This review is from: Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White (Kitchen)
I have relied on my Rival ice cream maker for many years, churning out many, many batches of good ice cream…but after so many years, i got tired of the rock salt and ice ordeal so i went for this model. GLAD I DID! I’ve made half a dozen batches so far and i’m pleased to say this works better than the salt/ice machine. A few comments:
First, it’s easier to do, and doesnt take any guessing on how much ice to salt than the traditional ice/salt machine. THer’es no messy clean up of salt and/or ice off the counter/floor, either.
Second, it’s quicker than advertised. While eveything says 20-25 minutes, i have yet to have a batch take longer than 15 minutes.
Third, I did not have to turn my freezer down to the lowest setting either (i was concerned about wasting energy just for this!). I have it on a “5” out of “9” settings, and it’s fine. I stuck the canister in the back, on the bottom shelf–which I assume is the coldest place. Just make sure the recipe you use is VERY cold before you throw it into the machine. (i often put it in the freezer for 30 min before i make ice cream). ANother tip: put the exterior clear casing into the freezer for a while before making the ice cream–it just helps insulate the canister all the more when it’s turning.)
Fourth, it’s the quietest ice cream machine i’ve heard. No, you cant hear a pin drop in the other room, but i use it in the kitchen and can comfortably watch TV in my adjacent family room without having to adjust the volume at all. I can hear the machine churing, but it doesnt get in the way of hearing the TV.
Fifth, so why 4 stars instead of 5? Her’es the only downside of the frozen canister v. salt/ice machines. Scooping the finished ice cream out of the heavy and awkward-to-handle canister and into a container for freezing, is challenging. The canister, understandably, is VERY cold. It seems off balance as you try to do this, too. And if you wait more than a moment, the ice cream quickly starts to freeze hard to the canister, so a rubber spatula (never use metal or you’ll scratch the canister!), cant scrape the hardened ice cream off the sides very easily.
Overall, GREAT ice cream maker. THe quality of the ice cream is good, with a nice, smooth texture.
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This review is from: Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White (Kitchen)
To be honest one of my best purchases here. Love it and going to buy 2 more as gifts for my sister and friend! First I consider my self and wifey are ice-cream lover and addict sometimes! We did some flavors until now and we will try more
Some comments before you buy it: Noisy? yes, but not to level that bothers me. Small for big family? maybe! for two of us we make one bowl every week (depend on feel and desire). you can buy second bowl ( I have it but never use it) Easy to use? yes, using it easy. The tricky part is what you put in it! ( more explain will come)
Useful tips we did and worked for us: 1- If you love ice-cream heavy, hard, and texture smooth (like I do), You need to use heavy cream with your regular milk. If you are ok with light soft serve, milk with half and half will do the trick. 2- Do not over load the bowl with a lot of addetive ingredients. Its going to be difficult to freeze and unit as one texture. like adding a lot of chocolate ships or a lot of shredded coconut, that is no no. 3- 20 -25 min is proper time, Slightly less than is ok if you put less total ice-cream mix. I don’t recommend going more than 30min! why? because the frozen bowl will not stay cold all time and your ice-cream will probably melt down after long time keeping it in machine. 4- Make sure your bowl is totally frozen before you start, shake it to make sure! I usually store it in freezer until I use it again, wash it an back again to freezer. 5- Avoid filling the bowl to the top, ice-cream grow bigger when set and will over flow and will make a miss and hard to clean. 6- *** I noticed that I can increase the hardness of my ice-cream by manually spreading the ice-cream mix to touch all inside surfaces of the bowl while still on by using rubber spatula. I do that in the last 2-3min before I turn off the machine. The ice-cream when start to freeze tend to stop moving or just touch one area inside the bowl and by spreading it you make it set faster. 7- I put in fridge for at least 2 hours before I use it! my wife like it soft and eat it immediately! 🙁 8- Did I say this? put your ice-cream mix in fridge or freezer for 30-60 min. before you start! the colder your mix the faster and easy to set and freeze inside the bowl 9- Price of ingredients to make a nice ice-cream? will I say fair to ok. As I mentioned, I use heavy-cream for hard serve ice-cream and I buy 1 quart around $6 (and I use it 2 times or two bowls, 2 cups each). you also add the price of regular milk and other flavors and ingredients as preferred. I hope I didn’t miss things. I waited sometimes to review this and try to be helpful! all above mentioned for the ice-cream and still enjoying my ice-cream making for now. I will move to frozen yogurt and I will add more tips to my review. Thanks
my wife helped me with this and added some pictures! our ice-cream getting better as you see from pictures lol
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After reading scary reviews of some of the costly self-refrigerating ice cream makers, I bought one of the few that seemed to prove reliable. It lasted 20 minutes before the compressor stopped working. So, I returned it and bought a Cuisinart – the “ICE-21” model, which is the updated version of one they’ve been making for years. It’s been turning out batch after batch of excellent ice cream since the day it arrived. Yes, you have to wash, dry and re-freeze the bowl between batches (or buy a second bowl), and, yes, it’s high-grade plastic, and it is indeed made in China. But it works, consistently and well. I’ve tried a couple of the (few) recipes in the unit’s accompanying booklet, as well as some from both the Jeni’s book and Perfect Scoop book. All have turned out beautifully – producing products far superior to even the “upscale” premium ice creams available in the supermarket. The only negative involves resisting the urge to eat the “soft” ice cream when the machine is done, rather than packing a container and putting it into the freezer to harden further. Let’s just say not all the product ends up in the freezer………….!
