Talk to me about ice cream makers please.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

How do they work?
Do you have one, if so which one? Do you like it? Can I get plenty of recipes online to use in one?
I have no doubt I will use one if they ate any good, I use all my gadgets most days. I just can't work out the making process and if it will be amazing finished ice cream or not!
:)

The icecream is very good! Although, it needs to be eaten as soon as it's ready, as it goes very, very hard in the freezer!

I've got a Morphy Richards one, I think. You need to keep the bowl/insulated bit in the freezer for at least 24 hours before making though, or it won't work. I usually use it, wash it up, then put it straight back in the freezer, so I know it's always there and ready.

There's loads of recipes online and it usually comes with a selection anyway. I like making different frozen yoghurts. Any fruit you fancy and plain yoghurt. Simple as that. Double cream and sieved strawberry puree is pretty good too!

Funnily enough Ive just dug mine out and have made bitter orange ice cream today ready for Easter family dinner to go with a pistachio tart. Mine is a ken wood. I have made a few errors that I thought I would share!

It DOES need a 24 hour freeze beforehand (the bowl). I thought, nah, 6 hours will do. It didn't and I ended up with peanut butter custard, watching it go round and round sadly doing nothing.

You need space in your freezer for the bowl at all times really if you disorganised like me. If I want to make ice cream I want to make it NOW! I'm rarely ahead enough of the game to remember to put it in the freezer the day before. As such, it needs cupboard space too, if you aren't going to keep it there.

Other poster is quite right. Storing the ice cream in the bowl is a mistake. Even covered with cling film, lids etc, the ice cream goes a bit dried up round the edges and unappealing.

What to do with the egg whites? I've now got 6 on the fridge.

Nigel Slater has a nice chapter in Real Food about ice cream and he probably has recipes floating round on the net.

Only once did I scramble the custard and it happened in the blink if an eye.

Good luck on your ice cream adventures. They are super tasty and I wouldn't be without mine, even of I only use it rarely I know it's there nestled in a love nest with my waffle maker, blow torch and juicer

I LOVE my ice cream maker, as do my family.
I am on my third, having burnt out the motors on both of the others through overuse :)
I have a Magimix Le Glacier 1.1l

My tips would be:

• Make sure the bowl fits in your freezer drawer - I would rather have had the 1.5l one but it didn't fit
• Keep it there at all times. It doesn't take up that much room if you fill it with other frozen stuff that you have in there
• I slightly disagree with Maureen about eating it straight away. Some will freeze solid, especially yogurt-based ones and some sorbets, but others can be quite soft especially if they have alcohol in them - chocolate and Cointreau is wonderful :) Taking it out of the freezer 15mins or so before eating works well
• Ask on here for recipes
• A flat wooden spoon is good for getting the extra-frozen bits from round the edge
• Be prepared to get very snobby about shop-bought ice cream :)

1. beating air into it (aka churning) helps it not turn into a block of ice
2. high milk fat content (eg cream, yoghurt etc) does the same. It also gives it a rich, slow melt in the mouth feel which releases the flavour slowly. That may or may not be what you want
3. Rapid freezing is important for a smooth ice cream. The home trick is to make sure all the ingredients and bowls they are in and everything are fridge cold before you put them in the ice cream maker. They have a shorter journey to the freezing point that way
4. sugar and alcohol will lower the freezing point and therefore improve the texture.

600ml of thickened cream, whipped to soft peaks, mix in 1 tin of condensed milk, add flavours/colours as you wish.

I usually just put vanilla essence in, but sometimes add choc chips, 100s & 1000s (for the girls). I have made it green, blue, red & pink. Added strawberries once too.

It keeps well, but can get a little hard in the freezer, you just need to take it out a few minutes before serving.

I know that isn't what you asked for, but I don't see the point in spending $$ for a gadget for something that I can whip up in 5 minutes.

having to freeze the bowl before hand sounds like a pain!

Thanks for all the replies.

I have brought a cheapie one from amazon but one that had plenty of 5* reviews.

Any recipes or ideas of flavours very welcome.

DP is on a diet but really missing ice cream and we make our own fat free yoghurt, would this work to make frozen yoghurt or is the fat content important?

Also would creme fraiche (sp?) work?

The motor on mine bust last night mid churning this morning it is working again . ice cream tasty but now rock solid. Do you think softening will work? And cam I trust machine now?!