Method for making ice cream

1. A method for making ice cream, comprising:

providing a machine for mixing and cooling of ice cream equipped with:

a processing container defining a processing chamber and including a rotary mixer rotating inside the processing chamber;

a thermal treatment plant, configured for being activated, selectively and alternatively, in a heating mode or a cooling mode, respectively, for heating and cooling the processing chamber;

providing the thermal treatment plant is a plant operates according to a thermodynamic cycle and comprises a circuit with an operating fluid;

providing the circuit for a circulation of the operating fluid comprises a compressor, a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, and a throttling valve;

operating the thermodynamic cycle, wherein the circuit further comprises an inversion valve for adjusting of the thermodynamic cycle between a first configuration corresponding to the cooling mode of the thermal treatment plant, wherein the first heat exchanger acts as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger acts as a condenser,

and a second configuration corresponding to the heating mode of the thermal treatment plant, wherein the first heat exchanger acts as a condenser and the second heat exchanger acts as an evaporator;

inserting a basic mixture for ice cream inside the processing chamber

adjusting the inversion valve to the second configuration;

while the inversion valve is in the second configuration, heating the basic mixture inside the processing chamber to subject the basic mixture to a thermal treatment inside the processing chamber to deactivate any infectious agents;

adjusting the inversion valve to the first configuration;

while the inversion valve is in the first configuration, keeping inside the processing chamber the basic mixture and maintaining the basic mixture at a temperature of between 2° C. and 6° C. for a predetermined maintaining time of greater than two hours;

while the inversion valve is in the first configuration, cooling the basic mixture previously subjected to the thermal treatment inside the processing chamber and, at the same time, rotating the rotary mixer, so as to allow incorporation of air in the basic mixture and make an ice cream product in the processing chamber;

extracting at least one portion of the ice cream product from the processing chamber to obtain the ice cream.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the heating the basic mixture inside the processing chamber is a pasteurizing thermal treatment.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the cooling the basic mixture inside the processing chamber comprises cooling the basic mixture to a temperature of between −15° C. and 0° C.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the cooling the basic mixture inside the processing chamber comprises cooling the mixture to a temperature of between −15° C. and −5° C.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the heating the basic mixture inside the processing chamber comprises heating the basic mixture to a temperature of between 60° C. and 85° C.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal treatment plant comprises a single compressor.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal treatment plant is configured to perform, while the inversion valve is in the second configuration, a hot gas thermal cycle.