knotheadusc's Full Review: Cuisinart (ICE-20) 1.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker
Last summer, I got a wild hair and decided to purchase a used electric ice cream maker off Ebay for about $7. In order to get our decidedly low tech ice cream maker to work, my husband Bill had to buy ice and rock salt. The process was messy and cumbersome and though the resulting ice cream tasted okay, it had a grainy texture. Somewhat dismayed, I started looking around on the Internet for suggestions on how to make the process easier. Then I found the answer... The Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker. All the reviews I read about this machine were positive. It didn't require rock salt or ice. It had a nice, clean design, and at $49.95, wasn't too outrageously priced. A few months later, when it came time to do my Christmas shopping, I bought it as "house" present.
There was one more thing that prompted me to go ahead and buy this dandy machine for Christmas. It so happened that Cooking.com was running a rebate offer for this machine, as well as offering a $20 coupon for orders over $125. By sending in the a form, a receipt, and the UPC code from the box, I could get an extra freezer bowl for free! The extra bowl would allow me to be able to make two different flavors of ice cream, yogurt, frozen drinks or sorbet at the same time. It usually retails for $29.95, but I could get it for free just for buying at the right time. I was definitely sold.
My new ice cream maker arrived a couple of weeks after I ordered it. I pulled it out of the box, being careful to clip that UPC code and send it off for my rebate, then took a look at what was in the box. Weighing in at about nine pounds and measuring 10 by 15 inches, our new Cuisinart ice cream machine was a little bigger than I expected it to be. It makes up to 1.5 quarts of ice cream, yogurt, or sorbet at a time.
What's in the box?
The Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker comes with a plastic base that houses a 50 watt motor, a double insulated, quick freezing bowl, an automatic mixing arm, a large spout for adding ingredients, a transparent, easy-lock lid, and an instruction manual that includes recipes for ice cream, sorbet, yogurt, and frozen drinks.
Before you use it...
Naturally, I couldn't wait to get started on my homemade ice cream project. Alas, I had to hand wash all the parts first, then freeze the double insulated bowl for at least six hours. Before we froze the bowl the first time, Bill and I gave it a shake and noticed that it sounded like it was full of water. We put the bowl in the freezer for about six hours and when we pulled it out and shook it, that water sound was gone. According to the instructions, that supposedly meant the bowl was ready to use. We found out as we made our first batch of vanilla ice cream that it's better to let the bowl sit in the freezer for longer than six hours. We did get a decent batch of ice cream, but it was a bit soupier than we expected it would be.
The ice cream making process...
The Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker is easy to put together. Simply fit the frozen bowl on the electric housing, put the mixing arm in the bowl, and then slip the lid over the bowl and the arm and rotate the lid until it locks. Add the ingredients and then make sure the machine in plugged into a socket. Flip the on switch, and go do something else for about 20 to 30 minutes. The machine is fairly loud, but you should be able to have a conversation without too much trouble. Once 20 to 30 minutes have passed, you should find that your ice cream mixture is partially frozen and quite a bit thicker than it was at the beginning of the process. Now it's time to pour your ice cream into a airtight container and stick it in the freezer so it can harden. Don't store your frozen desserts or drinks in the freezer bowl as they will stick to the sides and may damage the bowl.
The first time Bill and I made ice cream, there was a power outage that went on for several hours. Unfortunately, the outage did not have a good effect on our ice cream making efforts. We ended up with a product that tasted good, but had a somewhat grainy texture.
Bill and I try again...
Last week, I got a catalog from Williams-Sonoma. At the end of the catalog, there was an ad for the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker, along with a bittersweet chocolate ice cream recipe that sounded absolutely sinful. We decided it was time to try again, with the hope that this time, there would be no power outage. We made our batch of ice cream and this time, our product turned out perfectly-- as good as anything we could have bought in the store. The bittersweet chocolate ice cream had a wonderful, rich, intense flavor and a silky smooth texture. What's more, I knew every ingredient that was used in our frozen dessert and every single ingredient was all natural.
My favorite part besides the satisfaction of making delicious homemade ice cream...
Perhaps the best part about using the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker is that there is no huge mess to clean up when you're finished. Just pour your frozen dessert or drink into a container, hand wash the double insulated bowl, lid, and mixing arm, and wipe off the electric base with a damp sponge. There's no melted ice or hunks of half dissolved rock salt to contend with. When you're finished with the machine, it's compact enough to store easily in one of your cabinets (provided your cabinets are not already commandeered by other compact kitchen gadgets).
For as easy as the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker is to use and the high quality product it puts out, I think $49.95 is a fair price for this machine, even though I might not spend that much in a year just buying ice cream from the store. What's more, this machine comes with a 3-year manufacturer's warranty.
Potential cons for this product...
I can think of a few drawbacks to owning the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker. For one thing, even though you won't have to buy ice or rock salt, you will have to buy other ingredients that you might not regularly have on hand, like half and half, heavy cream, or special goodies for your recipe. That will involve spending time and money, perhaps a lot more than what you'd spend on just buying a half-gallon of Edy's. For another thing, having all this ice cream around might have a bad effect on your figure. I'm already a lot rounder than I'd like to be myself. And finally, once you make the ice cream or other dessert, you'll probably have to wait a few hours before you'll get to enjoy it.
And some potential pros...
You'll get the satisfaction of making your very own frozen desserts and drinks just the way you like them, and that, in turn, means that you can impress your family and friends with your turn as an ice cream creator. If you're worried about calories or gaining weight, you can make a deal with yourself that you won't eat any frozen dessert that you didn't make yourself. The prospect of having to make your own treats may inspire you to enjoy them less often! What's more, you will know and be able to control what's actually in the treat. And finally, Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker puts out a fabulous product... as long as there aren't any power outages!
My final thoughts...
Sure, this product is strictly a luxury item. No one needs to own an ice cream maker, not when there are fifty or more varieties of perfectly good ice cream available at your local grocery store. But it sure is fun to make your own frozen drinks and desserts and it's a great way to express your creative side. Who knows? If you're creative enough, you might even spawn a new flavor that will make Ben & Jerry's jealous!
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