weight in grams. The weight automatically reflects your selected batch size, so you always see the exact amount to weigh.

Marking as Produced

Once you have finished your batch, click the green Mark as Produced button. On desktop this is in the top-right corner of the page header. On mobile, it appears as a floating action button.

This opens the Enhanced Production Dialog, which shows a summary of the recipe, quantity, estimated cost, and an ingredient table listing each ingredient’s weight, current stock level, and projected stock after production.

In the dialog, you can enter:

• Batch notes — any observations about the production run

When you confirm, the system performs several actions automatically:

1. Generates a batch code in the format YYYYMMDD-NNN (for example, 20260209-001).
2. Deducts ingredient quantities from your stock levels.
3. Calculates and records the estimated batch cost based on ingredient prices.
4. Creates ingredient usage logs for every ingredient in the batch.
5. Creates lot usage records following FIFO (first in, first out) order for traceability.

If you arrived from the Planning page, confirming production also marks the plan as produced and navigates you back to the Planning view. A success message confirms the quantity that was recorded.

Production Log

The Production Log page, found at Production > Log, is your complete production history. It shows every batch you have ever produced, with key details visible at a glance.

A summary header displays aggregate statistics for your filtered results: total batch count, total weight in kilograms, unique recipes produced, total cost, and total waste. These update automatically as you apply filters.

On desktop, production records appear in a table with the following columns:

• Batch code — displayed in monospace font for easy reading
• Date — when the batch was produced
• Recipe name — which recipe was produced
• Quantity — shown in both grams and kilograms
• Quality rating — a star rating from 1 to 5
• Cost — estimated production cost for the batch
• Actions — edit, view details, trace lots, and delete

Batches that originated from a production plan display a purple “Planned” badge. Batches produced less than 24 hours ago display a green “Recent” badge. On mobile, the layout switches to compact cards optimized for smaller screens.

Filtering Your Log

Use the search field to filter by recipe name. The time period dropdown lets you narrow results to a specific window:

• Last Week
• Last Month
• Last 3 Months
• Last 6 Months
• Last Year
• All Time
• Custom Range (with date pickers)

Active filters appear as chips that you can dismiss individually. Click Clear to remove all filters at once and return to the full view.

Actions on Each Batch

Each production record has four action buttons:

• Edit (pencil icon) — opens the Edit Production Log Dialog
• View details (eye icon) — opens the Production Details Dialog showing the full recipe breakdown and costs
• Trace lots (track changes icon) — navigates to the Traceability page with this batch pre-filled for backward tracing
• Delete — permanently removes the production record

Editing Production Details

Clicking the edit icon on any batch opens the Edit Production Log Dialog. The top of the dialog shows read-only information: recipe name, batch code, production date, and quantity produced.

You can update the following fields:

• Operator name — who produced the batch
• Quality rating — a 1-to-5 star rating
• Quality notes — observations about what went well or could improve
• Batch notes — general notes about the production run

Yield Tracking

The yield tracking section lets you record what actually happened versus what was planned. Enter either the actual yield (in grams) or the waste amount, and the other field updates automatically since yield plus waste must equal the planned quantity.

After entering yield data, an alert shows the percentage difference from planned. A yield within 5% shows a green success indicator. Larger deviations are flagged so you can investigate and improve your process over time.

Production Analytics

The Production Analytics page provides a visual overview of your production trends. Access it from Production > Analytics. A time period filter at the top lets you select from Last Week through All Time, or define a custom date range.

Five overview cards appear at the top, each with a trend arrow comparing the current period to the previous equivalent period:

• Total Batches — how many batches you produced
• Total Volume — combined weight of all production
• Unique Recipes — how many different recipes you made, plus average batch size
• Total Costs — combined estimated cost, with a per-kilogram breakdown
• Total Waste — total waste amount with a waste rate percentage (shown only when waste data exists)

Trend arrows are color-coded: green for improvement, red for decline, and gray for no change. The comparison period matches your selected time window (e.g., “Last Month” compares to the month before that).

Charts

Below the overview cards, four interactive charts visualize your production data:

1. Production Volume Over Time — a line chart showing your output across the selected date range. This is the largest chart, spanning the full width on desktop.
2. Most Popular Recipes — a bar chart ranking your recipes by how often they were produced.
3. Top Ingredients by Usage — a bar chart showing which ingredients you consume the most by weight.
4. Top Ingredients by Cost — a bar chart revealing which ingredients cost you the most in total.

When no data exists for the selected time period, each chart area displays a placeholder message prompting you to either log some production or adjust your date range.

