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Recipe Editor

PostedOctober 18, 2025
UpdatedOctober 18, 2025
Byicecreamcalc

The Recipe Editor is your complete workspace for creating and refining ice cream recipes in Ice Cream Calc. This powerful interface gives you precise control over every aspect of your recipe, from ingredient weights to nutritional analysis.

In this guide: Learn how to navigate the Recipe Editor interface, manage ingredients, adjust weights using multiple methods, and leverage advanced features to perfect your recipes. For detailed information about automatic balancing and chart mechanics, see our complete Balancing guide and Charts guide.

Common Workflows

Quick Recipe Refinement

  1. Open recipe in Recipe Editor
  2. Select a chart appropriate for your recipe type
  3. Click the Balance button to automatically optimize
  4. Review the chart—look for remaining red bars
  5. Manually adjust problematic ingredients using the weight slider
  6. Click Save when satisfied

Scaling a Recipe

Method 1: Mix Weight Target

  1. Click in the Mix Weight field
  2. Type your target weight (e.g., “1500” for 1500g)
  3. Press Enter—recipe scales proportionally

Method 2: Volume Target

  1. Open the Tools menu
  2. Click Mix Volume Target or Ice Cream Volume Target
  3. Enter your target volume in your preferred unit
  4. Click “Scale Recipe”—the system calculates required weight and scales accordingly

Method 3: Machine Capacity

  1. Click the machine chip and select your production machine
  2. Click the flask icon next to the machine chip
  3. Recipe scales to match your machine’s optimal volume

Adjusting Firmness

  1. Check the scoopability bar below the chart
  2. If too firm (too far right): Click the + button to increase PAC
  3. If too soft (too far left): Click the – button to decrease PAC
  4. Repeat until the indicator lands in the green zone
  5. Fine-tune with the Balance button if other properties go out of range

For more advanced firmness strategies, see the Balancing guide.

Converting a Volume Recipe

If you have a recipe with volume measurements (cups, tablespoons, etc.):

  1. Add all ingredients to your recipe with placeholder weights (e.g., 100g each)
  2. For each ingredient, click the volume converter icon (flask)
  3. Enter the volume measurement from your source recipe
  4. Click “Update Weight”—the converter calculates weight using ingredient density
  5. Repeat for all ingredients
  6. When complete, adjust mix weight if needed

Comparing Recipe Versions

  1. Open your current recipe in Recipe Editor
  2. Click the Snapshot button in the chart sidebar
  3. Choose “Select Recipe”
  4. Pick the recipe you want to compare against (could be an older version or competitor recipe)
  5. Orange bars appear in the chart showing the snapshot values
  6. Make adjustments to bring your current recipe closer to (or further from) the snapshot
  7. Click Snapshot button again to clear when done

Learn more about snapshot comparison strategies in the Balancing guide.

Tips and Best Practices

Workflow Efficiency

  • Lock base ingredients before balancing if you want to preserve specific elements (e.g., lock milk and cream to maintain a specific fat ratio)
  • Use the ratio panel for precise two-ingredient adjustments instead of manual trial-and-error
  • Take snapshots before major changes so you can compare and revert if needed
  • Customize columns to show only the data relevant to your current task (nutritional content, cost, or ice cream factors)
  • Use keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Z/Y/S) to speed up repetitive editing sessions

Balancing Strategy

  • Select appropriate charts for your recipe type (ice cream charts for ice cream, gelato charts for gelato)
  • Balance before fine-tuning—let the algorithm get you close, then manually adjust problem areas
  • Set amount ranges on key ingredients to constrain the balancing algorithm
  • Use PAC/POD buttons for quick adjustments to firmness and sweetness without full rebalancing
  • Review locked ingredients if balancing fails—too many locks can prevent the algorithm from finding a solution

For comprehensive balancing strategies, see the Balancing guide.

Data Management

  • Save regularly even though auto-save protects your work—clicking Save commits changes permanently
  • Use Save As to create recipe variations without losing the original
  • Name recipes descriptively—include flavor, date, or version number (e.g., “Vanilla Bean v3 – Jan 2025”)
  • Set category and tags immediately after creating a recipe to improve organization and searchability
  • Add descriptions to document recipe intent, serving suggestions, or production notes

Mobile Production

  • Use landscape orientation on phones for better table visibility
  • Zoom in if needed—the interface maintains functionality when zoomed
  • Pin browser tab on tablets to keep recipe open while working in the kitchen
  • Use View mode for production (click the View button) to see a cleaner, distraction-free recipe layout

Opening the Recipe Editor

Access the Recipe Editor from the Recipe View page by clicking the large “Edit Recipe” button. The editor opens in a new view where all recipe modifications take place.

