Ice cream maker - worth it?

Oh, no! What was wrong with it? I've had no problems at all and have had mine for over 2 years now!

The 'freezy' stuff eventually leaked and it never froze 100% to start with. Well, sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. And it wasn't the freezer. Everything else was rock hard in there. We had it less than a year. I have a Ben and Jerry's ice cream recipe book just gathering dust now!

So how much will one of those set you back?

So how much will one of those set you back?

It's been so long that I don't even remember. Maybe someone else who's bought one more recently can help you out.

40 quid maybe?

If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, I highly recommend their ice cream set.  My husband makes sorbet all summer with it, and it's fab.

If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, I highly recommend their ice cream set.  My husband makes sorbet all summer with it, and it's fab.

Two quarts!  Dear Lord!  There's no way that bowl is fitting in my tiny British freezer.  Which is really too bad, because I do have a KitchenAid.  I guess I'll be sticking to the more health-conscientiously sized ones.   

funny that this would be posted because I was just thinking how much I miss my ice cream freezer this morning.  I had a cuisinart one back in the states and loved it!  I only used it a handful of times a year, but it was so fun to have for guests or taking homemade ice cream to work. 

My favorite was to make a twist on sorbet.  I'd blend up raspberries and strawberries and strain out the seeds then I'd put in some sugar, the juice of one lemon, and oddly enough, a small thing of buttermilk.  I know the buttermilk may sound odd, but it added this touch to it that was so, so yummy and unique.  I could throw it together in just a few minutes and it never failed to wow.  mmm, thanks, now I'm missing my US kitchen even more!  I sold off all my cuisinart stuff in a garage sale to get here, and I've mourned the loss of it all since then.

I'd blend up raspberries and strawberries and strain out the seeds then I'd put in some sugar, the juice of one lemon, and oddly enough, a small thing of buttermilk.  I know the buttermilk may sound odd, but it added this touch to it that was so, so yummy and unique. 

That sounds really good!!

My two favourites are:

Pit a bunch of cherries, then soak them in brandy for a few hours. Make vanilla ice cream and toss in the cherries halfway through, along with a few broken biscuits.

Make some ultra-dark coffee ice cream and add broken pieces of Green & Black plain chocolate. Oh, I love that one!

I make ice cream all the time... summer and winter.
My machine is a Panasonic, and you dont just put the bowl into the freezer... you put the entire machine into the freezer and the machine stirs while it's in there.

I love it... definitely a worthwhile purchase, for me.

I make ice cream all the time... summer and winter.
My machine is a Panasonic, and you dont just put the bowl into the freezer... you put the entire machine into the freezer and the machine stirs while it's in there.

I love it... definitely a worthwhile purchase, for me.

how cool! So it's obviously battery operated. How is it the batteries don't freeze?

I just got one for my birthday and came across a really great frozen yogurt recipe...

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/a-frozen-yogurt-recipe-to-rival-pinkberrys-recipe.html

    3 cups (720g) strained yogurt (see below) or Greek-style yogurt
    3/4 cup (150g) sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla (if using). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

To make 1 cup (240g) of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups (480g) of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.

Makes about 1 quart.

Weeeeee!  I ordered our ice cream maker today - a Magimix 1.5 (because we are piggies and I'd like to get more than one dessert out of each batch).  It makes 2 pints of ice cream at a time.  I can't wait until the day after it gets, when I get to try it out.  I need to find the perfect first-batch recipe now. 

How is it the batteries don't freeze?

i dont know, but it works great! 

I need to find the perfect first-batch recipe now. 

If you just start with a basic vanilla ice cream, you can toss anything you like into it when it's half done. Broken up chocolate bars, chopped nuts, candy, fruit ... whatever you have lying around!

I need to find the perfect first-batch recipe now. 

I'd vote for plain, pure vanilla. With a real bean. Sounds boring, but it's SO good when it's freshly homemade! We used to make ice cream in an old hand-cranked machine when we visited my aunt and uncle in the summer. That was the best ice cream *ever*!

Arrgh, now I have an ice cream craving!