Ice Cream Machines

[jbehmoaras]

I have the cuisinart ICE-50 which i got for 215 at Macy's and i makes excellent ice cream ... although I wish I could make more per batch .. but the built in compressor makes up for it because in NYC I dont have the space to have another freezer to freeze all those bowls.

[Andy Fenn]

Hi Folks

I'm getting an ice cream maker for my birthday over here in the UK. One with an in built freezer. I have just read through this thread, and I'm veering towards the Musso, Cuisinart or the Simac, with Musso being my number 1, depending on price. Just a couple of questions:

1. Does this pecking order seem about right to those who have used these machines?

2. Where should I look to get these cheapest? Trade sites? eBay? ANy websites would be greatly received.

3. If I do go down the second hand route, what are my chances of getting warranties etc., from your experience?

Thanks very much - any answers greatly appreciated.

A

[andiesenji]

The first ice cream machine I had was a Simac, that lasted about 18 years but finally got to the point that the coolant had to be recharged - the compressor leaked and the original coolant was no longer legal - or somethng like that. It would have cost too much to convert it.

So I replaced it with one of the Lello, Gelato Jr machines(made by Simac) to see how well it worked. It was just fine but not enough capacity - just 1 quart.

I then bought the larger Lello Pro, which makes 2 quarts. It works just fine also.

A few months later the Musso 2-quart was offered for sale but for some reason was taken off the market a short time later.

The Musso comparable to the Lello Pro was back in the catalogs (Chefs, Cooking.com, etc.) about 6 months later but was listed as 1 1/2 quart capacity.

I have no idea why - when I checked back on the photos of the first offering of the Musso 2-quart, it looked identical to the now available 1 1/2 quart. It is possible that the capacity was misrepresented when it was first imported and they had complaints, but I don't know for sure.

One of my neighbors got the Cuisinart supreme on sale for 250.00 US dollars last month - it is also a 1 1/2 quart machine.

I still like the Lello Pro, its made by Simac which was a good buy for me, considering how long it lasted with heavy use (I was a caterer at the time) and it does a decent job. I ofen use both machines, the smaller capacity one for heavily flavored recipes - 30 minute cycle, and the larger machine for plain vanilla, or fruited ice creams - 45 minute cycle.

Here is a write-up on Epinions.

I couldn't find the Lello listed in the common UK sites:

Amazon UK has these which include the self-contained units.

I think the closest to the larger Lello would be the Gaggia.

Here's another UK vendor

They carry the Simac - which is very similar to the machine I had for so many years and was problem-free until near the end of its life and it was used heavily for many years. I used it for savory sorbets, not just for sweets. I often made a tomato/clam sorbet that my clients loved as a starter before dinner.

Many times I would have the machine running for hours, making up multiple flavors of ice cream, sorbets, sherberts, etc.

I should add that when I bought the Simac, in 1985, it cost almost 900.00 US. Pro-rating it over 18 years shows that the actual cost was very reasonable. (I could write it off as a business expense.) However I know other caterers who used the old-fashioned ice-and-salt machines (electric) which were priced over 100.00 US at the time and had to replace them every couple of years. They ended up paying more than I did when you figure the total costs - plus they had to buy ice and salt and make sure they didn't make a mess in their client's yard. (One had a helper that allowed the water to drain onto the lawn and the salt water killed a big patch of grass which cost the caterer who had to have it re-turfed)

Many times warranted things do not carry over to a second owner. I am leery of buying "Used" things like this, however if there is one on eBay, still sealed in box from factory, with warranty card blank, then you can register it.

Edited October 6, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[Andy Fenn]

I ended up getting a Musso on eBay for £220. It seems as though the brand has now been bought by Robot Coupe? Or has this always been the case?

Anyway, made strawberry sorbet last night, as the only fruit suitable at my local Sainsbury's at 10.30pm! Not very seasonal, but the texture was superb.

[Abbey]

Hi Everyone,

I have been hesitating about buying an ice-cream maker for 3 years. I would like to take the plunge before Christmas, and the one that is most appealing is the Sunbeam Gelateria. (the one with the internal motor, similar to the european magimix).

Has anyone bought one recently, tried one, had any experience (either good or bad). It's a lot of money to spend on an appliance, so I just wanted to double check before parting with my hard earned dollars.

Thanks and Happy Days!

[torakris]

Yesterday at the Costco here in Tokyo I saw the Cuisinart Cuisinart ICE-30BC for just over 6000yen (US$50). My Delonghi died on me two years ago and I have just recently thought about getting a new one. I love the the idea of a two quart model As my old one was less than a quart and too small for my family of 5.

