303275 Thu Jun 15 10:16:15 -0700 2006 13 41 Cookware 0 1704699 I am thinking of purchasing a Pacojet. I've seen a live demo at the Javits Center and was impressed. For sorbets it seems unequalled but I have my doubts about ice creams (no stabilizers etc.) The demo was fairly limited so here's my question. Is the Pacojet really as versatile as they say it is or has it the potential of becoming another gadget on my kitchen counter at $3400. Thanks for you input. Thu Jun 15 10:16:15 -0700 2006 0 fatboy44 1 1704797 why would you WANT stabilizers in your ice cream??? The pacojet is an expensive tool which insures any idiot can make ice cream or sorbet. Granted, professional ice cream makers (really professional) are usually too large and too expensive to have much place in a home kitchen. The models you find at SurlTab. etc. make a mostly icy product. Fri Jun 16 19:25:00 -0700 2006 1704699 0 rabaja 2 1725515 I use natural stabilizers in my ice cream so that the ice cream does not melt as quick and doesn't crystallize when taken out of the freezer several times a night for service. My question should have been, is the pacojet a satisfactory machine for ice cream production. The answer seems to be NO so far. The Musso Lussino is a nice little work horse but you have to scoop your product out of the bowl (not so convenient). Maybe I should be looking for a table top batch freezer. If anyone can recommend one in the price range of the Paco I'd appreciate it. Thanks Tue Jul 04 01:47:57 -0700 2006 1704797 10148 fatboy44 3 1871864 Robuchon says he's not using a Pacojet at Atelier NYC because he feels the ice creams don't melt enough. I've found that it's more than satisfactory for ice cream production. Tue Sep 12 20:06:35 -0700 2006 1725515 16108 Louisa Chu 3 2917974 I work at a fine restaurant in Woodbury, CT that uses the Pacojet for all their ice creams and sorbets. It works great. I love it. We keep a supply of frozen ice cream and sorbet in our freezers and spin them in the morning and they are ready to go for the dinner service. We have no problem keeping up with the inventory with 10 canisters full and ready to go. Thu Sep 06 17:04:48 -0700 2007 1725515 125317 Shrn57 4 3006884 Shrn57: I will be working at a new restaurant in CT which will be using a Paco Jet. Over the summer I have been playing with the Paco Jet, experimenting with different recipes, etc. The restaurant is due to open in a couple of weeks and I'm still not comfortable using the Paco Jet. Fat content, using bases, recipes not working, my head is spinning! I would appreciate any tips you could provide because it sounds like you have all the kinks worked out. Fri Oct 05 05:34:29 -0700 2007 2917974 51288 aac610 5 3018536 aac610 - have you tried the Pacojet recipes? http://www.pacojet.com/html/en/pacojet.htm They're pretty basic, bomb-proof, and adaptable. All the ones I've tried have worked no problem. Tue Oct 09 11:46:08 -0700 2007 3006884 16108 Louisa Chu 6 3022652 I have tried the pineapple sorbet recipe, worked great, I learned that the fruit better be at a flavor peak. I will take a closer look at those recipes, thanks. Wed Oct 10 13:59:07 -0700 2007 3018536 51288 aac610 7 4319337 Can any ! help? i need to find out how to set passion fruit but with out jelly, but when set should look like an egg yolk this has been annyoin me for a while. so could amy 1 help Mon Jan 12 12:46:20 -0800 2009 3022652 256505 jdudesa 1 1704800 Overrated. The advantage to the pacojet is being able to make low sugar or savory IC/sorbet that would freeze too hard normally, but be able to serve them 'fresh spun' and soft. It is also good for other savory applications like making infused oils. (Oil, herbs, freeze, paco.) Sorbet can still get icy, and re-spinning doesn't help as much as you'd like, because once it's been spun and fluffed up, you don't have the solid mass to get the fine shave on, so the ice crystals don't really get much smaller. I hated it for ice cream, because I like to make very rich fatty ice cream, which tended to get overspun and get little buttery bits. A fellow pasty chef showed me how to make ice cream appropriate for the paco, by using mostly milk and very little cream and adding invert sugar to keep it soft. Great, but I'd rather just have a machine that was designed for ice cream, not a glorified blender. I ended up getting a Musso Lussino that is great for ice cream, decent for sorbets - the key with sorbets seems to be to spin them longer. That machine is only $600. If you're set on the paco, though, check out JBPrince.com, they have a machine (Frixair reconstitutor???) that looks very similar and I think is less than 2 grand. Fri Jun 16 21:09:17 -0700 2006 1704699 0 babette feasts 1 1726875 Benefits of a pacojet: if you work in a very small kitchen with a very low volume of frozen dessert preparations, the pacojet is good because sorbet can be made to order, so little waste and bases can be prepped and kept in the freezer well ahead of time. Drawbacks: it is LOUD! This sucks because professional kitchens are noisy enough, and using the paco will disrupt all communication while it is in use--tragic in a professional kitchen. It is a pain in the butt to clean if you use it frequently during service. You will need freezer space to hold the metal canisters. I have never seen a lid made for those things, so you'll have to cover it with 2 sheets of plastic wrap (1 for contact, 1 for top). Labeling the canisters is a pain, especially if you will be prepping multiple bases. So depending on your specific needs, I would really not recommend one. You can play around with it and come up with all sorts of things, but if you just want an ice cream maker, get an ice cream maker. I cannot recommend a professional model, but at home I have a Krups and the KitchenAid attachment. I'm happy with both. Good luck finding what you are looking for! Wed Jul 05 09:33:40 -0700 2006 1704699 16301 Non Cognomina 2 1871869 There are white storage lids that come with each beaker - and if your machine is so loud it stops conversation then there's something wrong with it. Tue Sep 12 20:10:41 -0700 2006 1726875 16108 Louisa Chu 1 1729727 I use a Cuisinart, which cost me under $100. It makes great ice cream. One Christmas for dessert I made orange ice cream (among other things :); it was the best I have had, even better than the stuff made by a local Italian specialty ice cream shop. Served in a super-crisp bowl-shaped tuile, it was fabulous. To make it I used the recipe book that came with the machine. Thu Jul 06 18:28:14 -0700 2006 1704699 13143 souschef 1 1873255 I have had the lusso mussino for about five years and absolutely love it. If you are looking for a good ice cream maker, I definitely recommend it. Wed Sep 13 12:57:29 -0700 2006 1704699 26117 baloo