Ice Cream Machines

[bleachboy]

Cook's Illustrated raved about the Lussino Dessert Maker by Musso. With a built-in refrigerator unit, you just put the ingredients in and turn it on.

It's outrageously expensive -- the Amazon link above sets the price at $594 -- and I don't see any on eBay. But if you've got $600 to blow, I'd bet it's pretty awesome!

[mklynch]

I bought the Lello over a year ago and it's great. It's heavy, so make sure you can store it near where you'll use it. It's nice to be able to do back to back batches with no down time.

[andiesenji]

I have one of these and a larger one made by Nemox

like this.

however if I were to get one now, I would get the Musso Lussion

like this one.

I used to have a Simac that I used for many years until it would no longer hold the refrigerant and when they stopped selling Freon, it needed a different valve for the new coolant.

The ebay seller is one from whom I have bought several other items.

You can ask if they will be getting another of the Musso, they just sold one yesterday.

Edited March 3, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[halloweencat]

andie :)

re what you would get now....

what makes you pick the musso over the oxiria? there's a difference in pricepoint...do you feel the motor/mechanics are better with the musso? does the oxiria require some extra care (like one machine i read about that required something like 2 tablespoons of alcohol between the bowl and the interior...not sure i get that).

i have $105 in amazon gift certificates, and amazon would take anothe $25 off (their current promotion)...bringing the lusso down to $475.

that would make the lusso $475 vs. the oxiria at $360.

i'm a little leery of the lello, for all the reasons mentioned above.

thanks to everyone for all the replies, btw. :)

cheers :)

hc

[Jeni Hicks]

I was just flipping through the latest issue of "delicious" magazine, and noticed an ad for the Sunbeam Gelateria....it's a new product. The MSRP is 299.95. I don't know anything about the machine personally, but it may be another option for you.

Here's a link to the machine - Click

Hope that helps!

Jeni

edit: whoops! So far, the Gelateria appears to only be available in Australia and NZ....sorry about that! Maybe you could contact Sunbeam directly for more info?

Edited March 4, 2005 by Jeni Hicks (log)

[andiesenji]

andie :)

re what you would get now....

what makes you pick the musso over the oxiria?  there's a difference in pricepoint...do you feel the motor/mechanics are better with the musso?  does the oxiria require some extra care (like one machine i read about that required something like 2 tablespoons of alcohol between the bowl and the interior...not sure i get that).

i have $105 in amazon gift certificates, and amazon would take anothe $25 off (their current promotion)...bringing the lusso down to $475.

that would make the lusso $475 vs.  the oxiria at $360. 

i'm a little leery of the lello, for all the reasons mentioned above. 

thanks to everyone for all the replies, btw.  :)

cheers :)

hc

←

The Musso is heavier (10 pounds heavier than the Nemox) - The Nemox tends to "walk" a bit and so has to be placed on a non-slip pad or on a cart with a raised edge.

The Lello works fine, no problems, it just has a smaller capacity than the Nemox or Musso.

It is simply personal preference, I like the looks of the Musso and think it may be made for heavier use.

My old Simac was the 2-quart model and I would prefer a 2-quart model but at the time I was in a hurry and was able to get the Lello shipped in two days, the others would all have taken much longer.

[halloweencat]

good details. :) thanks, andiesenji.

jeni, thanks for the heads up on that model.

btw....found another one....

does anyone have any experience with the delonghi 8500?

http://www.sendicecream.com/delicecreamm.html

cheers :)

hc

[andiesenji]

I don't know anything about the delonghi machine, however I have not had a lot of success with other delonghi appliances in recent times.

I bought their top of line deep fryer which was returned after the first use. It did not perform as advertised.

[marinade]

I’m kind of partial to the Simac products. I had a 1.5-quart Simac Il Gelataio that lasted 13 years and I beat the crap out of it. I bought the next Simac model up that looks something like this: Simac-DeLonghi . Bought it 5 years ago as a Simac and its still making great sorbets. It appears to be the same model. The removable bowl is a plus because I can prime the process by putting it into the freezer for a slight chill. Also you can order more than one bowl. If you can find one, grab it. I think they’re real sleepers. I just may snag another one myself for back-up in the event they’re discontinued. I originally bought a Musso Lussino from Williams-Sonoma but returned it (for the Simac) because it overheated.

On the other extreme, I had a 5-gallon Emory-Thompson batch freezer hard wired in my basement. It had a 3-horsepower compressor and a 3-horsepower dasher. That thing just spat out gallons of sorbet.

Looking at the previous links, I'm curious as to what’s happening in the ice cream appliance market. Did DeLonghi buy out Simac, or did Simac merge with Musso Lussino? Or is it just a distribution thing?

Edited March 7, 2005 by marinade (log)

[marinade]

Just a quick update to my previous post. The Simac model that I was referring to was the Magnum. I’ve learned they were discontinued but here is a link for a refurbished one for about $385.00, newer ones are $489.00. These folks also service them.

