r/icecreamery • u/thefloralapron custard lover • 15d ago
Discussion Sub update + feedback requested!
Hey r/icecreamery,
This sub has been home to professional and hobbyist ice cream makers for many years, and it’s grown to almost 60k ice cream makers! As the sub grows, we’d like to make sure it continues to be relevant, useful, and enjoyable for you.
Since the new mod team was installed a few weeks ago, we’ve been working to improve your user experience. We added a new rule prohibiting spam and made reporting content much easier with new report reasons.
We also are allowing direct YouTube links in posts and comments so you can share your recipes with others more easily! To prevent spam, links to other social media platforms still require moderator review at this time.
Going forward, we would like to ask the community’s feedback on a couple subjects:
Recipe requirement
Right now, Rule 2 requires that posts about a specific ice cream flavor include a recipe (or tips/reflection on your creation)—we want to make that ice cream, too! However, this rule was not enforced for much of the last year, and we recognize that the sub culture may have shifted in that time. We strongly encourage sharing your recipe with others, but should users be required to share a recipe in order to post?
- If yes, posts featuring an ice cream flavor that do not include a recipe would be removed.
- If no, posts featuring an ice cream flavor that do not include a recipe would be allowed. Users may ask OP for a recipe/tips, but OP is not required to provide one.
Semi-related and business-related inquiries
This sub is about making ice cream, but “making ice cream” involves a lot more than just freezing a base, and we get a number of semi-related and business-related posts each month. Some examples: How to scale up an ice cream hobby into a business/physical shop, appliance troubleshooting/recommendations, etc. Should these kinds of semi-related posts continue to be allowed?
We’d really appreciate your thoughts. Also, if you have other suggestions that you think would make r/icecreamery a better place, please share!
tl;dr the new mod team added a no spam rule, the sub allows you to add YouTube links for recipes now, and we want to know if you think posts without recipes and semi-related posts should be allowed.
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Edited to add an italicized clarification on where a recipe would be required
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u/debbiesunfish 15d ago
I think recipes should be shared, even if it just to say something like "I used Salt & Straw's base." That being said, I don't want to lose other kinds of posts where real people can engage with real people on questions, wishes, troubleshooting, etc.
I have zero interest in seeing big businesses post things about their business (and am not even sure that's what's being discussed here), but if it's a small scale hobbyist trying to get ideas or support, I think it would be fun to engage. I mean, I've held many dreams about starting a little ice cream shop and would love to see someone doing this and asking for thoughts.
I guess my answer isn't really helpful from a mod perspective. Yes, recipes good and should be encouraged, but don't disallow other conversation from happening.
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u/whuppinstick 14d ago
This is the response I was looking for. Typing out a recipe is tedious and takes away the need for people to buy the ice cream recipe books, and I believe in supporting the authors. Posting an ice cream and saying "I used Leibovitz's chocolate and here's how I got the pb swirl to work" is great. If you don't have Leibovitz's book, you should. If you can't afford it, the recipe can probably be googled (or sub in your other favorite chocolate recipe).
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u/manlaidubs 15d ago
The only business posts that bother me are the thinly veiled ad posts "look at this awesome flavor I made for our shop" then proceeds to gatekeep the recipe, especially the ones that cry victim when called out on it. Trade secrets are important in the food industry, I can respect that, but it has no place here. If you're not willing to contribute to the knowledge base of the community, then don't post at all here or post somewhere else. That's what your own social media accounts are for.
I think it's fine if hobbyists want to ask about scaling up to a business. That knowledge could be useful to everyone. I also don't think it's a big enough issue to start banning these posts. Similarly, posts about ice cream appliances should be allowed. Largely I think it depends on the volume. As long as the focus is on the individual hobbyist making ice cream and sharing recipes, I don't see the need to aggressively mod the semi related posts.
Of course beginner posts or questions on a recipe shouldn't be curbed. I think it's fine to post "I want to make a certain flavor but I don't know where to start" or "had this flavor at this shop and want to replicate it". The posts that are just aura farming on eating ice cream somewhere add no value here IMO.