Tips

• Customize your presets early. Set your multiplier and fixed weight slots to match your standard batch sizes and container volumes. This saves time on every production run.
• Use the ingredient checklist consistently. Tapping each ingredient as you weigh it reduces errors, especially for complex recipes with many powders.
• Record operator names. When multiple people produce batches, noting the operator helps trace quality issues back to specific production runs.
• Track yield and waste after every batch. Even rough estimates are valuable. Over time, this data reveals patterns that help you reduce waste and improve consistency.
• Add quality ratings. A quick 1-to-5 star rating takes seconds but builds a powerful dataset for spotting which recipes and conditions produce the best results.
• Review analytics monthly. Regular reviews help you catch rising costs, waste, and volume trends before they become problems.
• Use the container calculator for precision. If you sell in fixed-size containers, the Production Volume Dialog eliminates guesswork about how much mix to prepare.
• Filter the log to focus. Use the time period and recipe name filters to zero in on the data that matters instead of scrolling through months of records.

Related Articles

• Production Overview
• Recipe Overview
• Production Planning
• Stock Management
• Traceability

The tool calculates volume from three components: your base mix, the air from overrun, and the physical space taken up by inclusions like chocolate chips, fruit, or cookie pieces.

How to Access the Volume Estimator

You can open the Volume Estimator in two ways:

1. Go to Tools in the navigation menu and click the Volume Estimator card.
2. Navigate directly to /tools/volume-estimator in your browser.

Using a Recipe

You can either enter values manually or load them from one of your recipes. Click the Select Recipe button at the top of the page to choose a recipe. When a recipe is loaded, the following values are automatically filled in:

• Mix weight — set to the recipe’s final weight (after evaporation)
• Mix density — calculated from the recipe’s composition
• Overrun — taken from the recipe’s overrun setting, if one is set
• Inclusions — any ingredients marked as inclusions in the recipe are added automatically with their displacement values

You can switch to a different recipe with the Change Recipe button, or click Clear to remove the recipe and enter values manually.

Base Mix

The Base Mix card on the left side contains three inputs that define your ice cream base before inclusions are added.

Mix weight (g) is the total weight of your mix in grams. If you loaded a recipe, this comes from the recipe’s final weight. The default is 1000g.

Mix density (g/mL) controls how much space the mix occupies per gram. A typical ice cream mix has a density around 1.10 g/mL. Higher-fat mixes tend to be slightly less dense. If you loaded a recipe, this is calculated automatically from the recipe composition.

Expected overrun (%) is how much air is incorporated during churning, expressed as a percentage of the original mix volume. Typical ranges are:

• 20–40% for gelato
• 50–100% for ice cream
• 100%+ for very light, commercial-style ice cream

Below the inputs, the card shows two calculated values: the mix volume (weight divided by density) and the aerated volume (mix volume plus the air from overrun).

Inclusions

The Inclusions card lets you add the mix-ins that get folded into the ice cream after churning. Each inclusion takes up physical space, and the Volume Estimator accounts for this using displacement — the actual volume that 100 grams of an inclusion occupies inside the ice cream.

Displacement is not the same as measuring-cup volume. A cup of chocolate chips has air gaps between the chips, but when folded into ice cream, only the chocolate itself displaces volume. Dense items like fudge displace less space per gram, while airy items like meringue pieces displace much more.

Adding Inclusions from the Library

The built-in library contains over 80 common inclusions across seven categories: Chocolate, Candy, Nuts, Fruit, Dried Fruit, Cookie & Cake, and Cereal & Crunchy, plus Sauces & Ripples. Each comes with a pre-set displacement value based on the ingredient’s density and form.

1. Type in the Search and add inclusion field. Results appear as you type, showing the name, category, and displacement value.
2. Click an item to add it. It appears in the list below with a default weight of 100g.
3. Adjust the Weight (g) to match your recipe.
4. If needed, adjust the Displacement (mL per 100g) value. The library defaults are reasonable estimates, but your specific product may differ.

Adding Custom Inclusions

For inclusions not in the library, click Add custom inclusion. Custom inclusions have a bulkiness slider that maps to displacement values across seven levels:

Think about how heavy the ingredient feels for its size. A handful of chocolate chips feels heavy (Dense). A handful of meringue pieces feels very light (Very Light). If you need more precision, click the fine-tune link below the slider to enter an exact displacement value.

Measuring Displacement Precisely

For the most accurate displacement value, you can measure it directly: submerge 100g of the inclusion in water and measure the water level rise in mL. That rise is your exact displacement value in mL per 100g.

