Ice cream maker

[ParadiseLaundry]

Does anyone have any recommendations of a good one, tips or things I need to look for when purchasing?

I've been making ice cream for a while without one (for the kids and myself, it tastes better than shop bought and bonus that you can reduce sugar/isnt UPF, for example) but thinking of getting one to make it easier, improve the texture.

Any tips very much appreciated!

I love my Cuisinart. You just need room in the freezer to keep the bowl in at all times so it’s ready to go when you are.

Thank you, that's good to know!

I had wanted one for years! Finally got a magimix ( smaller version) you also have to prefreeze the bowl for 24 hours, then you have to be quick off the mark to get the mix in , I now have it ready before I get the bowl out.

We make the frozen yogurt recipe, it doesn’t involve faffing around with custard. It tastes very creamy and fruity.

If you do it all the time, you can get one which incorporates the freezer, but they are very heavy and take up a lot of space.

I’ve got an ancient Phillips one my DM handed down to me. I also have to pre freeze the bowl.

I’m making ginger 🫚 lemon 🍋 sorbet as we speak

I have a ninja creami (the deluxe) and again you have to pre freeze the tubs, but they’re a good size. It also has other options like frappes and slush

After various icecream makers over the years, I'm totally sold on my Ninja Creami - this morning I just put vanilla (eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla) and mango (just a tin of mango puree) in the freezer - they'll be ready to be whizzed up tomorrow, and the texture is so much better than anything I'd ever got from a classic maker.

I love the icecream, but's been sorbet that's blown my mind from it - I'm lazy and use tinned fruit, but it's just delicious - smooth and creamy despite no dairy at all.

I always thought newer ice cream makers magically freeze in the machine somehow without the need to pre freeze a bowl.

I don’t mind my old one so much now after all.

Not necessarily newer ones just way more expensive ones do that! If you don't want to pay a fortune you have to use the pre freeze bowl type.

I have had ice cream makers possibly nearly 40 yrs, best was a Philips that lasted I'd say nearly 30 yrs, when that broke I actually bought the ice cream bowl attachment for the Kitchen Aid, fine big bowl so you could make a decent amount, main problem with the usual ones is it's a very small quantity. Anyway after about half a dozen uses the bowl actually developed a crack and the blue stuff that freezes leaked out! Very disappointed with that but I'd had it more than a year at that stage so no guarantee!

I presently have a Magimix and a Kenwood, both on the small side hence having two but recently been practically converted to ice cream recipes using condensed milk, can make a much larger quantity and no need of the machine. Now I still use them occasionally when grandkids visiting, they like a selection but for a quick fix the condensed milk variety is very good option.

In an ideal world I'd buy one of the really expensive ones that freeze it themselves and make a bigger quantity but can't justify that expense.

We’ve got a Ninja Creami too. I wasn’t 100% sure before we bought it but we use it all the time. I have high cholesterol so can make frozen yoghurt with Fage 0%. My daughter makes real ice cream in it with eggs etc and it tastes absolutely amazing. We’ve definitely got our money’s worth out of it!

I have the Cuisinart - It is VERY heavy. So beat that in mind if you want to store it in a high cupboard.

This is actually what I thought too 😂

Thanks so much everyone.

This sounds absolutely amazing 😋

We have sage I don't remember what it's called but it has a tune when it ends haha and a cuisinart ice100 or something. Both I don't have to freeze the bowl for. I've never used the bowl freezing type but I don't think it's that bad if you have the freezer space. (We have two because we have two properties and I've bought the same stuff here just different brands as when we were buying we were choosing between x and y so now we just have x and y if that makes sense). Both make great ice cream. I find the sage is a bit easier to forget about but the cuisinart makes really nice ice creams. Really nice. We have limited freezer space because we need to store plenty of ready made food. I can't say I'm that passionate about them to tell you the diff but I can give you an essay kenwood vs kitchenaid! 😂 any questions on these type ask away

I made a honey and lime ice cream today that’s to die for!

btw my ginger and lemon sorbet was delicious. I left the sugar syrup in the fridge with the ginger pieces still inside I’d infused it with for a few days and added those pieces to the sorbet. They were a soft, chewy and delicious addition.

The ninja ice cream machine is a bit odd ie different to mine.
With mine you have a sort of round cake size thing you place in the freezer like an ice pack.
I then place this in the bottom of my machine and attach the stirer and the lid - I then add my ingredients through a hole in the lid and it turns around and around till it becomes ice cream after half an hour or so on the top metal part of my cake shaped ice pack.

With the Ninja you freeze all your ingredients in a plain old plastic jug in the freezer then place that in the machine which just blends it with a blender.

I’ve got a sage which is one that freezes as it churns , the icecream still needs a little while in the freezer afterwards to firm up ( it needs to be this slightly soft consistency as it finishes churning or you would never get it out of the machine set hard - but you will see this as a complaint on the reviews on line , the buyers just haven’t thought it through !) makes delicious icecream and easy to use and clean afterwards

Any low fat recipes?

I like the Cuisinart that doesn’t require pre-freezing. But it is heavy, and going for £299 at Lakeland. It is probably a bit cheaper elsewhere.

@tigerlily9 sorbets are nonfat and sherbets are nonfat or lowfat. Loads of recipes on the internet. The Cuisinart does both well.

Ninja creami delux.

I currently have 4 tubs in the freezer ready to turn into various flavours.

Also a pineapple sorbet made with nothing but tinned pineapple and the juice which is delicious.

I have magimix but I find it a bit fiddly with the removable bowl v the fixed bowl and don‘tsee how you can do two batches easily as have to clean out the brine/alcohol