Small ice cream producers cannot measure overrun consistently

Overrun -- the percentage of air whipped into ice cream during freezing -- directly determines product texture, perceived quality, and profitability (more air = lower ingredient cost per scoop but worse mouthfeel). Large manufacturers use continuous freezers with microprocessor controls that monitor overrun percentage, viscosity, cylinder pressure, and draw temperature in real time, costing $100,000+. Small producers using batch freezers with 'timed pump' air injection systems cannot compensate for varying draw speeds or volumes, causing excess air to blow back into the hopper as bubbles, producing wildly inconsistent overrun from batch to batch. During a lunch rush, one batch comes out creamy and smooth while the next is icy, stiff, and yellowish. Customers notice the inconsistency but the shop owner cannot diagnose or fix it because they have no way to measure overrun in real time without lab equipment. This persists because affordable batch freezers were designed decades ago for simplicity, not precision, and no one has built a mid-market overrun monitoring tool for the $5,000-$20,000 equipment tier.