What the numbers in Recipe Details mean and how they show up at the scoop.
Gelato Maestro calculates a handful of KPIs in real time as you adjust a recipe. They're not abstract — each one corresponds to something you'll taste, see or feel in the finished gelato.
An index of how much a recipe resists freezing. Higher PAC = softer gelato at the same temperature.
Also called Freezing Point Depression Factor (FPDF) or Anti-Freezing Power (AFP). Every sugar contributes a different PAC — dextrose > inverted sugar > sucrose > lactose. Alcohol contributes a very high PAC, which is why a small amount of liqueur can ruin freezing if it isn't planned for.
PAC corrected for how much water there is in the mix.
Same PAC in a dry, high-solids mix behaves differently than the same PAC in a watery sorbet, because the freezing-point depression scales with the concentration of dissolved solids in the water phase. PACn captures that.
The perceived sweetness of the recipe, weighted by each sugar's sweetening power.
Sucrose is the reference at POD 100. Fructose is around 170 (much sweeter), dextrose around 70 (less sweet), lactose around 16 (barely sweet). A pistachio gelato and a stracciatella will have very different POD targets even at the same total sugar percentage — that's the point.
The non-fat portion of milk solids: mostly protein and lactose.
MSNF gives cream gelato its body and chewiness. Too little MSNF and the gelato eats thin and icy. Too much and you risk lactose saturation — the lactose crystallizes during storage and the gelato turns sandy. The MSNF gauge in Recipe Details has a built-in lactose saturation check.
Sum of every non-water component (sugars, fats, MSNF, proteins, stabilizers, flavor solids). Drives body, freeze resistance and melt rate. Cream gelati typically aim for 36–42% total solids; sorbets for 28–34%.
The total sugar content, regardless of type. Each individual sugar matters for PAC and POD, but the total drives mouthfeel and whether the recipe feels "sweet" before you even taste it.
From cream, milk, oils, nut pastes, chocolate. Drives richness and the perception of "creamy". Too little and the gelato is thin; too much and it eats waxy and coats the palate.
A derived KPI that estimates how easy the gelato will be to scoop at your serving temperature (set in Settings › Gauges › Scoopability). It's a function of PAC, PACn, total solids, fat content and overrun.
Cost is the sum of every ingredient's cost at its current load, per 1000 g of mix. Margin is selling price minus cost, scaled to the production quantity. Both depend on you keeping ingredient prices up to date.