It shouldn't be this good

So one of the tools we used a lot at Modernist Cuisine and also in the early days of ChefSteps was the PacoJet. It's an amazing and unique machine that mills frozen canisters of ice cream and sorbet in minutes. And it can also be used for everything from silky, smooth purees, powdering frozen herbs, and even mincing beef tartar (really).

Unfortunately its quite expensive at $6500, which is why you don't see it on ChefSteps much these days. But the PacoJet patent ran out a few years ago, and the SharkNinja company decided to create their own version for $229. I figured it would be a pretty poor quality machine. I WAS WRONG. It really shouldn't be this good.

So I decided to create a teardown review of the PacoJet versus the Ninja CREAMi. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/HCJsaPefl1c

PS, I have no commercial relationship with PacoJet or Ninja. This is just something I thought the ChefSteps community might be interested in.

Chris Young, coauthor Modernist Cuisine and cofounder ChefSteps.

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Comments

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Hey Chris -- Great to see you! I've been eagerly anticipating your teardown since you and Dave Arnold mentioned it on Twitter. Your exposition and manner of comparing the two machines was everything I'd hoped for, and I especially appreciated the little extra pops of information you sprinkled in such as the patent information and the "What is Ice Cream Anyway?" segment. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Hope all is well with Combustion Inc!

I thought I'd also mention that the Modernist Pantry folks also did a comparison video that may be of interest to anyone looking at these machines. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/3fwDpVlmwBk

tshewman

+1 for the review. Not sure I'm ready to give up my pacojet yet 😂😂 but if the Ninja Creami was available when I did, it would have been a no-brainer. Review is well worth the few minutes for anyone interested!

It even has Chris' common "let's take this thing apart" approach to help with the understanding. Well done.

brian_martin2001

@Lorraine_Esterling_1040639 @Nell_Welch_345007 #SPAM

Brandon_Byrd_40557

The only thing missing is a comparison of the final product produced by each machine (though this is where the Modernist Pantry video comes in handy). It'd also be useful to hear if the Ninja is well suited toward any tasks other than frozen desserts. Purees? Liver mousse? Something else? I'd like someone with broad Pacojet experience to give us the down and dirty on what techniques the Ninja is capable of beyond frozen desserts.

tshewman

I believe Chris covered the puree part briefly? Still has to be frozen prior to processing though. The pacojet now has different attachments for pureeing, chopping and whipping non frozen products. I don't have those attachments but do use it relatively frequently for purees.

montebello1964

I have one, works fine, although I haven't really tried a good ice cream recipe yet, so have had some icyness.