Cuisinart ICE100BCU Silver Professional Gelato, Ice Cream, Frozen Yoghurt and Sorbet Maker 1.5L, Stainless Steel, 150 W, 1.5 liters

Good ice cream maker

Amazing piece of kit - makes the finest ice cream you'll ever eat, with minimal effort and you don't have to keep waiting 12 hours for a bowl to freeze! Believe me, once you've had this ice cream, you'll never want to touch any commercial variety again (not to mention goodness knows what additives.)This is a heavy chunky machine that you probably won't want to keep dragging in and out of a cupboard (and it really shouldn't be moved around anyway) so you ideally need permanent space on your worktop. I've sat mine on one of those black oven liners so I can easily slide it aside when I want to clean the granite worktop underneath etc.When the machine arrived, I left it to settle for 24 hours before using it. Next day I made a batch of strawberry gelato and blackberry/mango gelato, using the gelato paddle - pic attached shows the strawberry. The results were out of this world - smooth, creamy and full of fruit. I used one of the online recipes from the excellent 'Ask Chef Dennis' website using fresh strawberries, half full-fat milk/half double cream, lemon juice and granulated sugar (I used less sugar than the recipe called for, as the fruit was quite sweet.) And that was it. No messing about with egg yolks and making custards. You can substitute virtually any fruit.I don't find this machine excessively noisy at all - it's a lot quieter than even most kettles and you can easily talk over it.Some people have also marked this machine down because they say the ice cream is hard to remove from the paddle but I had no problem with that at all - I just used two small silicone spatulas. TIP: get a teaspoon ready to just eat the residue left on the paddle - it's too good to waste! Getting the lid in place can be a bit of a knack but once you've got it, it's very easy - just make sure the small lock icons line up on the lid and the machine.The handbook is very clear and well-written. It's got a small but good selection of basic recipes but I find the (free) 'Ask Chef Dennis' recipes much less of a faff to prepare and give great results.Although the handbook states that 1 litre is the total maximum quantity you should make at a time, I'd actually recommend using slightly less because as the mixture freezes, it expands massively and depending on what you're making and how long your chosen cycle is, it rises right to the very top of the bowl.If your paddle squeaks as it goes round when the mixture starts thickening, a tiny drop of cooking oil or butter on the top part of the paddle spindle where it touches the lid should stop it. You'll probably have to re-apply the oil every time though because it will come off when you wash the paddle.All in all, although this is a relatively expensive machine, it's solidly built and imo worth every penny. My only regret is not buying one much sooner.

The media could not be loaded. It’s a great ice cream machine! We’ve made four recipes from the book and they all were delicious and super quality! And people are fascinated by the idea and the way it looks!

This is easy to use and clean ~ and it is fab for frozen yoghurt and ice cream. I use almond butter, yoghurt, cacao and a little coconut sugar to make my version of healthy ice cream. a in around 35 minutes. Fab!

Don't be tempted to put a whole litre of mix in as it will almost certainly come over the edge of the mixing bowl. Works a treat, and quickly. Pretty quiet in operation and very simple to use. So far I've been just using cartons of premade mix (half a litre at a time), which is fine to begin with. I will move to proper home made in due course. The three main components (bowl, whisk and lid) are apparently not dishwasher safe .. which is a pity, but they are simple enough to clean by hand so it's not a major flaw.

I bought my ice-cream maker 14 months ago and have had plenty of use out of it. All my family and friends have thoroughly enjoyed the ice-cream produced with it. Recently the machine stopped freezing and I was gutted however Cuisinart have been very quick to offer me a replacement machine and even extended the guarantee which had already been for 5 years. Due to not only loving the machine but also the great customer service I am very happy to recommend Cuisinart and their ice-cream makers.

The media could not be loaded. 30th Nov 2024:I've updated this review and removed most of the old stuff since it's just repetition so I'll sum it so far:3 years and so far so good! I would like to mention I have the US bowl and while cleaning is much easier, I did notice the plastic where the screws are is much worse and now I can't really screw it properly-- it now easily leaks down there. I recommend against using it and sticking to UK's bowl (which sadly you cannot buy as a standalone).Maximum liquid to put in is 750mL before it starts overflowing. You can add toppings easily (US's cover is nicer for that). If the ice cream freezes real fast it will get the machine stuck so be careful with the room temperature being <15°C or having your ice cream have lots of solids. That said mine did survive being stuck but it's not healthy for it.Sound levels: my mother slept 7 meters away from this :)The review remains at 5 stars, and my glowing recommendation to purchase this wonderful machine, but you must remember to clean it. You don't need to spend double for top of the line machines as you'll make the same amount of ice cream (1 liter) as those and the quality will be identical.See you in a year!----------------Original review:Video in this review is two in one: noise of the machine during churning, and the lemon ice cream I've made. The second video shows how the ice cream comes out if you let the machine run long enough for the ice cream to freeze.This review is 1.5 months since receiving the ICE100BCU, and I made 6 ice creams using it: vanilla, prickly pear, banana (twice), coffee and lemon. I prefer letting this machine run for 25-30 minutes before putting in the mixture, and then it runs for 20-40 minutes.Noise:Surprisingly it's much lower than I expected. Mostly everything else in the kitchen made more noise. You can hold a conversation right next to the machine without problems.Cleaning:Open the underside: do so by unscrewing the three Phillips screws, taking out the silicon and plastic cover and push the metal from inside the bowl and separate the plastic it houses as well. Wash everything + bowl with water and soap and let dry. Ensure all water is out or it will freeze next time in the machine.So far I've loved every single ice cream that turned out, the banana ice cream in particular is one of the best ice creams I've had in my life. Anyone who had any of the ice creams I've made effectively devoured their share. Definitely no need to purchase ice cream again!