If you've spent any time in Ninja CREAMi community groups, you've likely seen the same cycle of frustration: one user makes a "healthy" pint that turns into a block of granite, while another makes a delicious-looking sorbet that won't stop melting. The difference isn't just luck or the "Spin" setting you chose. It comes down to two numbers that professional ice cream scientists use every day, and which form the "brain" of our Scoopulator tool: PAC and POD.
What is PAC? (The "Anti-Freeze" Power)
PAC stands for Potere Anti-Congelante, which translates to Anti-Freeze Power. In the world of frozen desserts, PAC measures an ingredient's ability to lower the freezing point of water. When you put a pint in a -18°C (-0.4°F) freezer, the water wants to turn into solid ice. PAC is what keeps some of that water from freezing, creating a "serum" that stays liquid even at sub-zero temperatures.
PAC Reference Values
The Baseline: Table sugar (Sucrose) is assigned a PAC of 100. The Softeners: Ingredients like Dextrose (PAC 190) or Allulose (PAC 190) have nearly double the anti-freeze power of sugar. The CREAMi Sweet Spot: Our research shows that for a "perfect" scoopable texture in a Ninja CREAMi, you should aim for a total PAC score between 24 and 30 for standard ice cream.
What is POD? (The "Sweetness" Power)
POD stands for Potere Dolcificante, or Sweetness Power. It is a relative measurement of how sweet an ingredient tastes compared to table sugar. Like PAC, Sucrose is the baseline with a POD of 100. The magic of modern formulation is that PAC and POD are often "decoupled". For example, Allulose has a high PAC (190) but a low POD (70). This means you can use it to make your ice cream much softer without making it sickly sweet.
Why the Ninja CREAMi Changes the Rules
Traditional ice cream makers "churn" the mix as it freezes, which incorporates air (overrun) to make it soft. The Ninja CREAMi uses "comminution technology"—it mills a rock-solid block into a micro-crystalline snow. Because the CREAMi is so powerful, you can get away with lower fat content than traditional recipes. However, if your PAC is too low (less than 18), the frozen block is so hard that the machine's motor has to work overtime, often resulting in a "powdery" or "crumbly" texture that requires multiple re-spins.
Science-Backed Softener Swaps
1. Replace 20g of Sugar with Dextrose: This will significantly soften the pint while reducing the overall sweetness. 2. Add 1 tsp of Vegetable Glycerin: Glycerin has a massive PAC of 400, making it a "nuclear option" for fixing rock-hard, low-calorie protein pints. 3. Use Allulose for Keto Pints: Avoid Erythritol where possible; our research shows it can recrystallize at low temperatures, leading to a "sandy" texture.
The Takeaway
You don't need a lab coat to fix your recipes. By using the Scoopulator, you can see these metrics in real-time. By mastering the balance of PAC and POD, you stop guessing and start engineering the perfect pint.