Understanding Auto-Save

The Recipe Editor uses an intelligent auto-save system that creates a temporary working copy of your recipe:

  • Every change auto-saves – Weight adjustments, ingredient additions, and property changes save automatically
  • Temporary working copy – Your edits don’t affect the original recipe until you explicitly save
  • Session-based – Your temporary recipe persists across browser refreshes
  • “Save” button – Click to permanently commit changes to the original recipe

Tip: The asterisk (*) next to the recipe name indicates unsaved changes. The Save button shows “Saved” when there are no pending changes.

Undo and Redo System

The Recipe Editor includes a robust undo/redo system that tracks all your changes:

  • Undo (Ctrl+Z) – Revert the last change
  • Redo (Ctrl+Y) – Restore an undone change
  • History tracking – Tracks ingredient additions, weight changes, property updates, and more
  • Debug view – Click the bug icon to view your complete change history

Note: Undo history is specific to your current editing session. After saving and closing, the history resets.

Header Action Buttons

The header provides quick access to essential actions:

  • Save – Commit all changes to the original recipe (Ctrl+S)
  • Save As – Create a new recipe copy with your current changes
  • Reload – Discard all changes and reload from the saved version (with confirmation)
  • View – Return to the Recipe View page to see the clean recipe dashboard

Guest Mode: If you’re not signed in, the Save button shows “Save (Temporary)” with a warning that changes won’t persist permanently.

Recipe Properties Panel

Click the “Properties” button in the header to expand the recipe properties panel. This collapsible section lets you manage recipe metadata and classification.

Recipe Description

The description field accepts up to 500 characters of text to document your recipe notes, flavor profile, serving suggestions, or production tips. This text appears on the Recipe View page and in shared recipes.

Category Selection

Choose a category from the dropdown to classify your recipe:

  • Ice Cream – Traditional churned ice cream
  • Gelato – Italian-style gelato
  • Sorbet – Dairy-free frozen dessert
  • Frozen Yogurt – Yogurt-based frozen dessert
  • Soft Serve – Soft-serve ice cream or gelato
  • Confectionery – Ganaches, sauces, and other confections
  • And more…

Categories help with recipe organization and filtering in the recipe list.

Tags System

Click tags to toggle them on or off. Selected tags are filled with color; unselected tags show as outlines. Tags are grouped by type:

Dietary Tags (Green):

  • Vegan
  • Egg Free
  • Dairy Free
  • Low Sugar

Equipment Tags (Orange):

  • Pacojet
  • Ninja Creami
  • Home
  • Batch Freezer

Confectionery Tags (Purple):

  • Ganache

Commercial Tag (Blue):

  • Commercial

Alcohol Tag (Red):

  • Alcohol

Tags improve recipe searchability and help you quickly identify recipes by dietary restrictions or equipment requirements.

The Ingredient Table

The ingredient table is the heart of the Recipe Editor, displaying all recipe ingredients with their weights, percentages, and additional data columns.

Table Columns

Standard Columns:

  • Lock/Unlock – Red lock icon = locked (excluded from automatic adjustments), Gray = unlocked
  • Ingredient Name – Click to sort alphabetically; color-coded for inclusions (blue) and infusions (orange)
  • Weight (g) – Editable field showing ingredient weight in grams; click to sort by weight
  • W% – Weight percentage relative to mix weight (excluding add-ins); editable
  • Vol – Volume converter icon (flask) for converting volume measurements to weight. Click to open volume converter.
  • Amount – Button showing ingredient’s allowed range (e.g., “10% – 40%”). Click to change.

Custom Columns: Additional columns display nutritional data, cost, or other ingredient properties. Click the column settings icon in the action bar to customize which columns appear.

Selecting Ingredients

Click any ingredient row to select it. The selected ingredient:

  • Highlights in the table
  • Displays its name in a chip on the action bar
  • Enables the weight slider below the action bar
  • Shows Inclusion/Infusion toggle buttons

Only one ingredient can be selected at a time. Selecting a different ingredient or clicking a summary row clears the selection.

Adding Ingredients

  1. Click the “Add ingredient” button in the action bar
  2. The ingredient selector opens (navigates to /ingredients/select)
  3. Search and select one or multiple ingredients
  4. Click “Add to Recipe”
  5. Return to the Recipe Editor with ingredients added

Insertion Position: New ingredients insert after your currently selected ingredient. If no ingredient is selected, they’re added to the end of the list.