Results

The Results card at the bottom combines everything into a final volume estimate. It shows:

• The total volume in both mL and liters, displayed prominently at the top
• The total weight in grams and kilograms
• A visual breakdown bar showing the proportion of base mix (dark blue), air from overrun (light blue), and inclusions (orange)
• A legend with exact volumes and percentages for each component

Below the breakdown, you will find per-liter statistics:

• Weight per liter — useful for labeling and container planning
• Inclusion % of volume — how much of the total space is taken up by inclusions
• Inclusion % of weight — the weight proportion of inclusions in the total
• Average density (with air) — the overall density of the finished product including air

Tips

• If you are unsure about overrun, start with 30% for gelato or 60% for ice cream as a reasonable starting point, then adjust based on your machine and process.
• Displacement values in the library are estimates. If accuracy matters for your production, measure displacement using the water submersion method described above.
• The form of an inclusion affects its displacement. For example, whole Maltesers (210 mL/100g) displace far more than crushed Maltesers (130 mL/100g) because crushing collapses the air inside.
• Sauce and ripple inclusions have the lowest displacement values (72–80 mL/100g) because they are dense liquids with no air.
• All values update in real time as you type — there is no need to click a “calculate” button.

Related Articles

• Recipe Editor — Learn how to build and edit recipes, including marking ingredients as inclusions
• Production — Plan production batches using volume estimates
• Balancing — Understand how recipe composition affects density and overrun

The Flavor Profile tool gives you a visual breakdown of how your ice cream will taste and feel based on its composition. Instead of reading raw numbers for fat, sugar, and solids, you see five intuitive scores plotted on a radar chart: Sweetness, Creaminess, Coldness, Body, and Scoopability.

Use it to understand your recipe at a glance, compare it against industry reference styles, or see how two of your recipes differ side by side.

How to Open the Flavor Profile

There are two ways to reach the Flavor Profile page:

• From the Tools page: Go to Tools in the main navigation and click the Flavor Profile card.
• From the Recipe Editor: While editing a recipe, click the Flavor Profile button (radar icon) in the Tools dropdown. This opens the page with your current recipe pre-selected and adds a Back to Recipe link so you can return easily.

Selecting a Recipe

When you open the Flavor Profile page, it automatically selects your current session recipe if one is active. Otherwise, it selects the first recipe in your collection.

To choose a different recipe, click the Select Recipe… button in the Settings panel on the left. This opens a recipe picker dialog where you can browse and select any of your saved recipes.

Understanding the Radar Chart

The radar chart plots five scores on a scale from 0 to 100. Each score is calculated from your recipe’s composition data. Here is what each dimension means:

Sweetness

How sweet your ice cream will taste. This is derived from POD (sweetening power), which accounts for the type and amount of sugars in your recipe, not just total sugar weight. A moderate score is around 40-60. Scores above 70 are quite sweet, which is typical for sorbets.

Creaminess

The rich, smooth mouthfeel your ice cream delivers. Milk fat is the biggest contributor (weighted more heavily than other fats), followed by emulsifiers and milk solids-not-fat (MSNF). A score of 50-70 is typical for standard ice cream, while 80+ indicates a super-premium texture.

Coldness

How intensely cold a spoonful feels when eaten. This depends on your recipe’s composition and the serving temperature. A score of 50 is typical. Above 60 feels noticeably cold, while below 40 feels mild and gentle on the palate. This score changes when you switch between Ice Cream and Gelato serving styles.

Body

The density and substance of your ice cream. Total solids are the main driver, with stabilizers having a strong effect and protein also contributing. Scores of 30-40 indicate a light, refreshing texture (like sorbet), 50-60 is standard, and 70+ is dense and chewy.

Scoopability

How easy your ice cream is to scoop at its serving temperature. This is calculated from the frozen water percentage at the serving temperature. A score of 100 means ideal scooping ease. The score drops if the ice cream is too hard (too much frozen water) or too soft (too little).

For a deeper dive into how scoopability and serving temperatures work, see Understanding Scoopability and Serving Temperatures.

Serving Style: Ice Cream vs Gelato

Below the recipe selector, you will find two chips for choosing the Serving Style: Ice Cream or Gelato. Each chip also displays the corresponding serving temperature for your recipe.

Switching between styles recalculates the Coldness and Scoopability scores because gelato is typically served at a warmer temperature than ice cream. This means gelato will generally show a lower Coldness score and a different Scoopability score compared to the same recipe served as ice cream.

Use this toggle to see how the same recipe would perform under different serving conditions.