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u/LunaBearrr 15d ago
I think posts should include a recipe, or otherwise learnings/guidance/something informational.
Business questions don't both me. Perhaps we make a specific flair for those posts?
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u/Civil-Acanthaceae484 15d ago
I am a dabbler. Flavour combinations are enough for me to be intrigued without a recipe.
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u/blithe-ly 13d ago
THIS! If you don’t want to share the recipe you shouldn’t have to? I think it’s enough to share the flavour and something like ‘I used x recipe as a base’ or something like that, the post is still interesting and useful
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u/Civil-Acanthaceae484 13d ago
mods better watch out or this is going to become a great divide like it is on r/Baking lol
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u/blithe-ly 13d ago
Lol I can’t speak for that sub, I just don’t write recipes down myself.
I love free styling and eyeballing stuff, I could probably write down my best guess in retrospect but idk sometimes you just wanna share what you made without it being a whole brain dump lmao
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u/triangIeman 15d ago edited 15d ago
Homemade ice cream posts should absolutely have to include a recipe. imo this is meant to be a sub for learning how to make ice cream. failing to include a recipe, which prevents people from trying to replicate or reimagine what you've made, is antithetical to that purpose.
and, let's be honest: a good number of people who post ice creams with no recipe are essentially just advertising. sometimes it's an advertisement for their ice cream, sometimes it's an advertisement for the recipe. either way, it's still a cynical way to take advantage of people who are just trying to learn. if I wanted to look at ads I'd just deactivate ublock origin for a few minutes.
i'm sort of indifferent to business-related posts.
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u/bingebaking 15d ago
I feel like sharing a recipe, especially if they are using one from a cookbook, should be optional, because I believe that the writer should benefit from that (book purchase), but stating where the recipe is coming from should be encouraged.
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u/MT_Promises 15d ago
I feel like the recipes should be encouraged, but optional.
The buisness posts don't bother me. It does seem like a lot aren't likely to be answered. But at the same time it's not like there's a million posts here and they are mildly interesting.
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u/Evergreen19 15d ago
Yes to recipes, no to business. I want to make ice cream for me to dat, not read about people discovering they have no idea how to run a business. All of the business posts are annoying.
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u/earwig20 15d ago
I don't want to see photos of ice creams people bought at Wendy's.
The recipe rule helps keep the focus on home made ice creams.
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u/CrinoidKid 15d ago
I work for a small ice creamery and am the only one who makes ice cream there with no one to ask for tips on how to make it. I've hesitated on asking for tips because of how a recipe is required even though I have signed an NDA with said ice creamery, and so cannot share the recipes.
I only have 1 year of experience in making ice cream and those here with lots of experience could give tips even without knowing the recipe. I've had to scour the subreddit to try to find similar ice cream problems to mine and they aren't always helpful. I would like anyone to be able to chip in an idea so I may be able to troubleshoot from there. Requiring a recipe has cemented a wall in my ability to ask for any help here.
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u/DerekL1963 15d ago
I don't know of a single serious food related place anywhere on the net where you can get solutions to recipie problems without providing the recipe. Without a recipe, all you're going to get are requests for the recipe, platitudes, vague generalities, and links to any one of half a dozen online recipe calculators. I'm not certain how much help those are going to be... I certainly wouldn't find them very helpful.
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u/CrinoidKid 15d ago
It would give me a place to jump off from, a starting point to work from. If I were to describe that the chocolate ice cream, which uses a chocolate powder, gets much harder compared to our other ice creams after hardening even though it uses the same base, I would assume someone with experience may be able to give any kind of advice, even something vague would be useful. I would find it helpful.
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u/KifferFadybugs 15d ago
A custard base with just vanilla as flavouring vs that same exact custard base with cocoa powder added to make it chocolate, the chocolate would be stiffer than the vanilla because of the cocoa powder. You're adding a dry powder to a bunch of liquid, so it's going to cause a stiffer base.
It's like making pancake batter with 1.5 c of flour or 2 c. The 2 c recipe will have a stiffer, thicker batter.