Moving Ingredients

Reorder ingredients using the up/down arrow buttons in the action bar:

  • Up arrow – Move selected ingredient one position up
  • Down arrow – Move selected ingredient one position down
  • Arrows only work when an ingredient is selected
  • Use undo (Ctrl+Z) if you make a mistake

Alternative: Click column headers (Ingredient or Weight) to sort the entire table. This permanently reorders ingredients based on your sort choice.

Replacing Ingredients

Replace an ingredient while preserving its weight and settings:

  1. Select the ingredient you want to replace
  2. Click the Replace button (swap icon) in the action bar
  3. Choose a new ingredient from the selector
  4. The new ingredient inherits the old ingredient’s weight, lock status, and amount range

Removing Ingredients

To remove an ingredient:

  1. Select the ingredient
  2. Click the Delete button (trash icon) in the action bar
  3. The ingredient removes immediately (no confirmation dialog)
  4. Use Undo (Ctrl+Z) if you delete by mistake

Locking and Unlocking

Click the lock icon in the first column to toggle an ingredient’s lock status:

  • Red lock – Ingredient is locked and excluded from automatic weight adjustments and balancing
  • Gray lock – Ingredient is unlocked and participates in automatic adjustments

Lock ingredients when you want to preserve their exact weight during balancing or when scaling the recipe. For more information about how locks affect balancing, see the Balancing guide.

Inclusion and Infusion Flags

Mark ingredients as inclusions or infusions using the buttons that appear in the action bar when an ingredient is selected:

  • I button – Toggle Inclusion flag (blue when active)
  • F button – Toggle Infusion flag (orange when active)

Important: These flags are mutually exclusive—an ingredient can be an inclusion OR an infusion, but not both. When you activate one flag, the other automatically turns off.

Visual Indicators:

  • Inclusion ingredients show in blue text
  • Infusion ingredients show in orange text
  • These ingredients are treated as add-ins (excluded from mix weight calculations)

Table Summary Rows

Two summary rows appear at the bottom of the ingredient table:

  • Total row – Shows total mix weight (excluding add-ins) and sum totals for custom columns
  • Percentage row – Shows 100.0% for the W% column and percentage calculations for applicable custom columns

Weight Management Methods

The Recipe Editor offers multiple ways to adjust ingredient weights, giving you flexibility to work the way you prefer.

Direct Weight Editing

The simplest method: click a weight value in the table, type the new weight, and press Enter. Changes save automatically.

Percentage Editing

Click the W% field to edit weight as a percentage of the mix weight:

  1. Click the W% value for any non-add-in ingredient
  2. Type a new percentage (e.g., “15” for 15%)
  3. Press Enter to apply

The system automatically recalculates the ingredient’s weight and proportionally adjusts unlocked ingredients to maintain the total mix weight.

Note: W% editing only works for non-add-in ingredients (ingredients without Inclusion or Infusion flags).

Weight Slider

When you select an ingredient, a weight slider appears in the action bar with the ingredient name and current weight:

  • Drag the slider to adjust weight in real-time
  • Range: 0 to 2× the ingredient’s current weight
  • Live updates: The chart updates as you drag
  • Click the weight button next to the slider to open the Advanced Weight Dialog

The slider is ideal for quick experimentation—drag to see immediate effects on your recipe’s balance and characteristics.

Advanced Weight Dialog

Click the weight display button next to the slider to open the Advanced Weight Dialog, which offers three scaling modes:

Weight Only Mode:

  • Changes only the selected ingredient’s weight
  • All other ingredients remain unchanged
  • Total mix weight changes

Keep Total Mode:

  • Changes the selected ingredient’s weight
  • Redistributes the difference among unlocked ingredients
  • Total mix weight stays the same
  • Requires sufficient unlocked ingredients to work properly

Scale Proportional Mode:

  • Changes the selected ingredient’s weight
  • Scales ALL other ingredients (including locked ones) proportionally
  • Maintains all ratios in the recipe
  • Changes total mix weight

The dialog also includes the volume converter (see Volume Conversion section below).

Volume Conversion

Convert volume measurements to weight using two methods:

Method 1: Volume Icon

  1. Click the flask icon in the ingredient table’s Vol column
  2. The Volume Converter dialog opens
  3. Enter a volume measurement in your preferred unit (cups, tablespoons, milliliters, etc.)
  4. The converter calculates weight using the ingredient’s density
  5. Click “Update Weight” to apply

Method 2: Advanced Weight Dialog

  1. Click the weight display button next to the slider
  2. Click the “Volume Converter” tab in the dialog
  3. Follow the same process as Method 1

Tip: If an ingredient doesn’t have density data, the converter uses a default estimate. You can improve accuracy by editing the ingredient in the ingredient database to add its specific density.