Comparing Profiles

The Flavor Profile becomes especially powerful when you compare your recipe against a benchmark. There are two ways to compare:

Compare with a Reference Style

Use the Reference Style dropdown in the Settings panel to overlay a predefined benchmark on your chart. The available reference styles are:

• Super Premium Ice Cream – High fat (around 16%), rich and creamy, moderate sweetness
• Premium Ice Cream – Around 13% fat, a step up from standard
• Standard Ice Cream – Around 10% fat, the typical commercial profile
• Italian Gelato – Lower fat (around 6%), warmer serving temperature, sweeter
• Fruit Sorbet – No fat, high sweetness, lighter body
• Soft Serve – Low fat, served very warm, softer body

The reference profile appears as a dashed orange line on the radar chart, making it easy to spot where your recipe differs from the target style.

Compare with Another Recipe

Click the Select Recipe… button under “Or compare with recipe” to pick a second recipe from your collection. Its profile appears as a dashed orange overlay on the chart, just like a reference style. Click Clear comparison to remove it.

Selecting a reference style clears any recipe comparison, and vice versa, so you always see exactly one comparison at a time.

Scores Panel

On the left side of the page, below the settings, a Scores section displays the numeric value for each of the five dimensions. Each score is shown with an icon for quick identification:

• Cake icon – Sweetness
• Droplet icon – Creaminess
• Snowflake icon – Coldness
• Dumbbell icon – Body
• Ice cream icon – Scoopability

These numbers match the values plotted on the radar chart and give you a precise reading when you need exact figures rather than a visual impression.

What Do These Scores Mean?

Below the radar chart, expand the “What do these scores mean?” panel for a quick reference guide. This explains the typical ranges for each dimension so you can interpret your scores without leaving the page.

Tips

• Use the reference styles to check if your recipe matches the profile you are aiming for. If you are making gelato but your chart looks more like premium ice cream, you may need to adjust your fat content or serving temperature.
• Compare two of your own recipes to understand exactly what makes them taste different. The overlay makes it easy to see which dimensions changed.
• Toggle between Ice Cream and Gelato serving styles to see how the same recipe behaves at different serving temperatures without changing any ingredients.
• The scores are most useful as relative comparisons rather than absolute targets. Every recipe is different, and personal taste matters.

Related Articles

• Understanding Scoopability and Serving Temperatures
• Recipe Editor
• Balancing
• Charts
• Recipe Data Calculation System

One of the most common questions from Ice Cream Calculator users is: “What’s the difference between Serving temp and Serving temp Gelato?” This guide answers that question and explains everything you need to know about predicting and controlling your ice cream’s texture at serving time.

Whether you’re making traditional ice cream for your home freezer, Italian-style gelato for a display cabinet, or recipes designed for a PacoJet or Ninja Creami, understanding these concepts will help you create consistently scoopable results every time.

In this article you’ll learn:

• Why ice cream texture depends on frozen water percentage
• How the calculator predicts serving temperatures
• How to read and use the Scoopability Bar
• How to adjust your recipes for different serving situations

The Quick Answer: Serving Temp vs Serving Temp Gelato

Before diving into the details, here’s the simple answer to the most common question:

Why the difference? Gelato is traditionally served at a warmer temperature and softer texture than ice cream. A gelato paddle requires a softer product than an ice cream scoop. The lower frozen water percentage (69% vs 75%) means the gelato is softer and easier to shape with a paddle.

Both values are calculated from your recipe’s composition – specifically from the freezing curve that the calculator generates based on your ingredients.

The Key Concept: Frozen Water Percentage

The texture of ice cream isn’t determined by temperature alone – it’s determined by how much of the water in your recipe is frozen at any given temperature.

Think about it this way: two different recipes stored at -15°C might have completely different textures. One could be rock-hard while the other is perfectly scoopable. The difference comes down to their composition and how it affects the freezing behavior.

The Magic Ranges

Through extensive testing and industry experience, these frozen water percentages produce the best textures:

Below 55% the ice cream starts losing its shape. Above 78% it becomes difficult to scoop without tempering.

A Simple Way to Think About It

Imagine your ice cream mix as three components:

• Water (from milk, cream, fruits, etc.)
• Ice (frozen water)
• Solids (sugars, fats, proteins, stabilizers)

As temperature drops, water converts to ice. The more ice, the harder the texture. Your recipe’s ingredients determine at what temperature you reach the ideal ice percentage.

Freezing Point Depression (PAC) – The Science Behind Softness

What Is PAC?

PAC stands for “Potere Anti Congelante” (Italian for “Anti-Freezing Power”). You might also see it called AFP (Anti-Freezing Power) or FPDF (Freezing Point Depression Factor).

In simple terms: PAC measures how much your ingredients lower the freezing point of water. The higher the PAC, the softer your ice cream will be at any given temperature.

What Affects PAC?

The main ingredients that lower the freezing point are:

1. Sugars – The most important factor. Different sugars have different PAC values.
2. Salt – Very powerful (PAC of 585), but you can’t add much without affecting taste.
3. Alcohol – Extremely powerful (PAC of 740), but affects texture and can cause iciness.

