Important Tips to Obtain the Best Performance out of a Granita Slush Machine Regardless of make, size, shape, form, etc etc.
A) All slush machines allow you to adjust the consistency of the product (i.e. more liquid or more frozen). I think that Granita, margarita, belini, slush, etc. should be drunk with a straw and not eaten with a spoon.
B) Remember that these machines perform a very basic function. They freeze the product at 32 degrees, so therefore, if you put product in the machine that is 100 degrees, it will be a long time before it gets down to 32 degrees. If instead you mix the product, place it in a refrigerator, and then put it in the machine when it gets to around 40 degrees, it will be a very fast turn around for the granita machine to turn liquid into a slush.
C) Granita Slush Machines are not mixers, therefore, do not place the syrup and then the water in the bowl, most of the time trying to guess the ratio. Instead, mix the product in a five gallon mixing jug and then (possibly after chilling it) put it in the machine.
D) I have been asked for a million times, what is the capacity of the machine? That question is insignificant if you are serious in the way you use the machine. Wanting to have the bowls always full and frozen and ready to serve, it would be advisable for you to replace the frozen quantity with an equal amount of liquid every time you get a chance, so the machine will be able to recover faster than it will when the bowl is empty and filled back again.
E) It is a myth how many companies represent their machine when they claim that that machine has the night-cycle. That is a misrepresentation since the night-cycle does not exist. What does exist is the other half of the dual function of a granita machine. As you know, the machine can be used to freeze a product, therefore making a slush, or in the event you want to use it for a breakfast function and you want to place juice in the containers, to chill the juice, but not freeze it, so that is why this night-switch makes no sense as such.
F) The smartest way to treat a machine at night is to get into the habit and spend five minutes in the evening to empty whatever is left in the bowls into jugs to be placed in a refrigerator for the night. The bowls then will be filled with water and a little bleach as sanitizer and left off at night. In the morning you empty the water and put back the liquid granita and the machine will be in full swing in less than an hour.
G) Remember the machine is a mechanical device and has X number of hours of life. If you use the motors on all night and all day-24 hours- the life expectancy is X. By using the machine during the hours when you sell and turning it off at night, you will get the machine to extend it’s life by twice as much. Isn’t that a revelation?
H) It is important to understand that the ratio of water vs. syrup that is recommended for the machine is respected because if it is not, the motors will fall apart and the cost of maintenance of the machine goes up.
I) It is also important to keep the airflow into and out of the machine free and clear and regularly use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the build up of dust that occurs.
J) Last, but not least, do not use an extension cord on the machine, because by doing so you decrease the voltage that is transmitted to the machine and therefore you get no freezing and furthermore, you damage the compressor.
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Your SRE Team
