132 out of 132 people found this review helpful.
MMMMM.. Can I have more, PLEASE?
Date of Review: Mar 27, 2001
The Bottom Line: I love the goodies you can make with this machine. Would make a great gift for the person who has everything.
My husband bought this toy for me. It was a great gift. Something I would not buy for myself. It is the Cuisinart Ice cream maker. It is a fun little gadget, just not very practical. (That?s why it is such a great gift.) I haven?t used mine since last summer some time. Don?t get me wrong this thing makes good treats. Mine is just collecting dust in the cupboard. Maybe I am too lazy to pull it out and use it.
The Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker is fun to use. I have always liked the ice cream that I have made in it. I do not personally like to make Ice cream with real heavy whip cream so, I wasn?t expecting Bryer?s Ice Cream results with this machine. I will say this. Most store bought Ice cream has a lot of preservatives and gum in them to make them thicker. So with that in mind remember that these machines do not make the smoothest and creamiest ice cream. I absolutely love the strawberry ice cream that we make in during strawberry season.
We looked at a couple of different machines and this one was the nicest that we found for the price. Good quality good price. It seems like it will last a long time.
This machine consists of five main parts. They are as follows. 1. The Ingredient spout. Pour recipe ingredients through the spout, like chocolate chip pieces, nuts, candy bits, without stopping the machine and interrupting the freezing cycle. 2. The Easy lock lid. The lid is transparent so you can watch the freezing process. It is designed to easily lock into the base. 3. The mixing arm. This mixing arm mixes and blends the ingredients in the freezer bowl to create the your frozen creation. It does a good job of making the ice cream light and airy. 4. The freezer bowl. The freezer bowl is a container that contains some kind of cooling liquid between the double insulated wall to create fast and even freezing. I have noticed that the design of it does a good job of freezing evenly and the bowl stays cold during the whole process. 5. The base. This is were the work of the machine is done. The motor is inside of the base. It is white with an on/off switch and the base has some rubber feet. Another thing I like about the base is there is a cord storage in it. You can push the cord inside so you don?t have extra cord hanging out when you put it away.
Some of the things that you can make in this machine are sherbets, thick and frosty pina coladas, frozen daiquiri, sorbet, ice cream, frozen yogurt, slushy kool aid, frozen lemonade, and frozen pudding to name some of the more popular. My kids just love any frozen drink I make them on hot summer days. It makes them feel special that Mommy made them a special drink. The frozen lemonade has got to be just heavenly when you add a few strawberries to it and serve on a hot day.
The only thing I don?t like is if you plan on using it you have to have the container in the freezer at least 6 hours to all day to freeze the freezer bowl . So, if you don?t have limited freezer space this machine may not be for you. I have limited freezer space but since I usually only use my machine in the summer, I learn to deal with it. Also when you do place it in the freezer I suggest that you wrap the freezer bowl in plastic wrap so you don?t get a build up of freezer burn on it. (which will give your ice cream/ frozen treat a bad flavor.) Also do not store frozen desserts or drinks in the freezer bowl for more then 25 or 30 minutes at a time. It will be too hard to get out. Instead get a good airtight container and store your frozen treats in them.
What I love about this Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker is that I can put the ingredients in it and have a great summer dessert in 20 minutes. I love that it is very easy to clean. All you have to do is place the freezer bowl, mixing arm and lid in warm soapy water and give it a quick washing and then rinse. The base just needs wiped with a damp cloth. One thing I have noticed is you must dry the freezer bowl before you place it back in the freezer. This way you don?t get ice crystals on it.
This ice cream maker also has a safety feature on it that is nice to know is there. It automatically stops the unit if the motor over heats. This may occur if the dessert or drink is extremely thick, the machine has been running for an excessive period of time, or if the added ingredients are just too big. To reset the unit all you have to do is turn it off, let it cool down and turn it back on again to continue making the dessert. I have never had the machine over heat on me. I have never had to run it for excessive periods. I have made some thick ice cream, but it never over heated on me.
This machine is a 1 1/2 quarts capacity. It is a lot easier then those machines that require rock salt and lots of ice. I remember when I lived on the farm when I was little and we had a ice cream maker that we had to crank with our arm. we would all pass it around and we never got the results we wanted. ( I think our arms got tired) LOL!! My parents didn?t want to buy the electric one when you had one that worked just fine with people power. We had milking cows and we made butter and whipping cream too. All by hand of course. mmmm fattening. This machine also has a three year limited warranty. Cuisinart has an extra freezer bowl available if you want to purchase an extra one. Might be a good idea if you have a big family. I believe the extra freezer bowls are around 20-25 dollars.
All in all I really like my Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker it is a lot of fun to use. It is nice to have on a hot day. It would make the perfect gift for the person who has everything.
Makes the kids come running mmmmmmmmmm.. Can I have more please?
Thanks for reading my opinion. Have a good day. Michelle