Amount Range Editing

Click the Amount button in the table to set the allowed percentage range for an ingredient:

  1. Click the amount button (shows current range like “10% – 40%”)
  2. Adjust the minimum and maximum percentage sliders
  3. The range defines acceptable bounds for this ingredient
  4. Click “Apply” to save

Amount ranges are particularly useful for constraining ingredients during automatic balancing. Learn more in the Balancing guide.

Recipe Weight Controls

The weight controls card appears below the ingredient table and provides global recipe parameters.

Mix Weight

The total weight of all non-add-in ingredients. You can:

  • Click the mix weight field to type a target weight
  • The recipe scales all unlocked ingredients proportionally to reach your target
  • Locked ingredients maintain their weight; unlocked ingredients adjust

Use case: “I need 1500g of mix to fill my batch freezer.”

Final Weight

The weight after accounting for evaporation during heating. Editing final weight has context-sensitive behavior:

  • If evaporation is 0%: Adjusts evaporation percentage to reach your target final weight while keeping mix weight constant
  • If evaporation is set: Scales the entire recipe (changes mix weight) to reach your target final weight while maintaining the evaporation percentage

Use case: “After heating, I weighed 1425g. Set this as final weight to calculate my evaporation.”

Evaporation

The percentage of water lost during heating (pasteurization). Type a percentage value directly:

  • 0% = no evaporation (raw mix)
  • 5% = typical for home pasteurization
  • Maximum is limited by water content in the recipe

Calculation: Final Weight = Mix Weight × (1 – Evaporation)

Overrun

The percentage of air incorporated during churning. This is a global setting that applies to all recipes:

  • 25% = typical for gelato
  • 30-50% = typical for ice cream
  • 80-100% = typical for commercial ice cream

Overrun affects ice cream volume calculations and serving temperature predictions.

Note! Overrun is a user supplied value and it is NOT calculated. You have to estimate yourself what you think the overrun is depending on your recipe and what machine you have.

Machine Selection

Click the machine chip to select a production machine from your saved machines:

  1. Click the machine chip (shows “Select Machine” or current machine name)
  2. Choose a machine or click “No Machine” to clear the selection
  3. Click the flask icon next to the chip to scale the recipe to match your machine’s optimal volume

This feature helps you quickly scale recipes to fit your equipment’s capacity.

Tools Menu

Click the “Tools” dropdown to access advanced recipe utilities:

Recipe Scaling Tools:

  • Mix Volume Target – Scale recipe to achieve a specific pre-churning volume
  • Ice Cream Volume Target – Scale recipe to achieve a specific post-churning volume (with overrun)

Ingredient Tools:

  • Replace Milk/Cream – Substitute milk and cream while maintaining fat percentage

Analysis Tools:

  • Overrun – Calculate overrun from before/after weights or volumes

Python Scripts: If you’ve created custom Python scripts (premium feature), they appear in this menu for quick execution on your recipe.

Chart Section and Balancing

The chart section displays a visual analysis of your recipe against target ranges. This is your primary tool for recipe optimization and balancing.

Chart Sidebar

The sidebar on the left provides access to balancing and chart management:

Balance Button:

  • Click to automatically adjust ingredient weights to bring all values into target ranges
  • Uses the selected chart’s priorities and ranges
  • Respects locked ingredients and amount ranges
  • Shows a progress indicator during balancing

For complete details about the balancing algorithm, strategies, and best practices, see the Balancing guide.

Snapshot Button:

  • No active snapshot: Click to choose snapshot source (current recipe or select another recipe)
  • Active snapshot: Shows “Snapshot ON” with orange bars in the chart for comparison
  • Click again to clear the snapshot

Snapshots let you compare your current recipe against a saved state or another recipe. Learn more about snapshot strategies in the Balancing guide.

Charts Button:

  • Opens the chart selector dialog
  • Choose from your personal charts, default charts, or community charts
  • Selected chart determines which data points display and their target ranges

To learn about creating and customizing charts, see the Charts guide.

Edit Chart Button:

  • Appears when a chart is selected
  • Opens the chart editor to modify ranges, priorities, and data items
  • Changes are temporary (local to this editing session) until you click Save

For details about the chart editor interface, see the Charts guide.

