The ice cream mix calculator on the Dairy Science and Food Technology website uses advanced mathematics to calculate the ingredients required to convert a specification e.g. 8% fat, 11.1% MSNF, 13% sweetener, 3% CSS, I % egg yolk, 0.5% stabiliser into a recipe. The subscription service enables users to access the calculator, save calculations and return to access or edit the saved calculations.
This is an educational service designed to help students and product developers to work with a range of ingredients e.g. different sources of milk solids and to determine the weights of the ingredients required to make a mix to a given composition.
How do I pay for a subscription and do I need a PayPal account?
You can make a secure payment using any credit or debit card supported by PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account. Note while PayPal accepts Echeques it takes 7-days for these to clear and you may get an error message when attempting to log on. If this occurs let me know and I will send you Log In details. If you cannot use PayPal where you live, we can arrange to accept payments by Western Union, Skrill (formerly MoneyBookers), cheque, money order or by bank transfer. You can make a secure payment using any credit or debit card supported by PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account.
How much should I donate?
This is indicated on the Calculator.
What happens after I donate?
You will be taken to the calculator where you can immediately start to use it. You will also receive an Email giving your login details. Please retain this information, this is needed to access the service again. Be particularly careful to enter your Email address correctly. This is required if you need to reset your password. You also need to remember the name you used (user name) when registering! You can reset your password anytime using your Email address and user name.
The password generated by the calculator is encrypted to protect your data, you can go to your user area at any time and change this to a more memorable password. If you forget your password, you can reset the password. However, you will be sent a further secure encrypted password that you can change again to a password of your choice. Obviously, there is a balance between security and ease of use!
When logging in you input your username (not your Email address!) and your password.
What happens when my subscription is up?
When you log in you will be reminded that your subscription has ended and allowed to subscribe again. Your stored calculations and your information will normally be removed approximately 1-month after your subscription has elapsed. To reduce website running costs I have to manage storage space to manage running costs low. If you want to access any stored information you will have to pay a further subscription to use the service.
I need a customised calculator solution. Can you customise the calculator for me?
Probably! Please send me an Email at webmaster at this Domain explaining your requirements. Please include custom calculator in the title of your Email.
Can I be certain that the calculator will be available all the time during my subscription?
No. The Internet is not 100% reliable. From time to time all web-based applications can be unavailable due to Internet access problems that are completely outside the control of website owners. This site is hosted on a server provided by Web Whiz, which is exceptionally reliable. If there is any significant downtime I will provide additional access at no charge.
Do you provide technical support?
Yes. If you have a problem I will try to help. I will try and respond to donors within 2-working days except during vacations and when I am working outside the UK.
Is the calculator warranted?
No. You use it at your own risk. Any data that you store will be safely and securely stored. The hosting company has elaborate data backup services to ensure data is not lost if servers go down. However, if the servers fail your stored data could be lost and you should keep copies of your data. Webwiz, the web host for this site uses state-of-the-art database backup facilities and I have never had a problem due to data loss or security problems.
Why will the calculator not perform some calculations?
The calculator cannot perform mathematically impossible calculations! There is a limit to the number of MSNF and fat sources that the calculator is permitted to process. If these limits are exceeded you will get an error message. Similarly, I have made it impossible to undertake some wrong calculations. But be aware of the maxims concerning data quality inputs and what comes out!
How accurate are the calculations?
You can check the accuracy by looking at the balances in the output tables. Note that you cannot vary MSNF with some recipes! This is not a calculator issue! If your inputs have less, for example, MSNF than your target value, then you cannot have more MSNF than you put in!
Refunds
Refunds for software services are not issued. If you encounter problems I will work with you to resolve any issues. If in doubt discuss with me before subscribing.
Qualifications
Only use this service if you understand that you assume all risks! You use the service "as is" and accept full responsibility for your use of the results.
Access to free resources
Subscription users have exclusive access to resources, including some downloads that normally require payment. A list of current resources is available here.