How long to freeze a Ninja CREAMi tubpint

The short answer

Freeze the base for 24 hours in a normal home freezer at about −18 °C (0 °F), with the lid on and the tubpint standing level. That is what Ninja's instructions ask for, and every recipe on Scoop Kitchen is written for it.

Why it takes 24 hours

A CREAMi does not churn. It shaves a solid block of frozen base from the top down and whips the shavings smooth. For that to work, the tubpint has to be frozen all the way through, including the very middle.

TubsPints freeze from the outside in. After 8 to 12 hours the edges and top are hard, but the core is often still slushy. When the paddle hits that soft middle, it pushes slush around instead of shaving ice, and the tubpint comes out soupy in the centre and crumbly at the edges.

Bases with a lot of sugar, fat or alcohol freeze more slowly, so they need the full time most of all.

Can you spin it sooner?

Sometimes. Thin, water-based bases such as sorbets and juices in a cold freezer can be solid in 12 to 16 hours. Check before you spin:

• Press the middle of the top. It should not give at all.
• Push the tip of a knife into the centre. It should not sink in.
• Tip the tubpint. Nothing should move or slosh.

If any of these fail, put it back. A tubpint that spins too early is a bigger waste of time than waiting.

Freezer temperature

A normal freezer at −18 °C (0 °F) is right. Very cold chest freezers (−25 °C or colder) make tubspints harder than the recipes expect, so the first spin tends to come out crumbly or powdery. Let those tubspints stand on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes before spinning, or plan on a Re-spin.

Freeze it level, lid on

• A tubpint that freezes on a tilt spins unevenly. Clear a flat spot on a shelf.
• The lid keeps out freezer smells and stops the surface drying out.
• If the base freezes with a hump in the middle, scrape it flat with a spoon before spinning.
• Cooked bases must be completely cool before they go in. Chill them in the fridge first to save freezer time.

Plan so a tubpint is always ready

The trick most CREAMi owners land on is a rotation: when you spin a tubpint, mix the next base and put it straight in the freezer. Spare tubspints make this easy. Frozen bases keep well for 2 to 4 weeks with the lid on; after that they slowly pick up ice crystals and freezer taste.

Leftovers

A spun tubpint freezes hard again. Smooth the top flat, put the lid on, and next time run the recipe's program again before serving, with a Re-spin if it looks crumbly.