Ice cream machine recommendations....

leighfrancesca, Dec 15, 7:22am
Hi I'm looking to buy an ice cream maker for the gf this christmas.Can anyone make any recommendations of which ones are good value for money?

Ideally it will make at least 1.5 litres of icecream, will be robust and will make "regular" icecream not just the "soft serve" stuff.

At the moment the cuisinart ICE-30 is looking pretty good.

Thanks in advance.

meegs35, Dec 15, 8:00pm
I have the Cuisinart machine and it's pretty good. You are never going to get the perfect consistency that you would get from a machine that has the compressor in it (costs a fortune too), but the ice cream will still be good. The more reasonably priced machine have the freezer bowl so the Cuisinart is a good size and works well. Lucky gf!

rosathemad, Dec 15, 10:07pm
I am perfectly happy with my modest Sunbeam Snowy - does the trick until I am much richer and can get one with a compressor. ;-) It claims only to make a litre but most of my recipes yield closer to 1.5L.

leighfrancesca, Dec 16, 12:06am
Thanks for the feedback guys.

turksta3, Dec 16, 12:08am
Rosathemad, im pleased the sunbeam one is good as i am getting one for xmas.cant wait!!

falcon-hell, Dec 16, 1:01am
i have made my own icecream with my electric beater and while it takes a hell of a lot of beating to get egg yolks white in colour,its well worth it,however even i'd like a icecream machine too.

iriegirl, Dec 16, 1:24am
Hi leighfrancesca, I got my cuisinart icecream maker about 2 months ago and have been using it constantly! A good friend did give me some great advice though and advised me to always keep the bowl in the freezer (in a plastic bag), and to have all the ingredients as cold as possible when making your icecream/sorbet etc. When I made sorbet for tthe first time I was amazed that it was perfect for eating after its 25 minutes in the machine! I have some seriously good sorbet recipes if you'd like me to post for you?

leighfrancesca, Dec 16, 2:32am
That would be much appreciated thanks iriegirl.And thanks for the advice too.

carbon_trader, Dec 16, 4:23am

lenart, Dec 16, 4:35am
I'd like to see the recipes too. I started to make frozen yoghurts in my ice cream maker not so long ago and made frozen yoghurts an item on my menu nearly every day. Would love to see new recipes and ideas.
My ice cream maker: http://ooooby.ning.com/profiles/blogs/frozen-yoghurt-for-summer

punkinthefirst, Dec 16, 4:51am
I make the BEST icecream in an old-fashioned hand-cranked icecream maker with a wooden outer tub and a metal billy-type inner that uses ice and salt as the freezing medium. Doesn't help you, I know! Picked it up at the dump shop in Wellington for $10, intending to make a lamp from the wooden tub, but saw it was still intact and couldn't resist trying it out. The quaint lamp is still unmade.

cookessentials, Dec 16, 6:37am
I use a Krups ice-cream machine.

iriegirl, Dec 17, 1:38am
Hi all, sorry it took a day! Xmas!!
First one...
Strawberry and Star Anise Sorbet
Ingredients
• 115 g (4 oz/1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 3 star anise
• 750 g (1 lb 10 oz) strawberries
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
Method
Put 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) of water, the sugar and star anise, in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool completely. Discard the star anise.
Hull and purée the strawberries. Combine the purée, lime juice, and cold sugar syrup in a bowl and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the sorbet is just firm. Spoon into a container and freeze until ready to serve. Also makes a delicious topping sauce when thawed.

iriegirl, Dec 17, 1:47am
Next......
Elderflower sorbet
350mlof concentrated elderflower cordial
1 Lemon
1 C of water
2 Egg whites
4 T sugar
1. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar has disolved. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
2. Mixthe cordial with the juice from lemon and the sugar water.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold into the cordial mix.
4. Place in ice cream maker and run for 25 minutes. Serve immediately, or put in freezer until 5 minutes before serving.

iriegirl, Dec 17, 1:59am
Next.....
Lemon and passionfruit sorbet
2 C water
¼ C caster sugar
1 t lemon zest
½ C passionfruit puree
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Add in passionfruit puree, and lemon zestand combine well. Pour into ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an air-tight container and freeze for an additional 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

iriegirl, Dec 17, 2:04am
Here's an easy version of above
Passion Fruit Sorbet
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, to taste
• 2 1/2 cups passion fruit juice
• 1/3 cup lime juice
Combine the sugar, passionfruit juice and lime juice, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve

iriegirl, Dec 17, 2:15am
One more!
Pineapple with Sichuan peppercorn sorbet
1 medium sized sweet pineapple
1tsp Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
Top and tail and peel the pineapple, then chop and blend, add the Sichuan peppercorns. Transfer to your ice cream maker for 25 minutes. Serve with slices of fresh pineapple

shop-a-holic, Dec 17, 2:59am
If you make simple syrup, you will have your sugar and water ready in the fridge for any flavour sorbet, sherbert or gelato.
2 cups sugar
2 cups of water
Bring to boil, until sugar dissolves. CHILL for at least 8 hours
Yields 3 cups

Combine 1 cup of Simple Syrup to 2 cups of pureed or juiced fruit in your machine, and you will yield near a litre of sorbet.

Ice Cream Machine Recommendation: KitchenAid
Favorite Ice Cream Recipes: My 70% Cacao Chocolate and my Limited Edition Christmas Iced Cream.

anne1955, Nov 6, 10:43pm
I was given a manual one brought in the USA as a gift for me I loved it..sadly when up in flames when my daughter lost her house in a fire recently You put the goodies into the frozen centre and turned the handle done very quickly and loved it...would love another one maybe one day...but I would go for a manual one after having one :)