We visited Oddfellows co-packaging facility in the Bronx, New York, to see how they produce non-dairy chocolate chunk ice cream.
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00:00 Here at a co-packing facility in the Bronx, New York,
00:04 Oddfellas pumps out 41,000 gallons of ice cream every year.
00:09 But among all of the flavors they make,
00:12 this plant-based chocolate chunk ice cream
00:15 is one of the most challenging.
00:17 It took over a year to develop the recipe,
00:20 and it still takes four times longer to make
00:22 than a dairy-based ice cream,
00:24 because it's entirely made by hand.
00:27 Today, the job of making this flavor
00:30 is up to Abby Lavin and Manny Pichardo,
00:33 who run an experienced team of ice cream makers.
00:36 Abby Lavin: Manny has been doing this
00:38 for longer than I've been born, I think.
00:41 And there's no one else besides Manny to do this.
00:45 We visited Oddfellas' facility
00:48 to see how he makes this ice cream in such big batches.
00:55 The day begins with making the ice cream's base,
00:58 which contains 120 pounds of dark chocolate chips
01:02 and 100 pounds of cashew butter.
01:04 Manny and his team start by pouring the bags
01:09 of dark chocolate chips inside a heated mixer.
01:13 They add in large buckets of warm water
01:16 and constantly stir the chocolate for an hour
01:19 until all of the chunks have dissolved into a liquidy mix.
01:24 [mixer whirring]
01:25 So this is when you know that the chocolate is ready.
01:28 Completely melted to be, you know,
01:31 mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
01:33 The melted chocolate is then pumped
01:37 through this tube into a holding tank,
01:40 which continues to mix the chocolate so it doesn't harden.
01:43 Next, Manny creates a mixture of stabilizers and salt.
01:51 The combination of the two helps the ice cream
01:54 stay together and form smaller ice crystals
01:57 when it's eventually frozen.
01:59 It also gives the ice cream some softness.
02:02 But according to Abby, adding too much stabilizer
02:05 can be a recipe for disaster.
02:08 Abby: If you have too much stabilizer,
02:10 it melts really quickly.
02:11 It becomes really chewy.
02:13 If you have too little stabilizer, it's really hard.
02:16 It's hard to scoop. It's hard to eat.
02:18 So having, like, not only the right amount of stabilizer,
02:21 but the right type of stabilizer is really important.
02:23 They add more water to the mix
02:27 and continue stirring it to maintain
02:29 that smooth consistency before adding in
02:32 50 pounds of invert sugar.
02:35 Invert is sweeter than sugar,
02:37 and it really helps, like, bring, like,
02:39 a nice, soft mouthfeel to the ice cream
02:42 and not let it get too icy and not too sweet,
02:45 but sweet enough that it's delicious.
02:49 Next, it's time to turn cashew butter into cashew milk.
02:53 So we're using cashew concentrate.
02:57 It's pure ground cashew,
02:58 and we're using this as 50% of our base.
03:00 This is our protein.
03:01 This is what gives it that, like,
03:02 really rich, dairy-like texture and flavor.
03:06 100 pounds of cashew butter is scraped out of these buckets
03:10 into the mixer and combined with cold water.
03:14 Because there isn't any dairy in this ice cream,
03:17 all of the fat needed to give it its structure
03:19 and texture comes from the cashew butter.
03:22 And while many other nuts,
03:24 like almonds or macadamias, could be used,
03:27 Abby and her team prefer using cashews
03:29 because of their creaminess
03:31 and more neutral flavor with chocolate.
03:34 We found that adding water to, like,
03:36 the cashew concentrate gave it a creamier texture.
03:40 We don't want it to be too thick,
03:42 because then you're just tasting cashew.
03:44 We want it to be really creamy.
03:45 And you don't want to get any pieces or chunks of the cashew.
03:49 So that's why it's supposed to be melted the right way.
03:52 So, this is about the same thing
03:57 like when we're melting the chocolate.
03:59 If you see there's no chunks on the spatula,
04:02 then you know it's ready.
04:04 It's ready to be mixed with all the ingredients,
04:06 and we're almost done to start rolling.
04:09 The final mix is then pumped into this holding container
04:15 before it's frozen and aerated.
04:18 A really important part of the vegans
04:20 is that it has to move,
04:22 because if it sits, it can congeal.
04:24 So, we're moving it right now.
04:26 We have to, like, keep it agitated
04:27 until we can spin it,
04:29 and it'll stay in the ice cream form.
04:34 At first, the ice cream comes out liquidy.
04:37 But once it starts to freeze,
04:39 they begin pumping it into these three-gallon cartons.
04:44 So, that's ready.
04:45 That's ready.
04:47 They add chocolate chips by hand
04:49 for the first few cartons,
04:50 while another employee adjusts and fills a fruit feeder
04:54 that will add in the right amount of chips
04:57 at a steady rate.
04:58 As it's pumped through these pipes,
05:02 the mix is combined
05:03 with one of the most important ingredients.
05:06 But it's something you can't see.
05:08 It's air, and it makes up around 20%
05:12 of the total volume of this ice cream.
05:15 Air is what makes or breaks ice cream, in my opinion.
05:19 The air creates volume.
05:21 It creates texture.
05:23 It's one of the most important ingredients, actually.
05:26 Each carton is weighed,
05:33 then wheeled into a blast freezer,
05:35 where it's kept to harden and wait for final delivery.
05:38 ♪♪
05:45 At Oddfellows Domino Park location in Williamsburg,
05:49 they sell around 60 gallons of ice cream every week
05:53 and offer over 20 flavors.
05:55 From wasabi chocolate chip to mango sticky rice,
05:58 the flavors are non-traditional and draw a unique clentele.
06:03 Our customers are super adventurous,
06:05 and they know that when they come in
06:07 to our ice cream shop,
06:08 they can get cookies and cream ice cream,
06:09 but they're also super excited to try our more odd flavors.
06:14 And that's what brings them in.
06:16 That's what brings them back.
06:18 That's actually delicious.
06:22 But sometimes people just want a traditional flavor
06:25 that's slightly different,
06:27 like the vegan chocolate chunk.
06:30 So I'm new to the vegan ice cream scene,
06:33 and this is a lot better than what I expected.
06:35 It still has, like, the creaminess and the richness
06:38 that you would get from, like, your typical,
06:40 like, you know, traditional ice cream scoop,
06:43 but it has, like, a lightness to it as well,
06:44 which is really nice.
06:46 And you get some really nice chunks in here, too.
06:49 Can't say no, so.
06:51 Yeah, guys, come to Oddfellows.
06:53 Get your vegan ice cream.
06:55 ♪♪
07:00 ♪♪
07:05 (metal clanging)