Ice cream machines

[DawgHouse]

I have an electric ice cream machine but it requires ice and salt. I am in the market for a good ice cream machine, about 1.5 quarts; one that doesn't require the ice/salt concoction. Any recommendations?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. There are many of them ... the new ones (no salt) use a eutectic solution

in the double walls of the bowl. You freeze (usually for 24 hours) it and it serves the purpose of the ice/salt mix in freezing the liquid ice cream or sorbet. But you only get one batch ..... that's it.

I have an accessory for my Kitchenaid mixer that works this way. This one:


But they also make stand alone models. I had one by Krups (a normally trustworthy brand) that was crap. A nut fell off a screw inside the unit, it made a huge noise, and the motor promptly jammed. Naturally, it was juuuuuust out of warranty. :grr: So, based solely on my own experience, I'd eliminate them. I've looked at Cuisnart's machine and it seemed pretty nice. But like the Krups, it was all plastic. It did, however, appear to be a better design (better in how the motor interfaced with the beater and bowl. The Krups' design should have been my first tipoff that it wasn't long for this world.

I'm sure there are other brands, too.

As to the way they work (the ones with the eutectic solution filled bowls) they seem to juuuuust barely get the product frozen before they get too warm to freeze it anymore. With any of them, you have to take the frozen (more slushy than frozen) mix and harden it in the freezer before you serve it.

In many ways, it all comes down to price. I don't know what you want to spend.

This guy is a home unit but exceedingly high end. A Musso, made in Italy. It is about $600! It uses an actual refrigeration system inside it to make the bowl freeze. This will do batch after batch without the need to refreeze the bowl for 24 hours.


DeLonghi is Italian, too. This unit, also self contained, is about $400. If you're price is in this range, I'd go the extra $200 for the Musso. It is made to a much higher standard - probably more than $200 worth. This one has a lot of plastic on it.


This one's by Simac, also made in Italy. Also self contained. It is also about $400, and also all plastic, where the Musso is stainless steel.


Then there's a big jump down to the eutectic models. This is the Cuisinart. $50.


Here's the Krups I had. Its actually about 10 bux more than the Cuisinart. You can see from the pictures that the Cuisinart has the motor built into the base. The Krups has the motor as a removable part of the head. Bad design, I think.


Then there's this Donvier. Its about $40. It uses the eutectic bowl, but is a hand cranker. I don't get this. Why a hand crank. Reliability? Exercise? Anyway ... its an option ....

There are comparable products from many other makers, too. Panasonic, Rival, etc.

In the end, I see only two choices ... at the top is the Musso and at the 'consumer' end, the Cuisinart.

Or, just go here .....

or follow this guy ...


:)

[Sparkly]

2. That $600 Italian number?

Don't EVEN think about it.

[DawgHouse]

6. Since I will only use it occasionally

I'm thinking the Cuisinart is more in the price range I'm looking for. Also, it needs to have a fairly small footprint since I have limited counter space. And yes, I could go to Haagen Dazs, but frankly I'm sort of a gadget geek ;) and think it would be wonderfully mystical to prepare amazing things at home from time to time.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. Cuisinart ice cream maker

Is my tool of choice. Makes ice cream in less than a half hour. I've made sorbets, custards, and low fat ice creams, they all come out pretty good.

[politicat]

4. I have a donvier and I love it.

It also makes a GREAT ice bucket for chilling wine and vodka, but don't spread that one around....

We've made just about everything we can come up with in it, including once - and only once - a wasabi ice cream that Mr. P found to go on steak. It was ... different. (Not a sweet ice cream.)

My favorite is lemon ice (or when Mr. P is away, Strawberry-lemon ice). It's so easy it's sad, but here's the concept:

1 L club soda, sparking water or seltzer
2 large lemons, organic if possible, scrubbed well. Meyers lemons are wonderful here
1/2 c Splenda
1/4 c. granulated fructose (this is far sweeter than sugar, which means I can use less for fewer calories)
1/2 c water

Zest the lemons; chop the zest fine. In a small, heavy saucepan, mix the lemon zest, the fructose and the water; bring to a near-boil. Turn off and let cool. When cool, add the lemon juice and Splenda.

