Kitchen Window
June 2006

Product Review: Ice Cream Makers
No More Excuses: Make Ice Cream at Home
by: Robin Osterberg

Summer is finally in the air! The warm weather brings lots of opportunities to celebrate and what better way than by entertaining family and friends with warm weather treats! So get out that grill, serve up your favorite cool drinks and don’t forget the Ice Cream!!! Come on, do you know a single person who doesn’t love the stuff? People of all ages list ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt as a favorite and, depending on your guest list, it can be simple and elegant or all-out crazy fun. Making these cold treats can even be a part of the entertainment. Nothing you can buy tastes as good as the kind you make yourself. Why go to the store and buy something filled with guar gum and other stabilizers or lots of air and artificial flavorings? Even forking out $3-5 for a pint of good quality ice cream still limits your control on the amount of sugar or fat, as well as the freshness or quality of ingredients. How about adding your favorite bittersweet chocolate, just picked raspberries, or even infusing mint from your own garden into your own homemade frozen concoctions?

If you always thought homemade ice cream was messy, or required great strength and patience to make, try these options.

Cuisinart ICE-50BC Supreme™ Commercial Quality Ice Cream Maker
This machine has a built-in compressor-freezer, so there’s no bowl to pre-freeze, which means you can make batch after batch of your favorite frozen indulgence without waiting! The lid even has an ingredient spout so you can add enhancements at the end without stopping the motor. It has a 1.5 quart capacity and the brushed stainless finish may make you want to keep this beauty on the counter all the time.

Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, & Sorbet Maker
The heavy duty motor on this machine is strong enough to handle frozen yogurt, ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, and frozen drinks. This model has a double-insulated freezer bowl that makes up to 1.5 quarts. Additional freezer bowls are available if you want to make more than 1 flavor. Like the ICE-50, this one has the ingredient spout for adding ingredients at end of cycle.

Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence™ Ice Cream Maker
What’s better than a quart and a half of luscious homemade ice cream, sorbet or frozen yogurt? How about two quarts! This one is identical to the ICE-20 except it has a larger capacity. It’s easy – an integrated motor, double-insulated freezer bowl and automatic mixing paddle do all the work. Results are consistently smooth, cleanup is easy, and the brushed stainless finish looks terrific.

White Mountain™ Ice Cream Makers
For over 145 years, White Mountain has been producing what many consider to be the best ice cream freezers in the world. This is the old-fashioned ice and salt method that gives you the spontaneity of the compressor style machines (no need to pre-freeze the unit). This one is great to use outside. The hand crank model can be taken anywhere… no electricity needed so it’s perfect for a picnic and its 6 quart capacity is enough to feed a crowd. Kitchen Window offers both the hand crank model and the motorized version. This commercial-grade motor is rugged, dependable, and gives plenty of power for turning the freezer at the speed necessary for producing the fine texture and quality of homemade ice cream. While most ice cream makers use a 3000 RPM motor, White Mountain uses a 12,000 RPM commercial grade motor. No other ice cream maker has the power to re-start after stopping to add fruit, chocolate, etc. just before freezing is completed.

Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker
With the unique Play & Freeze™ Ice Cream Maker, you can make ice cream anywhere! You don’t need electricity, just add ice and rock salt in one end and ice cream mix in the other and have a ball as you shake it, pass it or roll it! Made of durable polycarbonate, it’s lightweight, portable and easy to clean. It’s ideal for camping, boating, picnics, parties, travel...anywhere. This is a great choice for kids!

Donvier™ Ice Cream Maker
Create all-natural premium ice cream and elegant sorbets in less than 20 minutes with the Donvier Ice Cream Maker. Freeze the Chillfast cylinder overnight, add your favorite ingredients and turn the handle occasionally with no salt, ice or electricity required. You can store the cylinder in the freezer to whip up frozen treats at a moment's notice. Additional cylinders are available for this model as well.

There are many great ice cream making options available, as well as books on ice cream and tons of great ingredients and accessories. You are really only limited by your imagination. Why not make the dessert the center of attention at your next get together?