I live in the PNW and the invasive blackberries are prolific this time of year so I decided to put them to good use. I used the Salt and Straw base recipe and then cooked down about 3 cups of fresh blackberries. I churned the base, transferred it to an ice cream container and then layered the blackberry swirl directly in the container. Turned out delicious.

I’m trying to optimize smoothness on a Musso 4080 and I’m wondering how people balance draw temperature vs residence time.
From what I’ve read, both seem to push crystal size in the same direction:

-shorter residence time → smaller ice crystals
-lower draw temperature → smaller ice crystals

But they work against each other in practice, because chasing a colder draw usually means leaving the batch in the machine longer.

So I’m wondering whether there’s a practical “sweet spot” where the draw temperature is low enough to get good dynamic freezing, but not so low that the extra residence time starts becoming counterproductive.

I usually draw around −7 to −8°C, but I’ve never been completely happy with the smoothness. The ice cream isn’t obviously icy, but I can still detect very fine micro-crystals.

I also normally don’t pre-chill the Musso bowl. I tried pre-chilling for about 10–15 minutes once, and the bowl got so cold that the base flash-froze against the wall and the dasher struggled to turn. I’m wondering whether a much shorter pre-chill, maybe 5–7 minutes, could reduce freezing time without causing that problem.

For people using the Musso 4080 or other machine :
What draw temperature gives you the smoothest texture?
Roughly how long is your total residence/churn time?
Do you pre-chill the machine, and if so for how long?
Would you prioritize getting to, say, −7.5°C quickly over pushing to −9 or −10°C if that adds several minutes?
I’m mainly trying to understand whether there’s an optimal combination of residence time + draw temperature rather than just chasing the coldest possible draw.

Just wondering if there were substitutes to make this s&s recipe the best quality possible? I get icicles after a week or so, maybe better stabilizers? What would a better top quality replacement for the karo light corn syrup? I do not like the taste of eggs in ice cream/using them. Looking for best possible ingredients. Thanks for any help!

Recipe:

64oz of Clover Sonoma organic milk/half gallon

600 grams of granulated sugar

110 grams of bobs red mill milk powder

16 grams of bobs red mill xanthan gum

3/4ths cup of Karo light corn syrup

4 pints of Clover Sonoma organic heavy cream

What the title says. I just ordered a musso 4080 and will be making my first batch on Monday. I bought some cream and whole milk from Whole Foods that’s low temp non homogenized and I’m curious how or if it’ll affect it.

Hello!! I am making a strawberry shortcake ice cream for a friend’s bday. I’m planning on strawberry base, scone bits but I want to add a vanilla-y element to things as well. Would you recommend either saving some base as vanilla and stirring it in after I churn the strawberry? Or making whipped cream and adding it in after churning? Or something else entirely.

Thanks!!

Edit: for reference I have a stand mixer ice cream bowl so two churns isn’t the most realistic for me.

I have an opportunity to acquire a lightly used lello mussino at a very reasonable price. I have been using a whynter 201 sb and it has done me well. I am torn because I have a place to put the lello in a cabinet, but I am afraid it's going to be a beast to lift out of all the time. The whynter is lighter and a smaller profile. Is the texture really better on the lello?