I long ago came to the conclusion that junk can be made anywhere. So can quality. It’s up to the manufacturers to demand that their standards be met. In this case, Cuisinart, like Apple, seems to insist that the products bearing their name maintain a level of quality that reflects well on their reputation, regardless of where the products are made. Wise choice.
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Great ice cream maker indeed!,
First, it’s easier to do, and doesnt take any guessing on how much ice to salt than the traditional ice/salt machine. THer’es no messy clean up of salt and/or ice off the counter/floor, either.
Second, it’s quicker than advertised. While eveything says 20-25 minutes, i have yet to have a batch take longer than 15 minutes.
Third, I did not have to turn my freezer down to the lowest setting either (i was concerned about wasting energy just for this!). I have it on a “5” out of “9” settings, and it’s fine. I stuck the canister in the back, on the bottom shelf–which I assume is the coldest place. Just make sure the recipe you use is VERY cold before you throw it into the machine. (i often put it in the freezer for 30 min before i make ice cream). ANother tip: put the exterior clear casing into the freezer for a while before making the ice cream–it just helps insulate the canister all the more when it’s turning.)
Fourth, it’s the quietest ice cream machine i’ve heard. No, you cant hear a pin drop in the other room, but i use it in the kitchen and can comfortably watch TV in my adjacent family room without having to adjust the volume at all. I can hear the machine churing, but it doesnt get in the way of hearing the TV.
Fifth, so why 4 stars instead of 5? Her’es the only downside of the frozen canister v. salt/ice machines. Scooping the finished ice cream out of the heavy and awkward-to-handle canister and into a container for freezing, is challenging. The canister, understandably, is VERY cold. It seems off balance as you try to do this, too. And if you wait more than a moment, the ice cream quickly starts to freeze hard to the canister, so a rubber spatula (never use metal or you’ll scratch the canister!), cant scrape the hardened ice cream off the sides very easily.
Overall, GREAT ice cream maker. THe quality of the ice cream is good, with a nice, smooth texture.
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|To be honest one of my best purchases here,
First I consider my self and wifey are ice-cream lover and addict sometimes!
We did some flavors until now and we will try more
Some comments before you buy it:
Noisy? yes, but not to level that bothers me.
Small for big family? maybe! for two of us we make one bowl every week (depend on feel and desire). you can buy second bowl ( I have it but never use it)
Easy to use? yes, using it easy. The tricky part is what you put in it! ( more explain will come)
Useful tips we did and worked for us:
1- If you love ice-cream heavy, hard, and texture smooth (like I do), You need to use heavy cream with your regular milk. If you are ok with light soft serve, milk with half and half will do the trick.
2- Do not over load the bowl with a lot of addetive ingredients. Its going to be difficult to freeze and unit as one texture. like adding a lot of chocolate ships or a lot of shredded coconut, that is no no.
3- 20 -25 min is proper time, Slightly less than is ok if you put less total ice-cream mix. I don’t recommend going more than 30min! why? because the frozen bowl will not stay cold all time and your ice-cream will probably melt down after long time keeping it in machine.
4- Make sure your bowl is totally frozen before you start, shake it to make sure! I usually store it in freezer until I use it again, wash it an back again to freezer.
5- Avoid filling the bowl to the top, ice-cream grow bigger when set and will over flow and will make a miss and hard to clean.
6- *** I noticed that I can increase the hardness of my ice-cream by manually spreading the ice-cream mix to touch all inside surfaces of the bowl while still on by using rubber spatula. I do that in the last 2-3min before I turn off the machine. The ice-cream when start to freeze tend to stop moving or just touch one area inside the bowl and by spreading it you make it set faster.
7- I put in fridge for at least 2 hours before I use it! my wife like it soft and eat it immediately! 🙁
8- Did I say this? put your ice-cream mix in fridge or freezer for 30-60 min. before you start! the colder your mix the faster and easy to set and freeze inside the bowl
9- Price of ingredients to make a nice ice-cream? will I say fair to ok. As I mentioned, I use heavy-cream for hard serve ice-cream and I buy 1 quart around $6 (and I use it 2 times or two bowls, 2 cups each). you also add the price of regular milk and other flavors and ingredients as preferred.
I hope I didn’t miss things. I waited sometimes to review this and try to be helpful! all above mentioned for the ice-cream and still enjoying my ice-cream making for now. I will move to frozen yogurt and I will add more tips to my review. Thanks
my wife helped me with this and added some pictures!
our ice-cream getting better as you see from pictures lol
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|New Old Faithful,
I long ago came to the conclusion that junk can be made anywhere. So can quality. It’s up to the manufacturers to demand that their standards be met. In this case, Cuisinart, like Apple, seems to insist that the products bearing their name maintain a level of quality that reflects well on their reputation, regardless of where the products are made. Wise choice.
0
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|