In the Donvier, (with the paddle in place) pour in the soda and the lemon mixture. (If making strawberry lemon ice, add 1/2 c pureed strawberries here, and if they're not sweet berries, add another 2 T of splenda.) Crank until sorbet in texture, spoon out and freeze until firm. Let the Donvier defrost.

It takes about 10 minutes of cranking. The downside is that you must have freezer space for the bucket. The upside - no "bingo wings". It's better than lifting weights to firm up flabby upper arms....

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Hey P-cat ... ::::raising hand and waving it :::: ... I gotta question ...

What made ya choose the Donvier? In terms of cost, it so close to a motorized jobbie, my guess is it wasn't price. The reasons I can see to choose a hand cranker over a motorized type is ...... reliability ...... it is simpler and therefore has less 'stuff' that can break or maladjust, or misalign, or just plain jump overboard. Or ..... the crank has an allure ... connection to older, calmer times (tymes?). Or ...... the 'gym' factor .... cranking = exercise = Popeye arms?

[politicat]

8. Space, fitness, reliability, and environmental ethics.

Okay, I'll fess up. I really hate having anything electric when I can reasonably do the work myself. So example: I don't have an electric broom because I have a regular one. I have a breadmaker only because it uses less energy than heating up my oven. I own a stovetop toaster and a toasting fork so I don't have to use the toaster oven for a single slice, and use the toaster oven instead of the big oven for small jobs because it's more efficient. It's just this weird quirk in my personality.

Also, when I bought the donvier, the electric ones were about $150 and made ice cream for a dozen. There are two of us in the house.... we'd never eat that much ice cream before it got icky. The Donvier was the only one I could find that made ice cream for four. I've had the thing for 4 years or so.

It doesn't break, and I don't have to take a motor apart and rewind coils when it burns out. That's always a good thing in my head. I hate having to fix little motors or replace them, and I don't throw those type of things away; the heavy metal content in a motor is really gross, so I have to find a place that will take it and reclaim the motor, and that usually ends up costing me, so that gets figured into cost of ownership for any appliance I buy. (Thus, I tend to buy manual appliances if I can.)

It's better for me - the cranking has some childhood memories that make me very happy; my great-grandparents and my great-great-aunt and uncle let me make ice cream with the old cranker several times a summer. So there's that bit of therapeusis, being in a good place within my memories. Plus, I get to burn some of the calories I'm going to be consuming. It's a soothing activity, and lets me earn my treat. (And with my bad metabolism, I have to earn treats. I can't just eat something because I want it.)

So, lots of reasons, but most of them boil down to the fact that I'm a freak.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. "most of them boil down to the fact that I'm a freak"

But you're our freak .... and we love ya! :hug:

[politicat]

12. Thanks! I hope so.

That made me laugh (and it helped a LOT.)

Yesterday was a bad DU day.

[DawgHouse]

7. Is this the one that you only crank a few times

and then you leave it and come back and give it a few more turns? Or do you crank it for ten minutes nonstop. Not that I can't spare ten minutes to crank and the "bingo wings" comment is certainly a selling point. :)

[politicat]

9. Yes and no....

If what you're making is a cream based dish, then yes, you can crank a few times, walk away, repeat. If it's a water or juice based dish, like sorbet or an ice, then it really needs constant cranking. However, I find that cream-based frozen dishes have a better texture if they're constantly cranked, so I just get the bit of the workout.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. So true

However, I find that cream-based frozen dishes have a better texture if they're constantly cranked. In fact, I have always heard that the best commercial ice creams are always finished by hand.

I have a Cuisinart electric that I bought at an estate sale still in the box for $12.50. I also have a White Mountain hand cranker my husband gave me for a birthday present eons ago. We haven't used it since the kids grew up, but I still have it stored away & am really looking forward to making it with the grandchildren. I still have fond memories of neighborhood get togethers & hand cranking ice cream & children fighting over who gets to lick the dasher!

best

edited for typos

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