Save Button:

  • Appears when you’ve made temporary changes to a chart
  • Permanently saves your chart modifications
  • Creates a personal copy if you’re editing a default chart

Additional Buttons:

  • Data – View all calculated recipe data in a detailed table
  • Nutrition – Generate a nutrition facts label
  • Freezing – View the freezing curve graph

Chart Display Area

The main chart shows bars for each data point:

  • Green bars – Values within target range
  • Red bars – Values outside target range (too high or too low)
  • Orange bars – Snapshot comparison values (when snapshot is active)
  • Gray bars – No target range defined (informational only)

Click any bar to open the chart item editor and adjust that item’s properties. Learn more about chart item properties in the Charts guide.

Scoopability and POD Controls

Below the chart, two quick-adjust controls help you fine-tune recipe characteristics without full rebalancing.

Scoopability Bar

The scoopability bar displays your recipe’s firmness at serving temperature:

  • Green zone – Optimal scoopability
  • FWat13 value – Firmness for ice cream (served at -13°C)
  • FWat16 value – Firmness for gelato (served at -16°C)

Click the +/- buttons to quickly adjust PAC (antifreeze depression), which directly affects scoopability:

  • – button – Decrease PAC (firmer at serving temp)
  • + button – Increase PAC (softer at serving temp)

For detailed information about PAC, scoopability targets, and adjustment strategies, see the Balancing guide.

POD Card

The POD (Power of Dextrose) card shows your recipe’s relative sweetness as a numeric value:

  • Higher numbers – Sweeter
  • Lower numbers – Less sweet
  • Typical range – 150-200 for ice cream

Click the +/- buttons to quickly adjust sweetness:

  • – button – Decrease POD (less sweet)
  • + button – Increase POD (more sweet)

POD adjustments automatically modify sugar ingredient weights to achieve your target. Learn more about POD and sweetness balancing in the Balancing guide.

Ratio Adjustment Panel

The Ratio Adjustment Panel lets you precisely balance two ingredients against each other while maintaining their combined weight.

Opening the Ratio Panel

  1. Select an ingredient in the table
  2. Click the Tune button (slider icon) in the action bar
  3. The ratio panel expands below the action bar

Using Ratio Adjustment

Step 1: Select Second Ingredient

  • The panel shows your selected ingredient with a disabled slider
  • Instruction text appears: “Select second ingredient to create ratio”
  • Available ingredients appear as clickable chips
  • Click any chip to add it as the second ingredient

Step 2: Adjust Ratio

  • Two active sliders appear, one for each ingredient
  • Each slider represents that ingredient’s percentage of the combined weight
  • Drag either slider to adjust the ratio
  • The other slider automatically adjusts to maintain the total
  • Minimum 5% / maximum 95% on each slider (prevents zero-weight ingredients)

Step 3: Apply or Reset

  • Apply button – Save the ratio changes and close the panel
  • Reset button – Restore original weights without closing
  • Close icon – Discard changes and close the panel

Use cases:

  • Balance milk fat and MSNF by adjusting milk/cream ratio
  • Adjust sugar types (sucrose vs. dextrose) to modify PAC and POD
  • Fine-tune stabilizer blend without changing total stabilizer content

Advanced Features

Column Customization

Click the column settings icon (grid icon) in the action bar to customize which data columns appear in the ingredient table:

  1. Click the column icon to navigate to the column settings page
  2. Select which nutritional data, costs, or other properties to display
  3. Drag to reorder columns
  4. Click “Save” to return to the Recipe Editor with your new layout

Customize columns to focus on the data most relevant to your workflow—nutritional content, costs, specific solids, or ice cream factors.

Data Cards Configuration

Below the scoopability and POD controls, a row of data cards shows key recipe calculations. Click the configure icon to customize which cards appear and their display names.

Default cards include POD, Freezing Point, Serving Temp, Mix Volume, and Ice Cream Volume, but you can add any calculated data point available in the system.

Smart Weight Rounding

Click the rounding icon (rounded corner symbol) in the action bar to apply intelligent weight rounding to all ingredients:

  • Rounds weights to practical values based on ingredient amount
  • Maintains recipe proportions and total weight
  • Makes recipes easier to measure and produce
  • Example: 147.3g becomes 150g, 3.7g becomes 4g

Use this feature after balancing to create production-ready weights.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with these keyboard shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+Z – Undo last change
  • Ctrl+Y – Redo last undone change
  • Ctrl+S – Save recipe (prevents browser’s save dialog)

Keyboard shortcuts work throughout the Recipe Editor and make rapid iteration much faster.