How OddFellows makes 41,000 gallons of ice cream every year in New York

Insider

We visited Oddfellows co-packaging facility in the Bronx, New York, to see how they produce non-dairy chocolate chunk ice cream.

Transcript

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)

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