Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Makes Good

I purchased this ice cream maker because it was the only one that I could find that makes two batches of ice cream or dessert(different flavors) at a time. My husband loves premium ice cream and was always complaining about the price, the small size of the containers, and the available flavors. I was concerned that he was eating dairy products which were not organic and ice cream with additives. All of these issues were addressed with this ice cream maker.

I conducted extensive research prior to ordering this ice cream maker and I was unable to find it in a retail store. I ended up ordering it off the web which worked out well as I received it in three days.

This ice cream maker comes with a recipe book which is very helpful if you have never made ice cream before (I hadn't). The recipe book includes recipes for ice cream, sorbets, sherbets, frozen yogurt and mixed frozen drinks (with or without alcohol). The unit itself is quite attractive.

There are two canisters with the units which must be frozen for six to ten hours prior to making the frozen dessert. I keep both canisters in the freezer all of the time, so that I can make a product without waiting. Each of the canisters also uses a removable plastic mixer part which stirs the product as it freezes and a plastic top which covers the cannister while the dessert is being made. All of the parts are easy to clean. This is an important aspect of any product that I purchase.

Vanilla ice cream is the easiest to make, while chocolate requires an additional step. The recipe for chocolate ice cream requires chopping the chocolate in a blender and mixing it with sugar and hot milk. This mixture has to be cooled prior to making it into ice cream.

After the dessert is made, the canisters should be emptied using only soft plastic utensils like a spatula because the interior scratches very easily. In addition, the product along the cannister walls tends to freeze harder than the product in the center, so it is more difficult to remove. I have found a rubber spatula is the most effective tool for transferring the product to a storage container.

We have used whole milk, juice, half and half, and heavy cream in different combinations and all have worked well. My husband likes lots of nuts, chocolate, fruit, etc. in his ice cream. The instructions for this ice cream maker state that these should be added during the last five minutes of mixing for best results, otherwise they can jam up the mixer. In addition, the pieces added are supposed to be no bigger than a chocolate chip. Since this isn't really feasible, I have found that it is easiest to add these items when I am transferring the ice cream to a storage container rather than add them to the cannister.

It takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to make the product. Products made with juice tend to freeze much faster (20 minutes) and products made with cream or half and half tend to take longer (25 to 30 minutes). The unit doesn't come with a timer, so you can either judge whether the product is ready by looking at it or set a timer.

I learned the hard way not to take the plastic mixer out of the cannister before the product is ready. It is virtually impossible to get the mixer part back in the cannister because product immediately freezes on the cannister walls. The only option is to transfer the product to the other cannister (with the mixer already in place) and continue mixing.

The only other negative with this ice cream maker is the noise. It is noisy while the product is mixing. Fortunately, the length of time it takes to make a dessert is short so the noise doesn't last long.

Update:

After owning this ice cream maker for more than a year now, I do have some additional comments about it.

It is very difficult to remove ice cream from the paddles because of the way that they are designed. The only effective way I have found to remove the ice cream from the paddles is with your fingers, which is not particularly appealing. The company should have used a simpler paddle design.

In addition, if you leave ice cream sitting for even 5 minutes after it is finished it is very difficult to remove from the sides of the freezing container. Because the container scratches so easily, it is difficult to find a tool which is tough enough to remove the frozen ice cream from the sides but doesn't damage (scratch) the freezing container. I have destroyed several wooden spoons and rubber spatulas trying to do this. If your ice cream is not for children to consume, putting in about a tablespoon of liquor (brandy, amaretto, etc.), after the ice cream is finished but before you remove it from the freezing container, helps to raise the freezing temperature so that you can remove the ice cream more easily. Otherwise, you are stuck with "stuck" ice cream.

Finally, I have found many much better recipes for ice cream than those provided in the recipe book. The recipe book tends to make ice creams which freeze very hard. Through a variety of means, I have developed recipes which make much smoother, creamier ice cream.