Why Different Sugars Matter

This is where the real control comes in. Different sugars have different effects on both sweetness (POD) and freezing point (PAC):

The key insight: If your ice cream is too hard but already sweet enough, you can’t just add more sucrose – that would make it too sweet. Instead, replace some sucrose with dextrose. You’ll increase the PAC (making it softer) without increasing sweetness as much.

Pro tip: Using a combination of sucrose, dextrose, and fructose sugar gives you nearly complete control over both sweetness and softness independently. Note! Fructose is not the most common sugar, normally it is enough with Sucrose+Dextrose+Glucose (syrup or powder).

For the Technically Curious

The science behind PAC relates to molecular weight. Smaller molecules depress the freezing point more than larger ones. Sucrose has a molecular weight of 342 and is used as the reference.

The Freezing Curve – Visualizing Your Recipe’s Behavior

The Freezing Curve is one of the most powerful tools in Ice Cream Calculator. It shows exactly how much water is frozen at every temperature, letting you predict your ice cream’s texture from the moment it leaves the machine until deep freeze storage.

How to Access the Freezing Curve

From the Recipe Editor or Recipe View page, click the Freezing Curve button to open the full freezing curve dialog.

Reading the Chart

The freezing curve chart displays several curves:

• Frozen water (%) – The main curve showing percentage of water that’s frozen at each temperature
• Hardness curve – Similar to frozen water but adjusted for ingredients like chocolate and nuts that make ice cream harder

Key Points on the Curve

The chart marks two important serving temperatures:

1. Ice Cream serving temp – Where the hardness curve reaches your target frozen water % for ice cream (default 75%)
2. Gelato serving temp – Where the hardness curve reaches your target frozen water % for gelato (default 69%)

These are displayed in cards below the chart showing the calculated temperature for each serving style.

The Hardness Curve and Chocolate/Nuts

Some ingredients affect hardness beyond just freezing point depression. Chocolate and nuts contain cocoa fat, cocoa solids, and other fats that make ice cream harder even at the same frozen water percentage.

The calculator handles this with a Hardening Factor (HF) that adjusts the hardness curve. This is why chocolate ice cream at -14°C feels harder than vanilla at the same temperature, even if they have similar PAC values.

Temperature Settings in the Calculator

The Settings page contains two groups of temperature-related settings that work together but control different things.

Serving Targets (Frozen Water Percentages)

These settings control what frozen water percentage the calculator uses when calculating serving temperatures:

When to adjust these:

• If you prefer a slightly firmer or softer serving texture, adjust by 1-2%
• For professional gelato cabinets, some prefer 65-68% for even softer service
• Generally, keep these at defaults unless you have specific needs

Scoopability Markers (Display Temperatures)

These settings control the Scoopability Bar in the Recipe Editor – specifically which temperature markers appear and at what temperatures:

Each marker has an on/off toggle, so you can show only the markers relevant to your work.

When to adjust these:

• If your gelato cabinet runs at -13°C instead of -12°C, change the Gelato marker
• If your home freezer is colder than -16°C, adjust the Ice Cream marker
• PacoJet/Ninja users might adjust based on their actual measured temperatures

The Scoopability Bar – Quick Texture Assessment

The Scoopability Bar in the Recipe Editor gives you an instant visual assessment of your recipe’s texture at key temperatures.

Understanding the Bar

The bar shows a gradient from Soft (left) to Hard (right), representing frozen water percentages from about 50% to 90%.

The color zones:

• Red (left) – Too soft, ice cream won’t hold its shape
• Green (center) – Ideal scooping range
• Red (right) – Too hard, difficult to scoop

The Triangle Markers

Up to three triangle markers appear above the bar, each showing the frozen water percentage at a specific temperature:

1. PacoJet/Ninja marker – Shows texture at -9°C (or your custom temperature)
2. Gelato marker – Shows texture at -12°C (or your custom temperature)
3. Ice Cream marker – Shows texture at -16°C (or your custom temperature)

Hover over the bar to see the frozen water percentage and texture classification at any point.

The +/- Buttons

The small + and − buttons next to the Scoopability title perform quick PAC balancing:

• − (minus) = Make softer (increase PAC)
• + (plus) = Make harder (decrease PAC)

These use the balancing algorithm to adjust your sugars while trying to keep other properties (like sweetness) as stable as possible. Important! You need to lock ingredients you don’t like to change the weight of like flavors and stabilizers.