Simac Magnum

[halloweencat]

thanks all and everyone for their great, informed input.

my SO and i decided to go with the musso lussino...it's on the expensive side (decidedly), but we had quite a cache of amazon gift certificates kicking around between us (birthday and xmas gifts), plus amazon is giving back $25 if you spend $125 in kitchen&bath (thru this friday, march 31). that brought the price down +considerably+.

i'm very excited to finally be able to try all the wonderful recipies i've been seeing in cookbooks (it's so frustrating to purchase a cookbook and have a good chunk of the recipies be unuseable because one doesn't have the right equipment).

anyway, i'm +very+ excited. :) thank you all. :)

cheers :)

hc

edited to add: the final price, given the additional gift certificates generally donated by my SO was $375. a great price for this machine, i think.

Edited March 29, 2005 by halloweencat (log)

[misstenacity]

Bumping thread due to my frustrations with my Donvier....

So, I've got a Donvier hand-crank, pre-freeze bowl model. I have had totally mixed results with it - great, creamy, luscious ice cream, as well as crystalline, rock-hard icy crap.

The problem is, I can't draw any big conclusions since I vary my recipes so much in their stabilizer content that its either just the stabilizers messing with me, or my freezer's temp is too variable. Or possibly too cold - the batter starts freezing solid at the edges the second I pour it in and I have to crank like crazy to get it going.

By stabilizer I mean: fat, protein, alcohol, or actual "stabilizer" like gums, powdered milk, gelatin, etc.

THE BIG QUESTION: When making a lower fat concoction, am I going to get a better result with a motorized machine (however cheap), than with a hand-cranker?

Thank you! :-)

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[tan319]

If you're not going to spring for the cuisinart 50 buck guy, which is not bad, and you don't mind going with the salt and ice scenario, go down to the Kmart at Astor place or someplace like that and get a 4 qt. rival machine for 17.00 bucks or so.

I'm getting tremendous results, believe it or not, with mine, especially the 4 qt. one.

Very fluffy, good spin.

Much better then the cusinnart, much messier though if you're not careful.

←

Get the Rival 4 qt., some ice and some rock salt.

You'll get a much better product then a Donvier or a Krups/Cuisineart/etc.

trust me on this...

P.S. You can also use the box as a sound insulator(turn upside down, top off)

[SethG]

I'll just chime in to say I've been happy with the Cuisinart. I've only made very high-fat, creamy eggy ice creams with it. This weekend I made a basic vanilla I've been playing around with (I got a big batch of vanilla beans), except after scalding the milk I infused it with a big batch of mint. Best mint ice cream I've ever had. Heaven.

The Rival does sound enticing, too. I might get one of those four quart jobs and take it out on the sidewalk with the kids. Sounds like good Saturday afternoon fun, no?

Edited June 20, 2005 by SethG (log)

[Eden]

another vote for the Krups here. as FWED mentions there can be a thin hard layer on the bottom, but it's generally a good reliable machine.

We bought this brand after talking to a Chef who had gone through like 3 other brands first and killed the motors on all of them!

[cjsadler]

There was an article in some cooking mag recently on ice cream makers. They rated the Kitchenaid attachment the best, saying it made superb, ultra creamy mousse-like ice creams. I currently have the Cuisinart and agree with the article's assessment that the results are 'slightly icy, but acceptable'. For high fat ice creams it does just fine (but then simply freezing a high fat ice cream in a pan works nearly as well. Try it sometime-- John Thorne has a recipe for a no-machine lemon ice cream in the book 'Outlaw Cook'. You'll be very surprised by the results), but for gelato style (ie-- lower fat ice cream) and sorbets especially, the Cuisinart results are disappointing. However, I'm not sure it's even possible to make creamy textured sorbets like you get at a place that does them well (Capogiro in Philadelphia for example) without stabilizers and such (at Capogiro especially, I think I've asked them more than once 'so there isn't ANY cream in this??')

Can anyone vouch for the superiority of the Kitchenaid over the Cuisinart?

Edited June 20, 2005 by cjsadler (log)

[SethG]

I currently have the Cuisinart and agree with the article's assessment that the results are 'slightly icy, but acceptable'.  For high fat ice creams it does just fine (but then simply freezing a high fat ice cream in a pan works nearly as well.  Try it sometime-- John Thorne has a recipe for a no-machine lemon ice cream in the book 'Outlaw Cook'.  You'll be very surprised by the results), but for gelato style (ie-- lower fat ice cream) and sorbets especially, the Cuisinart results are disappointing. 

←

I should say, upon reflection, that I have made one "gelato style" ice cream, Mario Batali's honey vanilla gelato, which contained some heavy cream but was mostly milk-based. And the results from my Cuisinart were super. I read that article and I can't say I've found any of the ice cream that I've made to be "icy," although I'm still new at this. So long as you get the mixture good and cold, even close to freezing it, before you put it into the machine, I find the results are really good. I had one batch where it really wasn't cold enough, and I could see it wasn't going well so I aborted the operation and refrigerated the mixture for another 12 hours, and then it went fine.

