Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker

This is a great little ice cream maker! Originally I was looking for something that I didnt have to freeze a bowl. Because I didnt want to have to take that extra step. But this came on sale so it was too tempting to pass up! Super simple to use and makes icecream so much faster then the old Nostalgia ones. No leaks, material is nice, easy to use! I gave my freezer bowl about 18 hours in a deep freezer and it worked wonderfully. It also comes with a very nice and detailed recipe book that is super helpful and it was easy to clean up too. Over all great product and made yummy ice cream!

This ice cream maker is so much fun. It's easy to use... just make sure you freeze the bowl as directed or your ice cream will not freeze. The ice cream is delicious and creamy. It does make some noise, but not enough to bother me. Highly recommended!

This is a very good ice cream machine for its class (home use, freezer bowl). I'd owned the 1 1/2 quart Cusinart model and liked it a lot. Then someone in my house put the drum in the dishwasher and I found out when I tried to make a batch of ice cream that wouldn't freeze. Using the 1 1/2 quart model I was always scaling down recipes or hovering over the ice cream as it churned with a spoon, stealing spoonfuls ice cream as it threatened to overflow the ice cream maker because I overfilled it (not that I really minded that). I like the 2 quart size for those reasons, If you've never owned one of these types of ice cream makers before, here's an overview. There are two main parts as far as what makes the ice cream. There is a paddle and a drum, aka the freezer bowl. The night before you intend to make ice cream (or earlier) park your clean freezer bowl in the coldest part of your freezer overnight. This is essential that the bowl be frozen through with no sloshing sound. This drum is what chills the ice cream. When you're ready to make the ice cream, put the frozen freezer bowl into the base of the ice cream machine, put the paddle in and put the top on, start the machine and then pour your cold (repeat COLD) ice cream mixture into the freezer bowl as it runs. The cold of the freezer bowl chills the ice cream mixture, the paddle scraps the sides of the freezer bowl as it turns which scrapes off the freezing ice cream incorporating it back into the ice cream mixture and churns air into the mixture. Let the machine run for 20ish minutes. Give it a peak every once in a while because watched ice cream never freezes ;). When it's done, you'll hear the motor struggle a bit more because of the thickness of the ice cream, the ice cream will be soft serve consistency and will be done as far as its adventure with the machine. From here you could eat it as soft serve, or scoop out the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze it for a few hours. let the freezer bowl warm up a little, then wash by hand with warm soapy water and a soft sponge or cloth. The negative comments that people have left seem mostly to be due to them not understanding how this machine works or that they expected something different, or both. Yes, you have to freeze the bowl overnight -- that's how this type of ice cream machine chills ice cream. It doesnt have its own refridgeration unit. If you want that, then pay 5x+ the price for a different type of machine. No, this machine doesn't produce solid hard ice cream -- it produces soft serve consistency because it churns and you can't churn rock solid ice cream. And You MUST WASH THE FREEZER BOWL BY HAND. This isn't a "to keep it looking it's best" issue like you sneak your pots and pans in the dishwasher even though you shouldn't -- the heat from the dishwasher will destroy the freezing liquid in the bowl and the bowl will never make ice cream again. You can tell that a well meaning relative put your bowl in the dishwasher because the bowl will still sound sloshy even though it's been freezing for days. The It Never Froze My Ice Cream comments -- the person either put their freezer bowl in the dishwasher or the bowl wasn't cold enough. Or the freezer bowl was defective. The It Won't Make Ice Cream Immediately, It Makes Soft Serve...comments -- that's true, but that's how this machine works. Some have commented that they have to let the finished ice cream (after being I the freezer) sit on the counter for 15 minutes until they can scoop it. My suggestions are: 1. Use more fat in your recipe, 2. Let it churn more air as the machine runs, 3. Know that most commercial ice creams have a ton of what they call "overhead" which is basically air in the ice cream. You may notice that the same volume of two different brands of ice cream weigh differently. Ultra premium brands like Haagen Daaz have little overhead compared to, say most grocery store brands. Lower quality ice creams also have thickeners and stabilizers that hold the ice cream together but keep it from really forming solid. Ever leave a bowl of ice cream on the counter overnight and the next day it's a little melted but mostly in the same shape? That's the stabilizers. All of this makes commercial ice cream soft and easy to scoop even though it's frozen. Take heart that better quality ice creams like the one you are making are naturally harder when frozen, and therefore may take a sturdy ice cream scoop and perhaps a little muscle to scoop. On properly made ice creams (enough fat, enough churning) I've never made a batch too hard to scoop straight from the freezer. In short, this machine works beautifully and its make quality ice cream. I'm very happy with it.

