The old way: grandmothers were already freezing
Before freezers people salted, dried and preserved food in oil and jars. When the home freezer arrived in the 1960s, home cooks saw the advantage at once: cook once, in quantity, and have a “just made” dish weeks later. Sauce, ragù, stock, garden vegetables, seasonal fruit: it is still the most used method in the kitchen. The principle is simple and it applies to your machine too: prepare at the best moment, stop time with the cold, use it when you need it.
The fridge and the freezer are not the same thing
The fridge (0–4 °C) slows things down: bacteria, yeasts, moulds and enzymes keep working, just more slowly. That’s why a cooked dish lasts only a few days in the fridge, while fats and aromas oxidise and “fridge” smells appear. Some pathogens, like Listeria monocytogenes, grow even at these temperatures.
The freezer at −18 °C stops things: water turns to ice and is no longer available to microbes, which go dormant. Careful: cold doesn’t kill them. They start again when food thaws, so thawed food must be handled like fresh food and not left at room temperature.
Sensory quality: colour, flavour, aroma
The green of a pesto, the red of strawberries, the scent of basil are fragile molecules that oxidise with air and time. At −18 °C chemical and enzymatic reactions slow down enormously and, as ice crystals form, most of the oxygen is pushed out. Result: freeze an ingredient at its peak and you find colours and flavours far closer to fresh than a few days in the fridge would give you. Vegetables are blanched before freezing precisely to stop the enzymes that change their colour and taste.
Texture: it’s all about ice crystals
Slow freezing = large crystals that break cells: thawed fruit “weeps” and creams separate. Fast freezing = small crystals and an intact structure. At home we don’t have a blast chiller, but we can get close: thin, flat layers, tubs kept level, no lid for the first hours, a freezer stable at −18 °C. That’s why we developed CHILL TILES°. In scraping-blade machines the crystals are then broken down by the blade, but if the base is unbalanced no blade can save the texture. It’s the recipe that lets the machine down.
Food safety and shelf life: how long it really lasts
Food kept constantly at −18 °C stays safe; what declines over time is quality. Roughly, fish and fatty foods stay at their best for 3–7 months, many other products for over 12 months. The enemy is temperature going up and down (door left open, freezer too full): small crystals merge into big ones and the surface dries out and oxidises (freezer burn). Containers closed after the first hours, a label with the date and a stable temperature beat any trick.
The Pacojet principle in fine dining
In fine-dining kitchens the Pacojet changed the way chefs work. Fresh ingredients are prepared at their best, frozen in beakers at about −20 °C for at least 24 hours and processed from frozen, without thawing, only for the portions needed. The rest goes straight back into the freezer, protected from oxidation. The chef gets vivid colours, clean flavours, zero waste, and not only ice cream: sauces, soups, mousses, herb oils, concentrates, even vegetable trimmings turned into pestos and creams.
Home machines: same principle, at 40% of their potential
Ninja Creami, Ninja Creami Deluxe, Tefal Dolci, Moulinex Dolci and Sencor SIC 5050WS are not classic churners: they process recipes that are frozen first and processed after, just like the Pacojet, with simpler and cheaper mechanics. The texture isn’t Pacojet texture, but the preservation method can be replicated.
Yet the most common complaint in communities worldwide is always the same: after 5–6 months the machine ends up in the cupboard, because it’s only used for ice cream. With the manual and classic recipes you use about 50% of its functions and 40% of its possibilities. Cooking with the freezer principle (prepare, portion, freeze, regenerate) opens a whole new world: sweet and savoury, preservation without waste, dishes ready when you want them.
The ICED method: 360 degrees in the kitchen
Stefano Chef has worked with the Pacojet in his restaurant for over ten years, has used the Ninja Creami for years and was among the first to buy the Moulinex Dolci and the Sencor ice cream maker: he tests them every day. The ICED method brings this way of cooking home, step by step. In the ICED app you’ll find 800+ recipes balanced for your machine and, month after month, the rest of the method: of the 360 degrees, you unlock 300. Start free with the 20-recipe PDF book (no email) and ask your questions in the moderated community.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to freeze or refrigerate a cooked dish?
If you’ll eat it within 2–3 days, the fridge is fine. To keep it longer, freeze it as soon as it has cooled: at −18 °C bacterial growth stops and flavour and colour keep much better.
Does the freezer kill bacteria?
No. At −18 °C microbes stop multiplying but stay alive and start again when food thaws. That’s why thawed food must be handled like fresh food.
Why does Ninja Creami or Dolci ice cream come out hard or icy?
Almost always it’s the recipe: too much water and too little sugar or solids. Your machine works perfectly, it’s the recipe that lets it down. The ICED app tells you before you freeze whether it will be creamy.
Can I use the Ninja Creami or the Dolci for savoury food?
Yes: the principle is the Pacojet one, used in fine-dining kitchens for sauces, soups, mousses and concentrates. The ICED method guides you step by step beyond ice cream.
How long does homemade ice cream keep in the freezer?
Safe as long as it stays at a constant −18 °C; for the best quality eat it within a few weeks, with the tub closed after the first hours and labelled with the date.