Method and apparatus for producing and dispensing aerated or blended fluid products

A method of producing and dispensing an aerated food product comprising the steps of

• mixing together a liquid and a gas to produce an atomized fluid stream comprised of liquid particles;
• flowing said fluid stream through a confining passage so that the liquid particles coalesce and become aerated before the fluid exits said passage;
• depositing aerated fluid exiting said passage on a surface so that the fluid is relatively evenly distributed on said surface as a thin layer;
• cooling the layer on said surface so as to at least partially freeze the layer and
• removing the layer from said surface without mixing the layer with the unfrozen fluid exiting said passage.

A method of producing and dispensing an aerated fluid product comprising the steps of

• providing a liquid;
• providing a gas;
• mixing together the liquid and the gas to produce a fluid mixture;
• providing a surface;
• depositing the fluid mixture onto the surface as a relatively thin fluid layer;
• cooling the fluid layer on the surface so that the layer at least partially solidifies, and
• removing the solidified layer from said surface without intermixing the layer with the fluid mixture.