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LOVE IT!
I purchased this ice cream machine a few months ago. My first few attempts at making ice cream were disappointing. I followed the recipes straight from the book and the ice creams were entirely too runny to consume. I had to freeze the ice cream after making it, which significantly lengthened the duration of time required to make your ice cream with this machine. After a few trial and errors, I came up with several solutions to the problem:
(1) Mix the ingredients together and freeze for an hour prior to putting them in the ice cream machine to churn for 30 minutes. This does not necessarily cut down on the time needed to make the ice cream but does allow you to eat it straight after the machine finishes churning.
or
(2) Use a custard base by mixing 4 egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk together and heating until thick. After making the custard, procede with the recipe in the book accordingly and the ice cream will be thick and wonderful!
or
(3) Use a different recipe book.
The machine is such an improvement to the days of churning the ice cream manually. It is so simple; You merely keep the inside bowl frozen then place your ice cream mixture in it when you are ready and turn the machine "on" and wait 30 minutes. As I said, the ice cream recipes in the book have all produced very runny ice cream for me so there is a little extra time needed if you prefer a thicker ice cream. However, the frustrating part of this was merely figuring out how to tweak the recipe to make it work. Once that was done (using options (1) or (2) above), the process was simple.
The machine is a little loud (I would not use it while anyone was sleeping or a infant was napping) but given that it only needs 20-30 minutes to work its magic, it is manageable. One thing I was concerned about was the size of the machine and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how compact this machine is. It is not nearly as large as I anticipated which makes storeage much easier. Like other reviewers, I highly recommend keeping the freezer bowl in the freezer (in a plastic bag to prevent freezer burn) at all times so it is ready when you decide to make some ice cream. If you don't, you should expect a full 24 hours for the bowl to freeze before making the ice cream. The ice cream will not make properly if the bowl is not completely frozen.
I have added two pictures of the chocolate ice cream I made a few weeks ago (see above in the pictures of the product). It was incredible. You can see the amazing thickness and creaminess of the ice cream.
If I had written this review after the first week, I would have given this machine 2 stars. But...after some trial and error, I am incredibly happy with this purchase and give it an easy 5 stars. If you love ice cream, you will not be disappointed.
On a side note...I have two young infantren (ages 3 and 5) who love helping me make the ice cream. It is a great family thing to do together. My girls are so proud to eat the end product of what they made from scratch. In addition, I have taught them about measurements (i.e., a cup of sugar, a tblsp of vanilla, a tsp of this or that) which has turned the fun project into something they can also learn with which is nice.
In short...GREAT product! I would recommend to anyone!
[Thursday, July 17, 2008]
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Yum! Quick, easy, and delicious
In the past month -- since first taking this out of the box -- I have made 5 batches of ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt. Every batch has turned out amazingly well and the the ice cream keeps very well. I have kept the ice cream in the freezer for 2+ weeks and it tastes as good on the last day as it does on the first. The machine is a bit noisy, but since it only takes 25 minutes to make the ice cream, it's not a problem at all. I couldn't be happier with this purchase and highly recommend it.
[Wednesday, July 16, 2008]
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Wonderful Ice cream maker
I purchased this after taste my neice amazing Ice fruit, so she gave me an excellent recipe. I am so glad i bought this one. You can have ice cream any time and be creative. It is so great. Easy to use, makes enough ice cream, and very fast. It has a beautiful design, easy to clean.It is noisy, but at the end after 25 minutes you can enjoy a delicious ICE CREAM.
I could taste my home made Ice cream very fast, because of the delivery. I really apreciate this. From Caracas- Venezuela, thanks a lot
Rosa Elvira Melo de Fantoni
[Tuesday, July 15, 2008]
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