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Ice cream makers/machines

mhadam

By mhadam
in Kitchen Consumer

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Tammi Townsley

Tammi Townsley

Posted
Posted

America's Test Kitchen recommends Whynter SNÖ Professional Ice Cream Maker Model IC-2L, at amazon.com for $210. It is self refrigerating and makes 2 quarts in 40 minutes, ready to eat. It is also the most quiet of all the machines they tested.

Read the reviews on Amazon. They are not kind. I checked ATK and found the review was done in 2010.

IEATRIO

IEATRIO

Posted
Posted

Read the reviews on Amazon. They are not kind. I checked ATK and found the review was done in 2010.

 

The Whynter appears identical to the Lello Gelato -- which I have -- but according to Amazon the Lello weighs significantly more, indicating that the inside might be different.  My Lello is far from my favorite piece of equipment, but I consider it minimally acceptable if you pre-cool it, and process no more than .5-.75 liters at a time.  At best, I can get a batch time of about 12 minutes, but that time can triple if the full capacity is used.  I would like to upgrade some day, but I can't imagine ever going back to a machine without its own refrigeration. 

 

And speaking of ATK reviews . . . I don't put as much faith in those as I used to, as I have found too many instances where my own experiences disagree with their conclusions.

  • 4 weeks later...
rexster314

rexster314

Posted
Posted

horseflesh, I've had the Breville machine for just about a month now, and am totally satisfied with the machine. We've owned a Simac Ice Cream Boy since around 1987 or so but used it occasionally due to the pain in the butt due to the non-removable canister. I've made butter pecan, chocolate, mango, vanilla with chocolate covered bacon bits, dreamsicle with pineapple chunks, black cherry and all have been crowd pleasers. Easy clean up, settings for hardness of the ice cream is really handy, and it plays the ice cream man song when it's done! 

  • Like 2
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

horseflesh, I've had the Breville machine for just about a month now, and am totally satisfied with the machine. We've owned a Simac Ice Cream Boy since around 1987 or so but used it occasionally due to the pain in the butt due to the non-removable canister. I've made butter pecan, chocolate, mango, vanilla with chocolate covered bacon bits, dreamsicle with pineapple chunks, black cherry and all have been crowd pleasers. Easy clean up, settings for hardness of the ice cream is really handy, and it plays the ice cream man song when it's done! 

 

Don't know to whom you are replying but the Cuisinart ICE-100 is excellent.  I share your pain about the Simac non-removable bowl, although I must say the Simac made good ice cream.  Welcome to eGullet!

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

horseflesh

horseflesh

Posted
Posted

horseflesh, I've had the Breville machine for just about a month now, and am totally satisfied with the machine. 

 

Thank you for the feedback. 

 

This is still a tough decision!

 

My thoughts so far--

 

The ICE-100 seems like the safe bet among the affordable compressor units. Based on scary reviews I'm dismissing the Lello 4070 and 4090 and apparent variants such as Whynter. 

 

 

I wish I could find a real showdown between the Breville and the ICE-100. If the Breville made product as well as the ICE-100 it might be worth  $100 for the extra capacity and more useful keep-cold feature. I entertain a lot and I'd really like the ability to serve from the unit. 

 

The next step up seems to be the Lello 4080 Musso Lussino ($700, 1.5 qt) which is allegedly much different than the cheaper Lellos. However, again, there are no good reviews of the unit in comparison to the ICE-100 or Breville. (I did find a small blurb here, though.)

 

I'm also apprehensive about reliability and repairs on the 4080. I suspect it will be easier to get a Cuisinart fixed than a Lello, and I do not have any confidence that the $700 4080 will be more reliable than any other non-commercial model. 

Nougat

Nougat

Posted
Posted (edited)

Does anyone know what the difference between a batch gelato machine and batch ice cream machine?

Edited by Nougat (log)
Mjx

Mjx

Posted
Posted

. . . .  I didn't realize the difference was in the machine vs. the recipe.

There isn't. The extent of the difference between Italian and traditional US ice creams is roughly that between Philadelphia and traditional US ice creams, and not every place that makes ice cream in Italy uses the identical base ingredients or churning times/temperatures (not to mention, in Italy, every bloody thing from Vivoli's best creations to the Algidas you can get in the freeze case of any convenience store are called 'gelato').

 

I'd just get an ice cream maker that offers a decent range of time and temperature settings, and find a good base recipe.

  • Like 1

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
Manager, eG Forums
mscioscia@egstaff.org

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted

Gelato means something different in every Italian region, and probably to every Italian pastry chef. The one thing gelatos typically have in common is low overrun. So any machine sold as a gelato machine is going to be capable of spinning low overrun ice cream. Likewise, any machine that can be set for low overrun can be used to make a traditional gelato.

 

Since I like ice creams that are low on overrun, the distinction between the two doesn't mean much to me. My Kitchen Aid attachment tends toward low overrun, so I could call my stuff gelato if I wanted.

 

In the commercial world, the Italian Carpigiani machines are top of the heap. These things can be set to whatever overrun and whatever drawing temperature you want, and then get there automatically. A pastry chef I worked with said his spinning times were something like 6 minutes.

Notes from the underbelly

Nougat

Nougat

Posted
Posted

Gelato means something different in every Italian region, and probably to every Italian pastry chef. The one thing gelatos typically have in common is low overrun. So any machine sold as a gelato machine is going to be capable of spinning low overrun ice cream. Likewise, any machine that can be set for low overrun can be used to make a traditional gelato.

 

Since I like ice creams that are low on overrun, the distinction between the two doesn't mean much to me. My Kitchen Aid attachment tends toward low overrun, so I could call my stuff gelato if I wanted.

