Small-batch (1~2qt) ice cream machines anyone? Good ice cream recipe sites or forums?

[Sid Post]

I have seen various small-batch ice cream machines from companies like Ninja and Cuisinart.  Are these any good?  What models are best of breed without needing a home equity loan to purchase?  Which ones will make Italian ice cream varieties (Artisanal Gelato)?

 

Also, are there any good forums on this site or somewhere else that have good ice cream recipes?  I'm open to anything from plain old Vanilla to more advanced recipes like you see in Italian Gelatos.

 

TIA,

Sid

[blue_dolphin]

You might peruse this topic about the Ninja Creami.  Quite a few of us have one. 

And this topic on homemade ice cream may also be of interest.

 

 

Edited July 6 by blue_dolphin
Wrong link (log)

[blue_dolphin]

I'll go ahead and add my 2 cents on the the Ninja Creami.  You specified a batch size of 1 - 2 qts.  The Creami containers hold either 1 pint for the original or 1.5 pts for the newer machine.  Neither are going to make the batch size you specified although it's possible to prep and freeze multiple Creami containers (assuming you've purchased them) and spin them one after the other. 

 

If you want to learn about the art and science of ice cream making, a true ice cream machine is probably the better choice. There will likely be a learning curve. 

If you want to play around with lots of flavors, make quick sorbets or frozen yogurt from summer fruit, those small Creami containers are a plus.  You can spin as little as 1/3 of a pint.  You don't really need to learn a lot about ice cream to use the thing. 

You may need to put stuff back in the freezer to firm up if the spin cycle warmed your mix up too much or you might need a quick re-spin if your ice cream has gotten too hard sitting in the freezer but it's usually pretty edible once you've gotten that down. 

If you do get a Creami, I'd recommend skipping their recipes, unless they've improved them a lot.  I tend to use ice cream recipes from my cookbooks or that handy sorbet template that was shared here a while back. 

 

 

[Sid Post]

Those sizes/quantities of the Creami sound like they might be a good option for me to do smaller batches and test out recipes.  1~2 qt sizing was more for small settings for a guest or two or when I go to my friend's house.  A second ice cream container might make it a good solution for me.

 

I really appreciate those links too!

[Susanwusan]

Another thing to consider is do they make the ice-cream or do they break down the frozen block and make creamy the ice-cream you made and put in the freezer.  And then there's the method of how it is done.  I didn't like one I bought once that you had to put a sort of freezer pack type thing in to freeze, then put it in the machine, put a paddle type attachment in and pour in the chilled liquid ice-cream mix.  And that only worked to make a normal sort of ice-cream if you used certain proportions of sugar, cream and or egg yolk.  I don't know how others work.  I read some years ago about home ice-cream makers using salt in a need-to-churn-type bit of equipment.

[Sid Post]

2 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

Another thing to consider is do they make the ice-cream or do they break down the frozen block and make creamy the ice-cream you made and put in the freezer.  And then there's the method of how it is done.  I didn't like one I bought once that you had to put a sort of freezer pack type thing in to freeze, then put it in the machine, put a paddle type attachment in and pour in the chilled liquid ice-cream mix.  And that only worked to make a normal sort of ice-cream if you used certain proportions of sugar, cream and or egg yolk.  I don't know how others work.  I read some years ago about home ice-cream makers using salt in a need-to-churn-type bit of equipment.

 

Good comments there!  Yep, without a lot of cream or similar things to prevent large ice crystals, a frozen block won't come out like normal ice cream.

 

The newer Cremi from Ninja though looks like it be a winner since it also does lots of frozen drinks and similar things to slushies.  Being able to do frozen yogurts and slushies adds a lot utility to the ice cream maker.

 

That being said, I have been thinking about getting a classic ice cream maker that isn't the ~$200 cost of a Ninja Creami.

[weinoo]

I have this one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link):

 

 

And a Ninja Creami.

 

The Whynter, while it undoubtedly makes great ice cream, has pretty much been relegated to the pantry.  The Ninja, while it may not make true ice cream in the classic sense, is just so much more convenient, and as the dolphin who is blue mentions, one can have any number of pints prefrozen, ready to be spun at a moment's notice.

 

On 7/6/2024 at 12:11 PM, Sid Post said:

1~2 qt sizing was more for small settings for a guest or two

 

6 people happily shared a full pint of farmer's market strawberry sorbet on July 4th this week, garnished with fresh watermelon.  2 quarts sure seems like an awful lot for 2, 3, or even 4 people!

