Ice Cream with a strawberry variegate.

Variegates

Our range of variegates are designed to enhance the appearance, flavor, and texture of your frozen desserts, ice creams, novelties, and other applications.

Crafted to add vibrant color, rich flavor, and delightful texture to your products.

Whether you are looking to enhance the visual appeal of your frozen dessert or add a swirl of flavor to your ice cream, our variegates provide the perfect solution.

With a wide variety of options, including fruit-based, chocolate, and custom flavors, our variegates are sure to delight your customers and elevate your products.

Discover our different variegate types below.

Summer vanilla ice cream in waffle cones and cherry berry variegate.

Water-Based Variegates

Water-based variegates add premium qualities to frozen desserts. These variegates achieve stabilization through high shear emulsification and/or the addition of functional ingredients including starches, gums, pectin.

Advantages:

  • Multiple flavor / color combinations
  • Easiest variegate type to handle
  • Most are smooth-textured
  • Nozzle can be primed with variegate prior to starting ice cream freezer

Considerations:

  • Limited to small soft particulates
    • Fruit puree
    • Nuts and seeds
    • Coconut flakes
Apple pie with caramel apple pie ice cream

Emulsion-Based Variegates

Emulsion-based variegates result in a premium flavor and mouthfeel. These variegates are a hybrid of water-based and oil/fat-based variegates that use homogenization to create an emulsion.

Common types of emulsion-based variegates are caramel and hot fudge.

Advantages

  • Multiple flavor / color combinations
  • Can provide more premium creamy textures and flavors
  • Easy to use
  • Can have soft particulates
    • Coconut
    • Cake crumbs
    • Nuts and seeds

Considerations

  • May require tempering
  • May require large nozzle size to handle added particulates
Jar tipped over, spilling quinoa seeds onto black surface.

Oil/Fat-Based Variegates

Oil/fat-based variegates can provide unique textures like creamy, chewy, and crunchy. These variegates are blends of oils, fats, sugars, and other solids, with optional flavors and colors added.

The ratio of oil and fat provides for firmness levels ranging from fudgy to brittle. Oil/fat-based textured variegates allow incorporation of particulates like cereal, candy, nuts, and baked good products.

Advantages:

  • Multiple flavor / color combinations
  • Add unique textures like fudge and candy
  • Crunchy particulates (textured)
    • Cereal
    • Cookie, cracker and pretzel crumbs
    • Nuts and seeds
    • Sugar, citric acid or salt crystals

 

Considerations:

  • May require tempering
  • May require large nozzle size to handle added particulates
  • May require special start-up procedures
    • May require oil purge to eliminate water
    • Variegating head cannot be pre-primed

Why Choose Balchem

  • Quality and Consistency: Our products are manufactured to the highest standards, ensuring consistent quality and performance. 
  • Customization: We offer tailored solutions to meet your specific needs, whether it’s a unique flavor, texture, or color. 
  • Expertise: With years of experience in the industry, our team of experts is dedicated to helping you create standout products. 
  • Innovation: We are committed to continuous improvement and innovation, bringing the latest trends and technologies to your products. 

Learn More About Our Variegates.

Discover how Balchem’s variegates can transform your products and set them apart in the market.

Contact Us Today

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