I bought this icecream machine because we just found out that my son and daughter both have terrible allegies to milk, eggs, wheat and soy. We also do not eat refined sugar or processed food. We tried vegan + soy free ice creams that were about $10 a pint and whole foods and tasted terrible. this machine makes excellent ice cream. It's very easy to use and it comes with a few recipes. to work it, basically, there is an "on" and "off" switch and that's it. the reason why I gave it 4 stars is because of the NOISE!! holy cow, this thing is REALLY loud and given that it takes about 30-35 minutes for the ice cream to finish, that's a really long time for a horribly loud machine. aside, from that, it churns out an excelent and very creamy ice cream product. It's very easy to use and to clean. For those of you who might be interested in a gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free (honey) and soy free and incredibly creamy recipe that tastes heavenly, you are in for a treat (a frozed delicious one). Here's the recipe: How To Make Vegan Ice Cream Makes 1 quart, serves 6 to 8 What You Need Ingredients 2 (13- to 15-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk 1/2 cup agave, maple syrup, honey, turbinado sugar, or cane sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch, i used cornstarch) 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (i used 2) Optional extras: nuts, chocolate (or carob) chips, fruit puree, cacao nibs, etc. 1 tsp great lakes unflavored gelatin Equipment Measuring cups and spoons Whisk 2-quart saucepan Wooden spatula Glass or plastic dish, for cooling the base Ice cream machine (at least 1 1/2 quart capacity) Plastic wrap Freezer container, like a loaf pan or pint container Parchment or wax paper Instructions → At least 24 hours before you plan to churn the ice cream, put the ice cream machine's bowl in the freezer to freeze. It should be frozen solid before using (you should hear no liquid sloshing inside when you shake it). Shake the coconut milk: Cans of coconut milk separate into a thick creamy layer and a thin watery layer on the shelf. Before opening them, shake the cans of coconut milk thoroughly to incorporate the layers. Set aside 1/2 cup coconut milk: Open the cans of coconut milk. Measure 1/2 cup and set this aside. Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan: Pour the remaining coconut milk into a 2-quart sauce pan. Add the sweetener and salt to the coconut milk: Measure the sweetener (agave, maple syrup, honey, or sugar). Add this to the coconut milk along with the salt. Warm the coconut milk on the stove: Warm the coconut milk on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sweetener has completely dissolved into the coconut milk, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved coconut milk: Measure the cornstarch and add it to the reserved 1/2 cup coconut milk. Whisk thoroughly until the cornstarch is totally dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the coconut milk: Pour the cornstarch mixture into the warm coconut milk and the 1 tsp of great lakes gelatin while whisking gently. Heat the ice cream base until thickened: This is your ice cream base. Increase the heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking the base until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 10 minutes. Do not allow the base come to a boil. Stir in the vanilla: Remove the base from heat and stir in the vanilla. Chill the base: Pour the base into a shallow container. Let the base cool slightly on the counter so it's not hot when you put it in the fridge. Before refrigerating, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface — this coconut milk base doesn't form a skin quite as badly as a milk-and-egg base, but it doesn't hurt! Cover the container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or for up to 3 days. I let mine sit in the refriderator for 1 night and let the container freeze also for the night. Begin churning the ice cream: Remove the base from the fridge. It should be completely chilled and slightly pudding-like in texture. Pour the base into your ice cream machine and begin churning. Churn until the ice cream is the consistency of soft-serve: Churn the ice cream until it thickens considerably and is roughly the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Depending on your machine, this could take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes (it took me exactly 30 minutes with this unit — keep an eye on it! If you want to add any extras, add them now and churn a few more seconds until they are fully incorporated. Transfer to freezer container: Scrape the ice cream into your freezer container. Press a piece of parchment or wax paper agains the surface to prevent ice crystals from forming. Freeze for at least 4 hours: Transfer the container of ice cream to the freezer and freeze for at least for hours to harden the ice cream. Warm slightly before serving: If your ice cream is too hard to scoop, let it warm a few minutes on the counter before scooping. I find that coconut ice cream melts a little more quickly than milk-based ice creams, so don't wait too long!

My wife and I love this thing. My wife likes to make sorbet. Before having this machine, her sorbets were more grainy in texture. This machine solved that problem. It not only produces better results, but also shortens the time spent in making frozen desserts. As well, it's a solidly built machine, with good weight for staying where it's put on a counter top. It's both fun and easy to use. We take all of the above as being evidence of thoughtful design, and its good quality. The pre-frozen mixing container maintains its coldness throughout the process. Then there's the homemade ice cream ............... Luckily, the lactose intolerant can also enjoy owning this machine.

I couldn’t be happier with this ice cream maker. The price was right (bought it on Black Friday) and it makes two quarts as opposed to the one pint made by other machines. It’s very easy to use, doesn’t take long, and is easy to clean. Comes with a recipe book and I’ve made the chocolate and vanilla so far and both were creamy and delicious. If there’s one downside it’s that after getting most of the ice cream out some of it hardens to the sides which I think is normal. Just use a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to scrape it off the sides and just stir it when you put it in the container with the rest of the ice cream and it will be fine. But I’m not going to complain because the ice cream is so tasty and super easy to make.