Edited July 7 by weinoo (log)

[ElsieD]

I have the Breville Ice Cream Smart.  It makes excellent ice cream but i haven't used it much since the Creami came along.  As @weinoo says, you can easily have a few mixes on the go, ready to spin.  I currently have Mango, blackberry and vanilla in the freezer along with some blueberry ice cream pops.  It is so convenient.

[Sid Post]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

6 people happily shared a full pint of farmer's market strawberry sorbet on July 4th this week, garnished with fresh watermelon.  2 quarts sure seems like an awful lot for 2, 3, or even 4 people!

 

I grew up on a farm and still live on one so, I guess I'm a big eater because a pint to me is a small serving size.  Growing up with mom, dad, and the three kids put a really hurtin' on a 6qt batch ice cream many weekends of Summer.  Once and while we 'might' have a quart left for the freezer.

Edited July 7 by Sid Post
typo/autocorrect (log)

[Sid Post]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I have the Breville Ice Cream Smart.  It makes excellent ice cream but i haven't used it much since the Creami came along.  As @weinoo says, you can easily have a few mixes on the go, ready to spin.  I currently have Mango, blackberry and vanilla in the freezer along with some blueberry ice cream pops.  It is so convenient.

 

Strong arguments for the Ninja Creami!

[weinoo]

18 minutes ago, Sid Post said:

I guess I'm a big eater because a pint to me is a small serving size.  Growing up with mom, dad, and the three kids put a really hurtin' on a 6qt batch ice cream man weekend of Summer. 

 

15 minutes ago, Sid Post said:

Strong arguments for the Ninja Creami!

 

Maybe get two.

[Sid Post]

2 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Maybe get two.

 

If I do the Creami, I'll definitely do the updated pint and half model and get some extra jars.  Having 2 or more flavors ready seems like a great plan for hot Summer days.

[Wampa]

The regular Creami came with 3 containers in the base package (or at least mine did).

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My original creami came with five containers.

 

[weinoo]

I think, depending on where the purchase is made, a Ninja Creami may come with different numbers of containers.  My original came with two; I purchased an additional three containers.

Edited July 8 by weinoo (log)

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

I think, depending on where the purchase is made, a Ninja Creami may come with different numbers of containers.  My original came with two; I purchased an additional three containers.

 

Yeah, mine came with three and I bought 2 more.  I see all sorts of options in the Creami ads peppering my feeds over this holiday season and lead-up to Amazon/Walmart/Target days. 

 

19 hours ago, Sid Post said:

The newer Cremi from Ninja though looks like it be a winner since it also does lots of frozen drinks and similar things to slushies.  Being able to do frozen yogurts and slushies adds a lot utility to the ice cream maker.

I agree that frozen yogurt is nice to make but I already have a blender that makes good smoothies, milkshakes, frozen drinks and slushies in quart-plus quantities with no need to pre-freeze anything other than ice cubes so there's no big advantage there for me (who believes 1/2 a pint to be a VERY large serving of ice cream but can empty a pint of a watermelon frozé slushy in no time on a hot day) YMMV

[curls]

You could also go with one of the compressor ice cream makers. They have come down in price and I see several on Amazon around $200.
 

I currently use the Ninja Creami. I also have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, the type that uses a pre-frozen canister. I don’t make large quantities of ice cream or sorbet so these options work very well. If I need to make a lot, I’d look into a compressor ice cream maker. @weinoo posted a link to the one he uses a bit earlier on this topic.

[Sid Post]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I agree that frozen yogurt is nice to make but I already have a blender that makes good smoothies, milkshakes, frozen drinks and slushies in quart-plus quantities with no need to pre-freeze anything other than ice cubes so there's no big advantage there for me (who believes 1/2 a pint to be a VERY large serving of ice cream but can empty a pint of a watermelon frozé slushy in no time on a hot day) YMMV

 

For frozen drinks and slushies, I never had much success with any blender I tried.  They always ended up tasting like a watered down drink because all, or most, or a lot of the ice melted.  Freezing a "mix" I can taste test before I freeze it also would add consistency since the water/ice ratio to "mix" doesn't change.

 

Smoothes and milkshakes end up in a Ninja blender built for that specific use that was a Black Friday deal. 