How to Use It

Scenario 1: Making ice cream for your home freezer

• Look at the Ice Cream marker (-16°C)
• If it’s in the green zone, your recipe should be scoopable after brief tempering
• If it’s in the red zone on the right (too hard), use the − button to soften or re-balance the recipe

Scenario 2: Making gelato for a display cabinet

• Look at the Gelato marker (-13°C)
• Aim for the marker to be in the green zone
• All your gelato flavors should have markers in similar positions for consistent cabinet display

Scenario 3: Making recipes for PacoJet or Ninja Creami

• Look at the PacoJet/Ninja marker (-9°C)
• This shows the expected texture after one spin cycle
• For restaurant quenelle service, aim for the soft-scoopable range (65-72%)

Practical Guidelines by Serving Style

Traditional Ice Cream (Home Freezer)

Target: 72-78% frozen water at serving temperature

Tips:

• Aim for a “Serving temp” between -13°C and -16°C at 75% frozen water
• If your freezer is very cold (-20°C or below), you’ll need more tempering time
• Don’t suppress the freezing point too much – the ice cream will melt faster when served

Gelato (Display Cabinet)

Target: 65-72% frozen water at serving temperature

Tips:

• Aim for a “Serving temp Gelato” that matches your cabinet temperature
• All flavors should have similar PAC values for consistent texture in the cabinet
• Chocolate and nut flavors need higher PAC to compensate for hardening

PacoJet / Ninja Creami

Target: 62-70% frozen water after processing

Tips:

• These machines spin frozen blocks and generate heat during processing
• The final temperature is warmer than storage – plan accordingly
• For quenelle-style plating, aim for 65-70% frozen water at -9°C
• Higher PAC recipes work well because they’re designed to be soft at warmer temps

Troubleshooting Common Issues

“My ice cream is rock hard straight from the freezer”

Causes:

• PAC is too low
• Freezer temperature is very cold
• Not enough tempering time

Solutions:

• Check the Scoopability Bar – is the Ice Cream marker in the red (hard) zone?
• Use the − button to balance for higher PAC or re-balance the recipe
• Replace some sucrose with dextrose to soften without adding sweetness
• Allow more tempering time (10-15 minutes on counter)

“My ice cream is too soft and melts too fast”

Causes:

• PAC is too high
• Too much alcohol or salt
• Freezing point is suppressed too much

Solutions:

• Check if the Scoopability Bar markers are in the red (soft) zone
• Use the + button to balance for lower PAC or re-balance the recipe
• Reduce or remove alcohol from the recipe
• Consider whether you’ve added too much salt

“Different flavors have different textures in my display cabinet”

This is one of the most important reasons to use a calculator! In a gelato cabinet, all flavors should scoop equally well.

Solution:

• Check the “Serving temp Gelato” for each recipe
• Adjust PAC so all recipes have similar serving temps
• Remember: chocolate and nut recipes need higher PAC to compensate for hardening

“My recipe’s serving temp seems too high/low”

Possible issues:

• Incorrect ingredient PAC values
• Missing or incorrect sugar data in ingredients
• Very unusual recipe composition

What to check:

• Verify PAC values for your ingredients, especially custom ones
• Make sure all sugar-containing ingredients have correct PAC and sugar content
• Use the PAC/POD tool to estimate values if unsure

“Should I add alcohol to soften my ice cream?”

This is common advice, but usually unnecessary if you understand sugar balancing.

The trade-offs of alcohol:

• ✓ Very effective at lowering freezing point
• ✗ Doesn’t contribute to body or texture
• ✗ Can make ice cream icier with larger ice crystals
• ✗ Accelerates the freeze-thaw cycle damage

Better approach: Use a combination of sugars (sucrose + dextrose + glucose) to control both sweetness and softness without the downsides of alcohol.

Related Topics

• [Balancing Guide] – Learn how to use the balancing tools to adjust PAC and other properties
• [Charts Guide] – Understanding chart properties and creating custom balance targets
• [PAC and POD Calculation] – How to calculate PAC and POD for custom ingredients (links to article written for the desktop version)

Last updated: Jan 20 2026

Whether you need to print product labels for commercial ice cream production or create a detailed specification sheet for a recipe, the report system gives you full control over the output format.

Where to Access Reports

Reports can be generated from several places in the application, depending on what data you want to include:

Additional report locations may be added in future updates, such as reports for Production batches.

Generate Report Dialog

When you click to generate a report, the Generate Report dialog appears.

Template Selection Choose from available templates using the dropdown. Default templates provided by the system are marked with a star icon. Your custom templates appear without a star.

Format Settings Click “Format Settings” to expand additional options:

• Decimal Separator: Choose between period (1.23) or comma (1,23) for numeric values. This is useful for different regional formats.