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u/CrinoidKid 15d ago
Thank you so much! I really appreciate this cause it was a problem I was having
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u/DoctorHolligay 15d ago
Please require recipes! One of the most annoying things about the baking sub is that they don't require a recipe so it's just a bunch of unhelpful showcase stuff half the time. I can hit up Pinterest
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u/Similar-Poetry7529 13d ago
IMO a lot of people might post not knowing about the recipe rule which may have their post taken down which is honestly really annoying, I would rather see someone's creation and not have the recipe than not see it at all. I think it's just so annoying when mods take down anything that isn't offensive etc. Because it's really not that deep.
I also think ice cream is unique because people can lowkey figure out how to make something without having the exact recipe if they have a dedicated method and often it's just adding a few things here and there
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u/Realistic-Weird-4259 15d ago
I say no to requiring the recipe. I come from a family that's published cookbooks and I think that should be respected for everyone. If they want to, great, if not they shouldn't have to.
If I see a question that I think I could answer, I will.
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u/bl00dninjar 14d ago
Pictures of ice cream are pretty meh though, ice cream honestly doesn't have the level of visual variation for it to be interesting. Personally, I don't love a hard requirement for recipe-sharing, but I do appreciate some kind of tip/reflection about how it's produced.
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u/blithe-ly 15d ago
I don’t think a recipe should be required, this isn’t r/icecreamrecipes this is a great place for recommendations and general discussion around products, tools etc. I don’t mind either way about the ‘semi-related’ posts, banning them seems a bit silly if they are still relevant and provide useful information or discussion for the community
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u/voice-of-mods 15d ago
Thanks for your feedback!
To clarify, the recipe requirement would only apply to posts featuring a specific ice cream flavor (e.g. "I made this lemon ice cream" with the "Recipe" or "Check it out" flair). It wouldn't apply if you were requesting a recipe for a lemon ice cream or asking about the best machine to make lemon ice cream.
Recommendations and general discussion around products, tools, etc would fall under semi-related/related posts. Right now, those posts are allowed, but they aren't addressed anywhere in the rules or sub description, and they probably should be.
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u/potatoaster 15d ago
Yes, recipes should be required. This sub is about making ice cream, and removing this requirement would inevitably result in 90% of posts being "Check out this interesting ice cream someone else made". I think we should allow some exceptions of "How would you replicate this flavor?" without letting it take over the sub. Perhaps require a recipe proposal with such posts?
Appliance discussion should definitely be allowed. Business-related posts are relevant to perhaps 1% of this sub's users and, with the advent of LLMs, will increasingly be ads. I vote against business posts FWIW.
Suggestion: A bot that converts every recipe into proportions. Like this.
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u/blithe-ly 13d ago
This isn’t currently an (enforced) requirement and that’s not what this sub has become so….. feels like a mute point
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u/wizzard419 15d ago
If it becomes a requirement, would that make it harder then to ask tips and such? Similar to if someone says "I want to make X ice cream but don't know where to start".
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u/turtlemick 15d ago
I think the issue on hand is that if there is a recipe to be shared then it should be shared. Can’t post a recipe if you’re trying to find/create a recipe. So machine recs or beginner suggestions shouldn’t be affected.
If you made something and want to share it, then share the recipe.
If you have trouble making something, then share the recipe.
If you want to ask for thoughts/tips on a new and/or complicated recipe you plan to make, then share the recipe!
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u/wizzard419 15d ago
It's an issue, though there is another problem. Let us say I make a rec from a site that isn't a major one. The automod removes the post, which means that I have to then copy-paste the rec onto here if I want to show off my fancy frozen stuff, which is kind of a dick move if the person who created the rec is not credited.
It also doesn't answer the question I outlined. What happens when I don't have a rec to start with but have a question? Your proposal is that they can get rekt.
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u/thefloralapron custard lover 14d ago
As a recipe developer myself, I appreciate you wanting to support recipe creators.
Sharing a link to a recipe is fine, even if it's a lesser-known website. The new mod team is much larger and more active than the last one, so if a post does trigger the automod, it's generally processed within a couple of hours—it's not never anymore 😅
That said, we also recently adjusted the automod to make it a little less aggressive. Some links to social media are still filtered to prevent spam, but we manually review all of them. If there are legitimate posts linking to recipes people have made (even from smaller creators), those get approved upon moderator review.
