Soft serve is dispensed directly from the freezing cylinder at around 18–21°F and typically contains 3–6% butterfat with 33–45% overrun (air content), giving it that signature light, creamy texture. Hard ice cream is frozen in a batch freezer to approximately –10°F, packed into containers, and hardened before scooping. Hard ice cream usually has higher butterfat content (10–16%) and lower air content, which makes it richer and denser. Both are excellent revenue streams — many successful operations offer both. Ask us how to build a dual program for your location.

Soft serve machines are used by a wide range of Upstate NY businesses including ice cream shops, restaurants, diners, fast food operations, food trucks, campgrounds, convenience stores, gas stations, sports venues, schools, hospitals, senior living facilities, catering companies, wineries, breweries, and seasonal stands. If your business serves food or beverages, there is almost certainly a soft serve or frozen beverage program that fits your operation and improves your bottom line.

Yes. Most Taylor soft serve machines are fully compatible with frozen yogurt mixes. The machine doesn't change — only the mix does. This allows operators to offer soft serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet from the same machine simply by switching mixes, making it easy to adapt your menu to customer preferences or seasonal trends. Dairy-free and plant-based mixes are also available for many models.

Soft serve is one of the highest-margin products in commercial foodservice. Food cost typically runs 15–25% of selling price depending on your mix cost and portion size, translating to 75–85% gross profit margins on every serving. A single countertop soft serve machine operated properly can generate tens of thousands of dollars in profit per season at a high-traffic location. Ask our sales team for a free profitability consultation tailored to your location and expected traffic.

Taylor Upstate has developed strong relationships with dairy mix companies across New York State and frozen beverage distributors nationwide. We'll gladly recommend the best mixes from your local dairy or the right frozen beverage mix from a nearby distribution center. We'll match you with the right supplier for your specific region — call us and we'll build a short list of local options.

While some operators want to use house-made mixes, the problems usually outweigh the benefits. Issues with separation and product breakdown are common without the proper balance of sweeteners, emulsifiers, and stabilizers. Professional dairies and mix companies have the expertise to produce mixes that perform reliably in a commercial freezing cylinder. Powdered mixes reconstituted with water are also a cost-effective alternative worth exploring for certain operations.

Emulsifiers allow products that contain both oils and water to stay blended with minimal separation. For ice cream and soft serve, emulsifiers help create a finished product that is stiffer, drier, and more stable at serving temperature — essential for products that hold their shape on a cone or in a cup.

Stabilizers improve texture, prevent iciness, and slow melt rate — keeping your soft serve looking and tasting great longer. In a commercial freezing cylinder, stabilizers also help prevent overbeating and product breakdown, ensuring consistent quality from the first cone to the last cone of the day.

Overrun is the amount of air introduced into the product before it's dispensed. It's expressed as a percentage of volume increase. Higher overrun = more air = lighter, fluffier, larger-volume product. Lower overrun = less air = richer, denser, more intensely flavored product. Controlling overrun is a key tool for managing both product quality and food cost. Pump-style machines give you greater control over overrun than gravity-style machines.

Milk fat, or butterfat, is the fat content in a dairy product expressed as a percentage of total weight. Higher butterfat = richer, creamier flavor. A typical Upstate NY ice cream shop uses a 10% butterfat mix for soft serve and up to 16% for hard-dipped ice cream. Premium "super premium" products can reach 14–16% butterfat in soft serve applications. Your choice of butterfat level directly affects flavor, texture, and food cost.

Yes. Because we cover nearly all of New York State, the easiest way to get a localized supplier list is to call us at 800-678-2956. We'll connect you with the dairy mix and frozen beverage distributors that serve your specific region — there's no point recommending a supplier who doesn't deliver to your area.

Icetro is a commercial soft serve and frozen beverage equipment manufacturer with 40 years of production experience, headquartered in Incheon, South Korea. Icetro is proudly part of the Middleby Corporation — the same parent company as Taylor — making Icetro and Taylor sister brands under the same roof. Icetro is the only Korean manufacturer with its own dedicated R&D and laboratory facilities, and sources components from suppliers within 30 miles of its factory, ensuring robust quality control and a reliable parts supply chain. Taylor Upstate is the authorized Icetro dealer for Upstate New York.