Actions

• Generate: Creates the report using the selected template and opens the result
• Edit Templates: Opens the Template Editor to create or modify templates
• Close: Closes the dialog without generating

The system remembers your last selected template for each report type.

Report Output

After generating a report, the result dialog displays your rendered report with several output options:

• Copy HTML: Copies the formatted HTML to your clipboard. Paste into Word, email clients, or other applications that support rich formatting.
• Copy Text: Copies a plain text version with HTML tags removed.
• Print: Opens your browser’s print dialog. The report opens in a new window optimized for printing.
• Close: Returns to the previous screen.

Tip: When pasting HTML into Word or Google Docs, use “Paste” (not “Paste as Plain Text”) to preserve formatting.

Template Editor

The Template Editor is where you create and customize your report templates. It provides a full HTML editor with tools to help you build templates without memorizing the tag syntax.

Editor Layout

Top Toolbar

• Template dropdown: Select which template to edit
• Template Name: Edit the name of your template (disabled for default templates)
• New: Create a new blank template
• Save: Save changes to the current template
• Copy: Create a copy of the current template (useful for customizing defaults)
• Delete: Delete the current template (cannot delete default templates)
• AI Generate: Use AI to generate a template based on your description
• Copy AI Prompt: Copy a prompt you can use with external AI tools
• Close: Close the editor and return to the previous screen

Left Panel – HTML Editor A full-featured code editor (Monaco Editor) for writing your HTML template. Features include:

• Syntax highlighting for HTML
• Line numbers
• Undo/Redo support
• Word wrap

Right Panel – DataSet Browser Browse all available data fields you can use in your template:

• Table dropdown: Switch between different data tables (Recipe, RecipeData, Ingredients, etc.)
• Filter field: Search for specific fields by name
• Field list: Shows field names and example values from your current data
• Double-click any field to insert its tag at your cursor position in the editor

The panel can be collapsed using the arrow button to give more space to the editor.

Bottom Toolbar

• Formatting buttons: Bold, Italic, Underline – wraps selected text with HTML tags
• Insert buttons: Table structure, Table row, Line break
• Insert Repeat Block: Appears when viewing a multi-row table – inserts a REPEAT block template
• Preview: Opens a preview of your template with real data

Template Syntax Reference

Templates use a mustache-style tag syntax with double curly braces. Tags are replaced with actual data when the report is generated.

Basic Tags

Insert a value from the data:

{{TableName.FieldName}}

Example:

<h2>{{Recipe.Name}}</h2>
<p>Total weight: {{Recipe.FinalWeight}} g</p>

Format Specifier for Decimals

Control the number of decimal places for numeric values:

{{TableName.FieldName:N}}

Where N is the number of decimal places (0, 1, 2, 3, etc.)

Example:

<p>PAC: {{RecipeData.PAC:1}}</p>    <!-- Shows: 245.7 -->
<p>PAC: {{RecipeData.PAC:0}}</p>    <!-- Shows: 246 -->

Pre-formatted Label Fields

Fields starting with lbl (like lblEU_Fat, lblUS_Calories) are pre-formatted with proper decimal places and units according to EU or US labeling regulations.

Important: Do NOT add units after lbl fields – they already include them!

<!-- Correct -->
<p>Fat: {{RecipeData.lblEU_Fat}}</p>           <!-- Shows: 12.5 g -->

<!-- Wrong - will show double units -->
<p>Fat: {{RecipeData.lblEU_Fat}} g</p>         <!-- Shows: 12.5 g g -->

Repeat Blocks

Loop over multi-row tables like Ingredients or RecipeSet:

{{#REPEAT:TableName}}
  ... content repeated for each row ...
{{/REPEAT:TableName}}

Example – Ingredient list:

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Ingredient</th>
    <th>Weight</th>
  </tr>
{{#REPEAT:Ingredients}}
  <tr>
    <td>{{Ingredients.Name}}</td>
    <td>{{Ingredients.Weight}} g</td>
  </tr>
{{/REPEAT:Ingredients}}
</table>

Conditional Blocks

Show content only if a field has a value (not empty):

{{#IF:TableName.FieldName}}
  ... content shown only if field has a value ...
{{/IF:TableName.FieldName}}

Example – Show allergens only if present:

{{#IF:Recipe.Contains}}
<p><strong>Contains:</strong> {{Recipe.Contains}}</p>
{{/IF:Recipe.Contains}}

{{#IF:Recipe.MayContain}}
<p><strong>May contain traces of:</strong> {{Recipe.MayContain}}</p>
{{/IF:Recipe.MayContain}}

Combining Tags

You can combine different tag types in a single template:

