[ani'smommy]

Mine just died and I'm thinking of replacing it. Does anyone have one that they just love? I don't want to spend more than about $70 or so.<br><br>
Thanks!<br><br>
And any ice cream recipes that don't require a machine would be most welcome!

 

[Instantblue]

Here's a link to maker-less ice cream. I've done it with my middle school students several times, and they love it, but it does make a mess, so it's good to do outside. It's also fun for kids birthdays and stuff.<br><br><a href="http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/science/icecream051999.html" target="_blank">http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/scien...eam051999.html</a><br><br>
I also have the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixes, and it's ok. It doesn't freeze the ice cream all the way, so you have to make it, then put it in the freezer for a few hours for it to set. It's fun, but I rarely actually pull it out and use it. I used to have one of those electric ice-less ice cream makers, similar to the cuisinart, but a cheaper brand, and it worked about the same as my KitchenAid attachment. I just didn't use it enough to justify it, but if you really love homemade ice cream, it's fun and a lot less hassle than the traditional kind with ice and salt.

 

[zmom]

We really love our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=motheringhud-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCuisinart-ICE-20-2-Quart-Automatic-Frozen%2Fdp%2FB00000JGRT%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_sr_1%2F102-1599901-7263357%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dhome-garden%26qid%3D1177427327%26sr%3D8-1" target="_blank">Cuisinart</a> ice cream machine. You store the bowl in the freezer when you aren't using it and then it takes about 20-30 minutes to make the ice cream. We usually freeze it for an hour or two after we make it but it'd be ready to serve as "soft serve" after the initial 20-30 minutes. You can make ice cream, sorbet, and frozen drinks in it. It's about $50-60.<br><br>
That reminds me, we should make some ice cream!

 

[shantimama]

We had one once, but I gacve it to a friend when we discovered that half of our family is lactose intolerant.<br><br>
I wasn't that thrilled with it - I found that when I put the ice cream in the freezer to firm up, there was just a little window between when it would be "just right" and hard as a rock and too hard to serve. I think ours was a Cuisinart, too.

 

[Mrshawwk]

I also love my Cuisinart machine. Who knew ice creammaking could be so easy? I love it because it's one of those modern conveniences that don't comprimise the quality of food it makes (ie microwaves, "rubber" bread pans, teflon, etc).

 

[Lady Lilya]

YES, I love my machine. It is called Gelato by Lello. I think I spent about $150 for it, but it was worth it. It has the performance of a machine of $400.

 

[pumpkin]

We have the ice cream attachment to the kitchenaid mixer.<br>
I previously had the cuisinart.<br>
I'm much happier with the kitchenaid.

 

[Lady Lilya]

Pumpkin, the Kitchenaid Attatchment means you have a special bowl that you have to pre-freeze?<br><br>
One of the reasons I love my Gelato by Lello is that it requires no advance planning or freezer space. Just pour in the ingredients and turn it on.

 

[pumpkin]

Yes, its the kind where you have to pre-freeze the bowl. I dream of a day where we have a fancier machine, but we just don't make ice cream often enough to justify it.<br><br>
For the frozen bowl type, I prefer the kitchenaid because I think its got a better moter and it holds the rotor in place better.

 

[mirlee]

We have the Cuisinart. We store the bowl in the freezer at all times, so it is pretty much ready to go at all times. It works fine for our needs.

 

[nannyboo]

we've had the cuisinart for about 10 years and love it. we have never been disappointed by anything we've made in it.<br><br>
we, too, store the frozen bowl in the freezer at all times.

 

[gardenmommy]

I have a cuisanart. I LOVE it! I use it at least once or twice a week, more in the summer. DH bought it for me at williams-sonoma in GR for Christmas about 2 years ago.<br><br>
I like making my own ice cream because I can really limit the amount of sugar, and I know it doesn't have any HFCS, no fillers or stabilizers, etc. I don't feel badly about how much my DC eat, which is a lot!

 

[Lady Lilya]

The reason I bought the Gelato by Lello was.....<br><br>
The ones where you had to pre-freeze the bowl were in the range of $20-70. The ones where you didn't have to pre-freeze were in the range of $300-1500. However, the Gelato works like a $300 one but cost me about half that.

 

[cjr]

I love our Quisinart. It's simple and does a great job. I however like ice cream that is simple. I don't like the custard type ice creams and those are the ones that freeze nice and creamy and stay that way. I discovered that if you hadd 1/2tsp of guar gum (which I found in my HFS) very carefully and evenly while you are blending the creams together, it keeps it from going rock hard in the freezer.

 

[ani'smommy]

I had a Cusinart, but it only lasted maybe a dozen times and then the motor died. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> I was so bummed! So I'm a little hesitant to buy a new one, the price is right, however. And like cjr, we like ice cream that is basically cream, milk and fruit/sweetner.

 

[Lady Lilya]

I've been making vanilla ice cream very simply. I put a little of the cream into a saucepan and heat it with honey and vanilla to dissolve the honey. Then I add the rest of the cold cream so it is mostly cool, and put that into the machine. I found the most important factor to a smooth texture was that what you put in the machine be already cold. Otherwise, you may get something grainy.<br><br>
I also do a lot of fruit sorbets. I just pour fruit juice into the machine.