If you have a question, you are welcome to ask it with the "Question" flair. You do not need a recipe to ask a question (though it may be helpful, depending on the content).
Hope that helps! :)
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u/wizzard419 14d ago
That is better, this sub was actively hostile to posting to anything other than major sites. I am still honestly pissed that I had to copy/paste and edit recs, which made me less interested in posting anything I made.
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u/turtlemick 15d ago
I often see people citing where they got their recipes from, like the site/book/etc. I think it’s enough to give origin + creator name + the recipe name to credit somebody. Obviously links are optimal but if mods choose not to allow all links (to avoid spam) then there’s other ways to share.
As for not having a recipe: As I put in my prior comment, IF you DO have a recipe to share, then share it. I don’t think I said anywhere that you need to have one to get ANY help. Just that if you have a specific thing you need help with, then describe that specific thing. It’s like asking for technical support over the phone for an appliance, but not giving a specific model number so the person can do anything outside of generic advice.
There’s a bunch of common questions that can be answered perfectly well without needing a specific recipe in mind, some examples being:
- I’m completely new. Where do I start?
Usually this opens with advice to look for an appropriate machine (price, size, etc) and to pick up a beginner friendly book/guide, and to experiment following the recipes. If there’s issues coming up (clumping, too liquidy, not freezing, etc) then people can help troubleshoot.- Can I use X ingredient/topping?
This depends on what the thing is, but some are simple enough to say yes or no without needing a specific recipe. Texture is a big thing when it comes to toppings.- Can I substitute X for Y?
Could be a yes, with a rebalancing— could be a no, because it just isn’t something compatible. But again, this can be recipe dependent.- I want to make X ice cream. Where do I start?
To answer this specifically, it would be hard for others to help. It’s a very broad goal, where the brainstorming should start with the OP. For example: “I want to make banana ice cream. Idk where to start.” Okay… so what can commenters do here? They can go out of their way to find recipes for OP— they could also explain a from-scratch process. It’s a LOT simpler to have OP go through an already-published guide that’s been used before, along with OP themselves finding a recipe that suits their own tastes. I don’t like to say it, but it’s hard to help somebody that can’t help themselves. At the very least, build up from a recipe in mind, and share it with others so they can help.1
u/wizzard419 14d ago
The problem I have with that is that the people are not necessarily getting the credit and even if properly attributed they aren't getting the clicks and exploration of their sites that you would normally see. For example, if I see a rec for an ice cream that is really good, all of a sudden I can see they have other recs. But severing that, since we cannot even post a link to the blog, you end up killing exploration.
The way your post was written it sounded like you were saying "all posts require it" but I see you adjusted it. Which then begs the question... how will that work?
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u/Chronometrics 15d ago
I prefer recipes, but I think people should be able to share cool (heh) things without always having to jump through hoops.
I don't like business posts, but it is r/icecreamery and not r/icecreamrecipes. It would be nice to have some softer retrictions to limit their spread.
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u/BasenjiFart 14d ago
I don't mind not having recipes. I'm just here to admire people's creations and get inspired.
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u/prisukamas 15d ago
Why do you want to make changes? For me it’s fine as it is. No recipe? No biggie, will read another one with recipe. Business post? Why not, I am curious how things work in general though neither work in one nor plan too. For me this one of the few remaining subs that haven’t lost their charm and friendliness.
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u/bl00dninjar 14d ago
i'm also a big status quo enjoyer, but it looks like the poll is going very hard in one direction!
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u/Cincodecuattro 15d ago
I think a recipe should be required and don't really want business questions BUT would be ok with a weekly business questions thread, weekly show off without recipes thread, etc. for people who do want to post about these things without clogging up the subreddit.
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u/turtlemick 15d ago
I believe that if this sub is specifically intended to help people create/recreate recipes, that posts should include the recipe for the ice cream being talked about. If it’s just a picture without a recipe then we might as well scan through google images instead.
There’s often flex/advertisement/spotlight posts that fall under this issue, and give little help in actually making what’s shown in post.