Introduction

Here is a short introduction of the main concepts used in ICC.

Ingredients

Ingredients are used in recipes. An ingredient has a list of properties used in the calculator like the nutrient info and other ice cream specific data like Total Solids, MSNF, PAC and POD. The calculator has an online standard database of ingredients and the user can add as many user ingredients as needed, there are no restrictions on the number of ingredients you can add.

Recipes

Recipes consists of a list of ingredients and the weight of each ingredient. The calculator works with metric weights in grams but there are volume to weight tools that can be used to convert recipes using volume measurements. A recipe can also have add-ins, these are ingredients that you add after the ice cream is made and are a part of the recipe but they are not a part of the balancing of the recipe. All recipes are stored in a local database.

Charts

A chart is a set of data displayed in a chart. For a recipe a large number of data is calculated and this data can be used in the chart. Each data point can also have a minimum and maximum amount that is used in the balancing of the recipe. The chart is a key concept in the calculator and is used to balance a recipe. Different charts are used to create different types of ice creams. You can have one chart for ice cream and another chart for Gelato and yet another for sorbet. In a chart you typically setup valid ranges for Fat, Solids, Sugars etc… that should be met to create the type of ice cream the chart represents.

Panels

Panels are also a representation of the data calculated for a recipe and can also have minimum and maximum ranges and be used in the balancing. You add panels to show information about the recipe. Normally this is information that you do not like to have in the chart, it can be things like Mix volume, Ice cream volume or serving temp.

Balancing

A well balanced ice cream has a ratio of key functional properties like Fat, Solids, Water, MSNF etc… These ratios are different for different types of ice cream. To be able to create recipes with your preferred texture, consistency, sweetness etc. you need to balance the recipe. The calculator uses the chart and panels to balance a recipe. Given the restrictions set up with the charts and panels the calculator tries to find the correct amount of each ingredient to balance the recipe. Read more in this tutorial Balancing

Reports

Reports can be created for recipes and recipe groups. The reports use a template system with tags for data. When a report is generated the tags are replaced with data from the recipe. Report templates can be written as DOCX files or using the built in editor. This is a very flexible system to create reports.

Production

The production system uses a calendar based view where you can add recipes for production. The recipes can also be rearranged to create an optimal production order of flavors. After production there is a link to the inventory system to update the stock database.

Inventory

The calculator has an inventory and stocktaking module with barcode scanner support. Add products and have full control of your inventory. A product can be linked to an ingredient to make it possible to automatically update the inventory from the production module. Multiple products can link to the same ingredient. For example you buy sugar in 5Kg and 1Kg bags the 5Kg and 1Kg bags are two different products with different price but both are linked to the Ingredient Sucrose in the ingredient database. The inventory keeps track of the current stock inventory value. The stocktaking uses the FIFO method.