<h1>{{Recipe.Name}}</h1>
<p>Net weight: {{Recipe.FinalWeight}} g</p>

<h3>Ingredients</h3>
{{#REPEAT:Ingredients}}
<p>{{Ingredients.Name}}: {{Ingredients.Weight:0}} g ({{Ingredients.WeightPercent:1}}%)</p>
{{/REPEAT:Ingredients}}

{{#IF:Recipe.Contains}}
<p><strong>Allergens:</strong> {{Recipe.Contains}}</p>
{{/IF:Recipe.Contains}}

<h3>Nutrition per 100g</h3>
<p>Energy: {{RecipeData.lblEU_EnergyKcal}}</p>
<p>Fat: {{RecipeData.lblEU_Fat}}</p>

Available Data Tables

The data available depends on the report type. Use the DataSet Browser in the Template Editor to explore all available fields and see example values.

Common Tables and Fields

Recipe (single row)

RecipeData (single row – calculated values)

US format fields are also available (lblUS_Calories, lblUS_Fat, etc.)

Ingredients (multi-row – use with REPEAT)

RecipeSet (multi-row – use with REPEAT)

Tip: The DataSet Browser shows ALL available fields with their current values. Use the filter to quickly find fields by name.

Default Templates

The system includes several ready-to-use templates. You cannot edit default templates directly, but you can copy them to create your own customized version.

Recipe Set Templates

• Pick List: A simple table listing recipes with quantities and weights – perfect for production planning
• Recipe Cards: Individual cards for each recipe showing ingredients and allergens
• Compact Label: A combined label with nutrition facts and allergen information

Recipe Templates

• Recipe Label: Standard product label format
• Professional Specification Sheet: Comprehensive spec sheet with nutrition panels, ice cream science metrics, and composition data

Ingredient Templates

• Ingredient Data Sheet: Detailed report for a single ingredient
• Ingredient Comparison: Side-by-side comparison table for multiple ingredients
• Ingredient List: Simple list format for multiple ingredients

Creating Custom Templates

Starting from a Default Template

The easiest way to create a custom template is to start from an existing one:

1. Select a default template from the dropdown
2. Click Copy – this creates an editable copy
3. Rename the template to something descriptive
4. Modify the HTML as needed
5. Click Preview to test your changes
6. Click Save when satisfied

Building from Scratch

1. Click New to create a blank template
2. Give it a descriptive name
3. Write your HTML using the tag syntax
4. Use the DataSet Browser to find available fields – double-click to insert
5. For multi-row tables (Ingredients, RecipeSet), click Insert Repeat Block to add the loop structure
6. Use Preview frequently to check your progress
7. Save your work

Template Design Tips

For print-ready templates:

• Use inline CSS styles (not external stylesheets)
• Add page-break-inside: avoid; to keep elements together
• Use page-break-before: always; to force new pages
• Use pt or mm units for precise sizing
• Avoid complex gradients (may not print well)

General best practices:

• Use border-collapse: collapse; on tables
• Right-align numbers, left-align text
• Use consistent padding (8-12px for table cells)
• Test with Preview before saving

AI Template Generation

The Template Editor includes AI-powered template generation to help you create templates quickly.

Using AI Generate

1. Click AI Generate in the toolbar
2. Describe what kind of template you want in plain language
3. Click Generate
4. The AI creates an HTML template based on your description
5. Review the result in the editor
6. Modify as needed and save

Example prompts:

• “A simple pick list with recipe names and quantities in a clean table”
• “A product label with nutrition facts in EU format and allergen warnings”
• “An ingredient comparison table showing fat, protein, and sugar content”

Copy AI Prompt

If you prefer to use an external AI tool (like Claude or ChatGPT), click Copy AI Prompt to copy a pre-built prompt that includes:

• The template syntax rules
• All available fields from your current data
• Instructions for creating a template

You can paste this into any AI assistant to get template suggestions.

Tips & Best Practices

Use conditional blocks for optional content Wrap allergen sections in {{#IF}} blocks so they don’t show up empty when there are no allergens.

Don’t add units to lbl fields Fields like lblEU_Fat already include the unit (e.g., “12.5 g”). Adding another “g” will result in “12.5 g g”.

Use format specifiers for clean numbers Instead of showing “245.67892”, use {{RecipeData.PAC:1}} to show “245.7”.

Preview often Click Preview frequently while building templates to catch issues early.

Copy before customizing Always copy a default template before modifying – you can’t undo changes to the original defaults.

Test with different data If your template will be used with different recipes, test it with recipes that have varying amounts of data (some with allergens, some without, etc.).

Use the DataSet Browser Don’t try to memorize field names. Use the DataSet Browser to explore available fields and double-click to insert them correctly.

This feature is available to registered users. The report system continues to evolve – additional report types and locations may be added in future updates.