I have read this whole thread and didn't find any references to it. It has some great reviews at Amazon but I trust the opinions I might find here a little more....

My current concerns:

I prefer gelato style (softer) than regular ice cream (harder)

I want to avoid using recipes with large an mounts of cream (at US$4 for 200ml-3/4cup of cream it is actually cheaper for me to go out and buy Haagen Dazs)

Anyone have this model? comments?

[Gabriel Lewis]

Torakris:

I've read this whole thread too, and haven't decided yet either. But as far as I can tell, this model is just a slightly bigger more aethestically packaged version of the other smaller cuisinart models people have spoken well of. I think you'd be pleased with it, especially at that price since it seems to retail for a bit more than that here.

You will have to deal with the limitations of a frozen canister model, but I think you can still produce great results with these. They are just not the best for churning out large quantities at a time. I think I recall reading about a new fridge you bought that has a special compartment which converts to a -2 degree freezer or so at the push of a button? I bet this would work great for pre-chilling your mixes.

If cream is expensive then I would focus on french style ice creams which use a creme anglaise base (assuming eggs and milk are cheap).

[Gabe Q]

Hello everyone. I've been going over the entire diiscussion and I am also undecided as to which way to go. I definitely want a built in freezer unit. I was thinking of the Kitchenaid pro line dessert maker because I saw it reconditioned on amazon going for under $500, but now I went back and there is only one reseller and it;s gone up to $700. That is somewhat high for me.

My dream machine would be with a built in freezer, and a horizontal freezer unit so that the ice cream can be pushed out automatically. I am willing to pay around $500 for it. Does anyone know any good machines that fit that description and budget??

[grimod]

We are considering an Italian Coldelite Campacta. Has anyone used this one? I have used a lot of various Taylor's. Thanks...

[Bond Girl]

I have the cylinder from kitchenaid that you freeze. For general reference, there is an excellent Gourmet article on ice cream machines last year (or may be the year before). I'll bet if you search for it, you can find it.

[merstar]

I'm looking to replace my Krups La Glaciere, which is now kaput. I'd like to get another ice cream maker with a freezer bowl, and am considering the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker Attachment, the Cuisinart ICE=20 1 1/2 quart, or the latest Krups model. For those of you who own any one of these machines, what are the pros and cons? Thanks.

Edited August 10, 2007 by merstar (log)

[Preserver]

i have the cuisinart ice cream maker .... not too fancy but it does the job. i think i would prefer the kitchenaid attachment, but seems alil big for the freezer. price point it is almost if not more for the bowl than a normal ice cream maker .. but then you save on counter space. ice cream makers are uni tasker's.....

[merstar]

Thanks - I didn't even consider the size. The Krups freezer bowl just fits snugly on the top shelf on my freezer - you're right - the KitchenAid may be too big, especially in the height. Will have to go measure. Thanks again!

Edited August 10, 2007 by merstar (log)

[Pierogi]

I got the Kitchen-Aid attachement last year and I LOVE it !! I resisted one of the other models for a long time, although I lusted after the Cuisinart for many years. I just couldn't justify the storage/counter space for something I knew I'd use maybe once a month.

I don't think its much larger than the Cusinart bowl (which one of my friends has) and as Preserver said, it assuages my conscience about having a uni-tasker. It fits inside my spare KA bowl (I have 2) and therefore in my cupboard quite nicely.

My freezer is roomy (its one of the freezer on the bottom units) but usually packed, and I have not had a problem finding a home for it when I need to freeze it.

It does make great ice cream & sorbet. I've been very pleased with it. BTW, my KA is not one of the mega-horsepower models, and it handles the task just fine.

[merstar]

Pierogi, Thanks for the info. According to Amazon, the dimensions are: 10.9 x 10.3 x 10.3 inches (see "Product Dimensions" at link below), but someone on another site said they measured it, and it's about 7 1/2 inches in height! Does that sound about right?

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0002IES80/re...&pf_rd_i=507846

[Preserver]

oh by the way.. i didn't know this but my brother read up for me before i bought my KA. the lower end KA mixer has silcone gears.... and the higher end ones has metal gears. thanks to my brother i have the metal gear one.... just throwing it out there for ppl who don't know already..

[Pierogi]

Hey merstar, glad the info is useful.

I just pulled it out, and measured and it's 7 inches high, even. At the widest point, I'd say its 11 inches "across" because it has the little ears on the side that let you use it with both the big KAs that have the lifts, as well as the tilt-head models.

