1,000 Gallons Of Ice Cream are Handmade Every Year at this company in New York

OddFellows Ice Cream Co. is a New York-based company that has been making over 600 flavors of ice cream since 2013. From miso cherry to wasabi chocolate chip, the company has always embraced making wacky and weird flavors come to life. But one of the most challenging flavors it’s ever created was taking a classic chocolate ice cream and making it into a non-dairy vegan chocolate chunk ice cream.

The company produces 41,000 gallons of ice cream every year at its co-packing facility in the Bronx, New York. The process starts with mixing the base ingredients, such as sugar, water, and stabilizers, in a large tank. Then, the base is pasteurized to kill any harmful bacteria and homogenized to create a smooth texture. The base is then cooled down and transferred to another tank, where it is flavored with cocoa powder and other ingredients.

The flavored base is then pumped into a continuous freezer, where it is churned and frozen at -40°F. The frozen ice cream is then extruded into a filling machine, where it is portioned into pints. As the pints move along a conveyor belt, they are filled with chunks of vegan chocolate that are manually added by workers. The pints are then sealed, labeled, and packed into boxes.

The boxes are stored in a blast freezer at -20°F for 24 hours to harden the ice cream and prevent ice crystals from forming. The boxes are then ready to be shipped to OddFellows’ retail stores and other locations across the country.

OddFellows’ vegan chocolate chunk ice cream is one of its best-selling flavors, especially among customers who are lactose intolerant or vegan. The company claims that its vegan ice cream tastes just as good as its dairy-based ice cream, and that it uses high-quality ingredients and natural flavors to create its products.

OddFellows’ co-founder Mohan Kumar says that making ice cream is a combination of art and science, and that he enjoys experimenting with new flavors and techniques. He says that his goal is to make people happy with his ice cream, and that he hopes to continue expanding his business and creating more delicious flavors in the future.