First off warning do not put freezer bowl in freezer if it is wet. I would wait till it completely dries and then put it in the freezer. A damaged one bowl from doing this, there should be a huge warning sign on the freezer bowl as soon as you open this box. There are so many reviews, so I’m sure mine won’t matter much or might not even be read often because I think thousands of people have bought this machine, and a lot of those people left reviews. I just wanted to inspire other vegans that are interested in buying this ice cream maker to purchase it. It does work just as well for our vegan products, although for me being inexperienced with recipes it will take some practice. My first recipe I made was orange sherbet. I used coconut sugar, and coconut cream, very simple. The recipe called for 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream but I wasn’t sure about what kind of milk I would want to mix with coconut cream so I just used a big 12 oz can of coconut cream. It turned out wonderful and delicious. This thing is loud as heck. It starts off less noisy, and gets louder as the process goes on. I believe that the noise abruptly changes when you can tell its finished. Any reviewer that thinks this machine is not loud must have a hearing problem. I don’t think the noise would be much different even if you did buy a more expensive model and different brand. I think Ice cream makers are loud, the process has to be noisy! I could be wrong though. I really appreciated one of the top reviews, instructing us how to clean it. I just rinse mine out with water once defrosted. Next time I make ice cream I am going to follow the top reviewers instructions about starting the machine and letting it spin and then pour in the mixture. The mixture collected on the wall of bowl as soon as I poured the mixture in it because bowl is frozen. I have come to realize that using real dairy products will make the ingredients less likely to stick on the bowl. I left my bowl in the freezer for two days before using it for the first time. Eight hours is definitely not enough to freeze it for the first use. This is just my opinion. I also think the ingredients should be refrigerated 24 hours before hand if you want a harder ice cream quicker ( The ice cream is only going to get so hard anyway. It’s going to be a soft serve ice cream). I’m not sure why 1 reviewers said there’s took 50 or 60 minutes (Probably as the top reviewer said this person didn’t freeze the container for more than 24 hours, didn’t have cold ingredients, or my own opinion they damaged the bowl by not frying it off completely before freezing. Mine took about 20-25 minutes, Ice cream will take about 35 minutes,. I try to always use a wooden spoon, and it never scratches the freezing bowl, however I did use a metal spoon one time and it caused dents on the bottom of the bowl. I am so excited about making future recipes. What a great investment, it makes you so happy to know that you don’t have to depend on some manufacturer or grocery store to provide you with ice cream. Besides that, in the long run you’re going to save tons of money.!

I bought this ice cream machine in February and have made about 3 or 4 dozen batches with it by now. It's fantastic! You pour in the custard, switch it to "on", go find something to do for half an hour, and come back to ice cream. Upon reading the other reviews, I'd like to specify a few things for people who, like me, haven't owned an ice cream machine before and want to know what to expect when they make a batch. 1. Freeze your bowl completely, for 24 hours, as directed. If your bowl isn't completely frozen, your ice cream won't churn properly. There's no shortcut around this. I prefer to keep my bowl in the freezer all the time if I think the whim to make ice cream will strike me. If your bowl is room-temperature and you want to make a batch today, it's just not going to happen, so include bowl-chilling time in your planning. 2. When you're done churning, your ice cream will be soft-serve consistency. This is normal. Trust me, you want it to be that way or it'd be difficult to get out of the machine to transfer into a container--I find that I have about 3-4 minutes to make the transfer, or the ice cream on the sides and bottom are very hard to get out. When you've put your ice cream into your Gladware or whatever you're using (I like OXO's freezer-proof containers) then it'll harden up in an hour or two. 3. Don't touch the metal part of the frozen bowl, especially if your hands are wet. Ouch. Seriously, the frozen metal will freeze water to it in a matter of seconds. It'll do the same to your skin. By the same token, don't wash the freezer bowl until you've run it under very hot water for a few minutes or let it defrost for an hour or two. The water residue will freeze to ice (and give your next batch freezer-burn flavor if you store the bowl in the freezer) and whatever towel or paper towel you use to dry it will freeze lint balls to the metal. Not a desirable result. 4. Making your own custard is actually pretty easy. You don't need a double-boiler, a regular saucepan will do fine, and despite what the ice cream books will tell you, you do not need to watch the custard like a nuclear scientist. You still have to stand there and stir it, and you don't want to let it boil, but it's not a case of "Oh, I let it go for 2 seconds, it's ruined." It's not a souffle. Personally, I've found that a slightly overcooked custard (i.e. a little clumpy on the bottom of the pan when you pour it in the strainer) makes a superior result. I like to make my custard at night, chill overnight in the fridge, and churn in the morning. 5. Remember to stir your custard thoroughly before adding it to the churn (some recipes separate a little during the chilling process) and do NOT use more than a half cup of mix-ins for a full 2-quart batch, or you'll get overflow. A half cup doesn't sound like much but it really is. Pick up a copy of Leibovitz's "The Perfect Scoop". It has fantastic recipes, great tips on making a successful custard, and also has tons of recipes for making your own mix-ins. Just a great source for all ice cream-related things overall. I've got a few ice cream recipe books and I think this one is the best.