 

In the commercial world, the Italian Carpigiani machines are top of the heap. These things can be set to whatever overrun and whatever drawing temperature you want, and then get there automatically. A pastry chef I worked with said his spinning times were something like 6 minutes.My work has a Carpigiani machine to produce gelato (and a lot of it) for other properties and a Pacojet for the onsite restaurant.  I need to send the Pacojet for service and I wanted to what difference the Carpigiani that will make.  I've yet to source a manual and no one else here seems to know the full potential of the Carpigiani machine. 

Thanks for your responses!  My work has a Carpigiani machine to produce gelato (and a lot of it) for other properties and a Pacojet for the onsite restaurant.  I need to send the Pacojet for service.  I've yet to locate a manual for the Carpigiani machine.  I'm new here and the gelato has been made under one setting that never changes.  Do all Carpigiani machines have adjustable overrun?

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted

Do all Carpigiani machines have adjustable overrun?

I don't know ... it's just a feature mentioned to me by a pastry chef. I just looked around on their site and they sell way more products than I expected. Details about specific features aren't so easy to find.

Notes from the underbelly

teonzo

teonzo

Posted
Posted

Gelato means something different in every Italian region, and probably to every Italian pastry chef. The one thing gelatos typically have in common is low overrun. So any machine sold as a gelato machine is going to be capable of spinning low overrun ice cream. Likewise, any machine that can be set for low overrun can be used to make a traditional gelato.

 

 

Uhm, this is not correct, Mjx wrote it right. Here in Italy the word "gelato" is simply a general definition for all that kind of preparations (water based, dairy + egg, only dairy, artisanal or industrial... everything). Most professionals look for medium/high overrun, not for low (if we are speaking about traditional gelato in Italy).

 

 

 

Teo

Teo

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted (edited)

Uhm, this is not correct, Mjx wrote it right. Here in Italy the word "gelato" is simply a general definition for all that kind of preparations (water based, dairy + egg, only dairy, artisanal or industrial... everything). Most professionals look for medium/high overrun, not for low (if we are speaking about traditional gelato in Italy).

 

 

 

Teo

I don't doubt that you are right, since nothing is standardized anywhere in Italy, and gelato is such a generic term. That being said, I've never encountered high overrun gelato, at least from gelaterias in Italy. And in the U.S., every gelateria and Italian pastry chef I've encountered makes very low overrun product. The other qualities that people debate endlessly (can it have cream? eggs? corn starch? lots of fat? little fat? etc.) seem completely variable.

 

Which is just to say that if "gelato" means anything at all, it's most likely to mean ice cream without much air. And there's plenty of ice cream without much air that doesn't get called gelato ...

 

Edited to add: Carpigiani makes different machines designated for ice cream and gelato (and some for both). There isn't much helpful info on their site, so I wrote an email asking for clarification. I'll post the answer here.

Edited by paulraphael (log)

Notes from the underbelly

Nougat

Nougat

Posted
Posted

The Carpigiani I have is model LB 502 G (I'm guessing "G" for "Gelato").   The manual does not differentiate between ice cream and gelato.  It only uses the term "ice cream." The machine doesn't have adjustable overrun but adjustable "Consistency" on a 1-10 "Hard-O-Tronic" scale, with 10 being the hardest.  There is no mention of overrun in the manual.  It does say "High butter fat ice cream may require a higher consistency, while ice cream with low fat content (such as shebert) requires a lower consistency setting." After reading the manual I decided to test out a trustworthy recipe of standard vanilla ice cream.  I set the consistency on 8.  The ice cream came out smooth, creamy, and dense at first.  As I continue to dispense the ice cream became rough looking and had a broken cream texture.  Maybe I should've gone with a lower consistency?

pastrygirl

pastrygirl

Posted
Posted

Maybe, or use less fat. Sounds like it was just starting to break and turn to butter. Those machines do spin very quickly, I used one in CA that spun 3 quarts in 7 minutes. You have to be vigilant.

  • 1 month later...
Ruben Porto

Ruben Porto

Posted
Posted

Hi horseflesh, sorry I caught this entry late. The Breville and the ICE-100 have the same capacity: both make a litre of ice cream at a time. I found that both made ice cream that was identical in texture: very smooth, creamy, and dense. I would probably go with the ICE-100 over the Breville because 1. it's cheaper, and 2. the big plastic pin in the Breville's freezer bowl makes emptying a bit tricky.

 

Here are my thoughts on the Lello 4080:

 

http://icecreamscience.com/lello-4080-musso-lussino-ice-cream-maker/

 

Hope that helps. Ruben

Ruben Porto

Ruben Porto

Posted
Posted

Hi Jo,

 

I hope your ice cream adventures are going well. I have a quick favour to ask. I have been working on a recipe that includes skim milk powder but does bring the heating time down from 60 minutes to 35. I know the 60 minute method can be cumbersome and I want to try and get it down. I'm pretty happy with the results that I have got so far but I would love a second opinion if you would like to give it a go? If so, please let me know the percentage of fat in the milk and cream that you use.

 

All the best, Ruben 

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted

Is anyone using a compressor machine with spinning times under 20 minutes? That would be a requirement for me. 10 minutes would be even better.

This is for a drawing temperature of -5°C. Capacity wouldn't have to be more than 2 quarts.

Notes from the underbelly

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

For best results I pull my Cuisinart 100 at 15 minutes.  I've stopped measuring but pretty sure the churned base is not as cold as -5 deg C.  Does not seem to matter.  At 15 minutes in the Cuisinart I get good results.  Less so if I spin longer.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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