[BarbaraY]

I have a Krups and it makes good ice cream.  My only criticism of it is that a sheet of hard ice/cream mixture forms on the bottom of the canister.  I am not sure if this is because there is a space between the dasher and the bottom of the canister and/or the canister is too cold.  I am planning on experimenting with the temp of the freezer and the placement of the unit in the freezer to see if I can avoid this layering.

←

I have one of these and have the same problem. I just consider that film of frozen stuff my reward for making ice cream.:D

[saltylicious]

Check out Gourmet mag (April/2005) page 54 for the

Ice Cream maker review article...

Gourmet's top rated KA ice cream attachment is very clumsy and clunky. ..imo

Donviers are great fun for a kids / childish adults ice cream party. They easy to clean & super cheap (only $3-4 at salvation army/goodwill stores/garage sales)

[simdelish]

However, I'm not sure it's even possible to make creamy textured sorbets like you get at a place that does them well (Capogiro in Philadelphia for example) without stabilizers and such (at Capogiro especially, I think I've asked them more than once 'so there isn't ANY cream in this??')

←

The stabilizers really don't have much to do with texture, only as texture becomes an issue with a product that is more than a few days old(or one that goes through heat shock). If you are going to eat up your ice cream as soon as you make it (or later that day), stablizers will do nothing for you. Stablizers are really for helping with shelf life. They act on the unfrozen portions of water suspended in the mixture. That is to say, they help maintain the desired firmness and texture that is present when the ice cream is freshly made. While some ice creams and sorbets are still fine after a few days, others (depending on their ingredients) will get coarse and ice-y, separate, get grainy and/or syrupy. That's because the water molecules "migrate" to elsewhere in the mix, where they can freeze hard into crystals. The stablizers help keep them (the water molecules) where they belong, basically, and don't let them travel out of bounds and get caught and freeze.

It's also really the sugars (lactose in the milk, fructose in the fruit or glucose added as an extra ingredient, but not sucrose) that contribute to the depressed freezing point, and therefore the smooth texture. I find that it's the processing that really makes things creamy to begin with. My sorbets, for example, are rich, creamy and satin on the tongue, yet they are made of nothing more than fruit, water and sugar. But they spin continuously, beating air, lightness, consistency and smoothness into your product. (Which is the whole concept behind PacoJets which don't spin a liquid ingredient, but rather they 'shave' off a frozen ingredient... but that's another lecture ).

But if you want to have your ice cream last, or have to deal with heat shock (the term for when everytime you pull out the container to scoop up a serving, or have to keep it in a display case like at the shops), then you need to add the stablizers.

HTH

[bradyvickers]

Just purchased a KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. Thought about the Krups, but since it's being discontinued decided to try something different. I picked the KitchenAid because of its capacity, ease of adding ingredients during the churning process, and I didn't want another "appliance" that I would have to find space for. The kitchen aid takes up little extra room, especially if you keep the bowl in the freezer.

I'm making a raspberry custard ice cream today, using the CIA's formula. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Slate article

I rated each machine in the following categories on a scale of one to 10: ease of use, time to completion, elegance of design, and, of course, pre-eminently, on the quality of the ice cream. For the Philly batch, I made a rudimentary cookies and cream. For the French batch, I cooked up a basic cinnamon gelato. I tasted the ice cream thrice—as it came out of the machine (the goop may not be ice cream, but it is irresistible), after it had "ripened," and then again the following night, with wife and friends.

Machines being tested were:

The Rival Treat Shoppe Electric Ice Cream Maker

Cuisinart ICE 20

White Mountain 4-Quart Electric Ice-Cream Maker

Gelato Jr. by Lello

KitchenAid Mixer, Plus Gel Canister Attachment

Cuisinart ICE 50BC Supreme

Musso 4080 Lussino Dessert Maker

See what you think of the results ... do you own any of these?

Does your machine seem to be what it is pictured here?

Does spending a lot ensure fine quality product? Your input, if you will ...

[alchemyst]

Did you happen to see the article in Smart Money? They had Ben & Jerry testing and rating ice cream makers. I read the article at a newstand so I don't have the link but it's the most recent issue. They went with the Cuisinart...I own a Smilac myself. It's a bit pricey but worth it if you make ice cream on a regular basis. There's no comparison between those using insulated frozen bowls and those that have a chilling ability within their mechanisms. They ones that chill just work better.

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

I also own a Simac and wouldn't trade it for love or money. It's a great machine. As good in small batch as the $30K model I use at work is in large batch.

I'm really looking forward to the gelato class at the World Pastry Forum this Friday!

[lesfen]

I just got a Cuisinart ICE 20 as a wedding gift and I would agree that it's a great starter model... perfect for me, as I tried it for the first time last night. I'm going to have to play with it for a while before I can make a good call on it. The texture was very nice and the machine is super easy to use... it's the recipe that needs tweaked. I went with the classic custard base and I have to say that it was a little rich for me. If I had made a pie, the recipe that I used would have been a perfect foil for a tart cherry pastry, but I didn't... I just had a big bowl of cool fluffy deliciousness that I couldn't finish. So yeah, big ups to the cheap-y Cuisinart.