Narrator: Here at the co-packing facility
in the Bronx, New York, OddFellows pumps out
41,000 gallons of ice cream every year.
But among all of the flavors they make,
this plant-based chocolate-chunk ice cream
is one of the most challenging.
It took over a year to develop the recipe.
And it still takes four times longer to make
than a dairy-based ice cream,
because it's entirely made by hand.
Today, the job of making this flavor
is up to Abby Lavin and Manny Pichardo,
who run an experienced team of ice cream makers.
Manny's been doing this
for longer than I've been born, I think.
And there's no one else besides Manny who could do this.
Narrator: We visited OddFellows' facility
to see how he makes this ice cream in such big batches.
The day begins with making the ice cream's base,
which contains 120 pounds of dark chocolate chips
and 100 pounds of cashew butter.
Manny and his team start by pouring the bags
of dark chocolate chips inside a heated mixer.
They add in large buckets of warm water
and constantly stir the chocolate for an hour
until all of the chunks have dissolved into a liquidy mix.
So this is when you know that the chocolate is ready,
completely melted to be mixed
with the rest of the ingredients.
Narrator: The melted chocolate is then pumped
through this tube into a holding tank,
which continues to mix the chocolate so it doesn't harden.
Next, Manny creates a mixture of stabilizers and salt.
The combination of the two helps the ice cream stay together
and form smaller ice crystals when it's eventually frozen.
It also gives the ice cream some softness.
But according to Abby,
adding too much stabilizer can be a recipe for disaster.
Abby: If you have too much stabilizer,
it melts really quickly.
It becomes really chewy.
If you have too little stabilizer, it's really hard.
It's hard to scoop. It's hard to eat.
So having not only the right amount of stabilizer,
but the right type of stabilizer is really important.
Narrator: They add more water to the mix
and continue stirring it to maintain that smooth consistency
before adding in 50 pounds of invert sugar.
Abby: Invert is sweeter than sugar,
and it really helps bring a nice, soft mouthfeel
to the ice cream and not let it get too icy
and not too sweet, but sweet enough that it's delicious.
Narrator: Next, it's time to turn cashew butter
into cashew milk.
So we're using cashew concentrate.
Its pure ground cashew.
And we're using this as 50% of our base.
This is our protein.
This is what gives it that like really rich,
dairy-like texture and flavor.
Narrator: A hundred pounds of cashew butter is scraped out
of these buckets into the mixer
and combined with cold water.
Because there isn't any dairy in this ice cream,
all of the fat needed to give it its structure
and texture comes from the cashew butter.
And while many other nuts
like almonds or macadamias could be used,
Abby and her team prefer using cashews
because of their creaminess
and more neutral flavor with chocolate.
We found that adding water to the cashew concentrate
gave it a creamier texture.
We don't want it to be too thick,
because then you're just tasting cashew.
We want it to be really creamy.
And you don't want to get any bits or chunks of the cashew.
So that's why it's supposed to be melted the right way.
So this is about the same thing,
like when we made the chocolate.
If you see there's no chunks on the paddle,
then you know it's ready.
It's ready to be mixed with all the ingredients.
And we're almost done to start running.
Narrator: The final mix is then pumped
into this holding container before it's frozen and aerated.
Abby: A really important part of the vegans
is that it has to move, because if it sits, it can congeal.
So we're moving it right now.
We have to, like, keep it agitated
until we can spin it, and it'll stay in the ice cream form.
Narrator: At first, the ice cream comes out liquidy.
But once it starts to freeze,
they begin pumping it into these three-gallon cartons.
Manny: That's ready. That's ready.
Narrator: They add chocolate chips by hand
for the first few cartons,
while another employee adjusts and fills a fruit feeder
that will add in the right amount of chips at a steady rate.
As it's pumped through these pipes,
the mix is combined with one of the most
important ingredients. But it's something you can't see.
It's air, and it makes up around 20%
of the total volume of this ice cream.
Abby: Air is what makes or breaks ice cream,
in my opinion.
The air creates volume, it creates texture.
It's one of the most important ingredients, actually.
Narrator: Each carton is weighed, then wheeled
into a blast freezer, where it's kept to harden
and wait for final delivery.
At OddFellows' Domino Park location in Williamsburg,
they sell around 60 gallons of ice cream every week
and offer over 20 flavors.
From wasabi chocolate chip to mango sticky rice,
the flavors are nontraditional and draw a unique clientele.
Abby: Our customers are super adventurous,
and they know that when they come into our ice cream shop,
they can get cookies-and-cream ice cream,
but they're also super excited to try our more odd flavors.
And that's what brings them in.
That's what brings them back.
That's actually delicious.
Narrator: But sometimes, people just want
a traditional flavor that's slightly different,
like the vegan chocolate chunk.
So I'm new to the vegan ice cream scene
and this is a lot better than what I expected.
It still has, like, the creaminess
and the richness that you would get
from your typical traditional ice cream scoop.
But it has a lightness
to it as well, which is really nice.
And you get some really nice chunks in here, too.
Can't say no.
So yeah guys, come to OddFellows.
Get your vegan ice cream.