 

In terms of frozen drinks in general, a pair of 24oz drinks in contrasting flavors seems better for me versus a Super Big Gulf in a single flavor!  What can I say, sometimes I'm fickle thinking the 'grass in greener' on the other side of the fence!  🤣

 

When I have company over or like when my Mom came for a visit, being able to easily do a Mango/PassionFruit/whatever for her and a nice Vanilla for me seems like a useful feature.

 

That being said, I have been looking at the Vevor compressor Ice Cream machines which are ~$200.  Amazon Whynter, Breville, and others are pretty spendy at >$350.  The Coswar and other brands are a mystery to me but are likely ODM with a simple label change and a clone of other popular models.

[ElsieD]

@Sid Post. I have been wondering if you were affected by the power outages.

 

I recently froze 200ml (7 ounces?) of ice cream mix to see if that was enough for 2 servings when accompanying pie.  The answer is yes, but after I washed the Creami pint I noticed that the blades had gouged the container.  You can see them near the top of the picture of the container.  Did this happen because the machine didn't have enough mix to work with?  Or is there some other reason?  

Edited July 14 by ElsieD
Added pic (log)

[weinoo]

I think the blade has a decent amount of clearance from the sides of the container;  perhaps more of a misalignment situation?

 

Per Ninja:

 

Quote

 

If the pint is frozen unevenly, put the pint in the fridge to allow the ingredients to melt. Then whisk to make sure the ingredients are combined. Refreeze, making sure to place the pint on a level surface in your freezer. - To avoid damaging the unit, DO NOT process a pint that has been frozen at an angle. DO NOT process if the pint has been scooped out of and then refrozen unevenly. - Always smooth-out the surface of your ice cream before re-freezing.

 

There is no minimum fill line. We recommend filling the pint at least half way to the MAX FILL line to achieve the best output texture. Filling below this level will not harm the machine, but adding a very small amount of ingredients to the pint may result in an output with suboptimal texture.

 

 

Edited July 15 by weinoo (log)

[Sid Post]

Without a pivot point on both ends, I don't see one in the cup to support the motor side, a half batch size will put a lot of uneven torque on the shaft spinning the blade and likely causing it to 'wobble' a bit.

[blue_dolphin]

16 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I recently froze 200ml (7 ounces?) of ice cream mix to see if that was enough for 2 servings when accompanying pie.  The answer is yes, but after I washed the Creami pint I noticed that the blades had gouged the container.  You can see them near the top of the picture of the container.  Did this happen because the machine didn't have enough mix to work with?  Or is there some other reason?  

I've spun a lot of half-size batches but haven’t experienced any scratching or gouging of the containers yet. Ninja said that down to 1/3 was OK with a level surface. Maybe contact them?  It seems to be an issue that's reported fairly often.

 

Edited to add this from the FAQs in the Ninja Creami website:

Is there a minimum fill line for ingredients added to the pint before processing?

There is no minimum fill line. We recommend filling the pint at least half way to the MAX FILL line to achieve the best output texture. Filling below this level will not harm the machine, but adding a very small amount of ingredients to the pint may result in an output with suboptimal texture.

 

 

Edited July 15 by blue_dolphin (log)

[ElsieD]

@weinoo. The ice cream mix was perfectly level as I freeze it directly on the freezer shelf.  It had not been touched.  The spun product was exactly as is should be except i did notice a bit of a hard layer of mix after it was spun.

@blue_dolphin. I remembered you saying something to the effect that smaller batches could be made which is why I tried the 200ml. batch.  From your quote it says that smaller batches will not hurt the machine but doesn't say anything about the pints.  Your suggestion to contact them is a good one which i will do.  I'm not keen to eat plastic with my ice cream.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, Sid Post said:

Without a pivot point on both ends, I don't see one in the cup to support the motor side, a half batch size will put a lot of uneven torque on the shaft spinning the blade and likely causing it to 'wobble' a bit.

 

I can't envision this at all.  Could you explain further?  (I often spin half pints.)

 

[Sid Post]

16 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I can't envision this at all.  Could you explain further?  (I often spin half pints.)

 

With this ice cream machine scoring the jar, it suggests the blades were allowed to wobble with the shaft.  This could be caused by flex in the underlying motor mount or wear between the shaft and motor allowing some "flex" and wobble, hence scoring the jar.

 

Mounts on both sides of the shaft allow a lot more support to prevent the wobble.