I think, IFIRC, it makes 2 pints ? I think I've gotten about 4 cups of base in the unit and didn't overflow it.

And I fibbed a bit....it doesn't fit in the spare bowl, but does tuck away pretty well. Certainly much better than a stand-alone unit would.

[merstar]

Thank a lot, Pierogi. Looks like Amazon posted the wrong dimensions!

[MGLloyd]

I am quite happy with my KA ice cream attachment. I got rid of a dedicated ice cream maker in favor of the KA. It just seemed to make sense to be able to use my existing KA.

[RedRum]

Hi all, I was wondering for a recommendation for an cheap ice cream maker, in the region of $100-120.

Many thanks

[John DePaula]

Hi all, I was wondering for a recommendation for an cheap ice cream maker, in the region of $100-120.

Many thanks

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http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006...ur_maker_1.html

[abooja]

I am very disappointed. My husband bought me the Cuisinart ICE-50 for my birthday next month and I hate it. I believe it is broken, as it made the whole first floor smell of gasoline, but it managed to freeze the ice cream well enough to make the unit shut down when the dasher could no longer spin freely. After more than 40 minutes of churning, I assumed this meant it was done, and was surprised to see that the ice cream was still on the soft side of soft serve. I pulled off the arm, manually turned the dasher, and tried to get it going. It started and ran for another five minutes, then shut down again. It was just slightly harder than the first time I checked.

This was a vanilla custard-based ice cream that I've made successfully numerous times before in my cheapo Cuisinart ICE-20 frozen canister machine. That machine takes no more than a half hour to produce a much thicker, colder, and creamier product. Today's ice cream was soft and appeared to contain ice crystals before I stirred them in with the dasher, which is a thinner, flimsier piece of plastic than the much cheaper model. I bought it because I wanted a self-refrigerating unit, and this was in my price range. David Lebovitz also recommended it, so I figured I was home free. Wrongo.

I'm hesitant to exchange this unit for one that doesn't leak coolant as I am turned off by the cheap plastic dasher and motor-in-arm design now that I've seen it in action. I did like the fact that it has a 1-1/2 quart capacity, unlike the ICE-20 which can barely handle a quart with overrun. Forget about mix-ins. I was shocked to read that it's now referred to as a 1-1/2 quart unit.

I can't decide whether to get a Cuisinart ICE-30 (2-quart capacity), so that I can use up even more of my freezer space, or to hold out for some sort of deal and splurge on a Musso Lussino. You used to be able to find refurbished ones on eBay for closer to $400, but not today. What to do...

[Octaveman]

Uh, is there a question in there somewhere? You're hesitant to exchange a defective unit for one that isn't defective? You want to keep the defective unit? You're not sure if you should spend $50 for the ICE-30 or spend $700 on the Musso or hold out for one for $400+ on ebay?

[abooja]

Uh, is there a question in there somewhere?  You're hesitant to exchange a defective unit for one that isn't defective?  You want to keep the defective unit?  You're not sure if you should spend $50 for the ICE-30 or spend $700 on the Musso or hold out for one for $400+ on ebay?

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That about sums it up.

I was both complaining about the quality of the machine (regardless of the leak) and passively seeking help as to which direction to go in, without actually asking the question.

However, I have already decided that I'm going to get my money back on the unit and buy the 2-quart Cuisinart ($79.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond). $699 is way too much money for me at the moment, especially if the product it puts out is no better than what I can make with my $50 machine. I thought the $300 Cuisinart would put the cheapo one to shame, but I was wrong.

[Octaveman]

I have the ICE50 and it is my first ice cream maker. From what I understood the ice cream was pretty much soft serve and had to go into the freezer to "set" regardless of the machine that made it. Is this not true? Given that it has the compressor and I don't have to freeze the bowl ahead time I can deal with the softness if I have the ability to make another batch right after the last one. Many times I will make a couple different batches in a single day for when friends are coming over or just to make sure I have enough. If I had to freeze the bowl for 24 hours after each batch, it would take me days to do what I want to do.

On a side note, I can't recall exactly but doesn't one of the ingredients in ice cream have an effect on how hard it freezes? Sugar? Cream or type of cream? Alchohol? One could add more or change the type of ingredient to help keep your ice cream from turning into a block of ice? I mean, even the ice cream books say certain types are typically harder than others. I guess the point of this side note is that maybe it's not the machine but the ingredients or type of ice cream being made rather than the machine making it. Just a thought.