Taylor is the premium, industry-standard brand — engineered for the highest-volume, most demanding commercial environments, with the longest track record of reliability and the deepest parts and service network in the world. It's what the largest restaurant chains on the planet specify by name. Icetro is the value-positioned alternative in the same Middleby family, offering solid commercial soft serve performance at a lower entry price point. For first-time operators, seasonal businesses, smaller-volume locations, or operators managing startup capital carefully, Icetro delivers genuine commercial-grade capability without the full Taylor investment. Both brands are sold, installed, and fully serviced by Taylor Upstate — so you get the same local expert support either way. Browse Icetro machines →

Icetro is an excellent fit for: first-time operators who want a proven commercial machine without the full Taylor price tag; seasonal businesses (campgrounds, roadside stands, tourist operations) where equipment runs May–September; lower-volume locations like small restaurants, convenience stores, or food trucks where soft serve is a menu addition rather than a primary revenue driver; and operators opening a second location who want to manage startup costs on a new site while maintaining their primary operation on Taylor. Icetro is a real commercial machine — not a home or prosumer unit — and it's backed by the same Taylor Upstate service team that services Taylor equipment.

Taylor Upstate carries the Icetro soft serve lineup including: countertop and floor-standing models; single-flavor and twin-twist configurations; models with Heat Treatment for reduced daily cleaning; and automatic self-serve soft serve machines for self-service applications like hotel breakfast programs and high-traffic convenience stores. Icetro machines are designed to handle Korea's extreme climate range (0°F winters to 100°F summers), making them well-suited to Upstate New York's demanding seasonal conditions. View current Icetro inventory →

Yes. Select Icetro models include an automatic heat treatment cycle that pasteurizes dairy mix in the machine overnight, reducing required full disassembly cleanings from daily to once every 28 days — the same labor-saving benefit as Taylor's heat treatment machines. If daily cleaning is a challenge for your staffing model, heat treatment — whether on a Taylor or Icetro — is worth serious consideration. Ask us which heat treatment models are currently available in either brand.

Yes. In addition to soft serve machines, Icetro manufactures the SSM series commercial slush machines — available in single-barrel (SSM-180), double-barrel (SSM-280), and triple-barrel configurations. Each features transparent bowls so customers can see the product, adjustable freezing levels, spring dispensing handles, automatic shut-off, and a removable drip tray. These are genuine commercial-grade units built for high-volume daily use in convenience stores, bars, restaurants, food trucks, and campgrounds — not home or party machines. Taylor Upstate carries and services the full Icetro frozen beverage lineup in Upstate NY.

Yes. As the authorized Icetro dealer for Upstate New York, Taylor Upstate sells, installs, and fully services all Icetro equipment we sell. Our factory-trained technicians are dispatched to Icetro service calls with the same urgency and the same GPS-dispatched, stocked-vehicle approach as Taylor service calls. Every Icetro machine purchase from Taylor Upstate includes delivery, installation, and on-site training — the same turn-key experience you'd get with a Taylor machine. Call us at 800-678-2956 for service on any Icetro equipment purchased through Taylor Upstate.

A batch freezer produces hard-packed ice cream, gelato, Italian ice, sorbet, or sherbet in individual batches that are then hardened in a blast freezer and stored for scooping. A soft serve machine continuously freezes product for immediate dispensing. Batch freezers give you complete control over recipes, inclusions (cookies, candy, fruit, nuts), and texture — making them the foundation of artisan and premium frozen dessert programs. Soft serve machines deliver consistent, high-volume throughput for immediate-service operations.

Emery Thompson batch freezers are remarkably versatile. You can produce: hard-packed ice cream, premium gelato, Italian ice, sorbet, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and dairy-free frozen desserts. You can also add any inclusions you like — fresh fruit, nuts, candy pieces, cookie dough, brownie chunks, and more — directly into the batch during the freezing cycle. The IOC (Injection of Overrun Control) option on select models lets you precisely dial in air content for consistent texture batch to batch.

Batch times vary by model and product. A typical Emery Thompson batch of ice cream takes approximately 8–12 minutes from start to draw. The CB-350 (6-quart) can produce multiple batches per hour, while the 44 BLT (44-quart) allows for large-scale production runs. After drawing from the batch freezer, products require time in a blast or hardening freezer before they reach proper scooping consistency — usually 4–12 hours depending on the product and freezer capacity.

We carry the full Emery Thompson line including the CB-350 (6-quart) entry-level model — perfect for startups and small shops — through the 24NW/24LA (24-quart) for growing operations and the 44 BLT / 44 BLT-A-IOC (44-quart) for high-volume production and wholesale. We can also advise on hardening cabinets, dividers, and stands. Contact us to discuss which Emery Thompson model matches your production goals and space.

Absolutely — and many of our most successful customers do exactly this. A Taylor soft serve machine handles high-volume walk-up and drive-through traffic while the Emery Thompson batch freezer produces house-made hard ice cream flavors that command premium prices and differentiate your operation from competitors. This dual-program approach maximizes revenue per square foot and gives you a compelling story to tell your customers. We can design the right combination for your specific space and concept.