Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
Customer Review: Makes wonderful ice cream at a great price! (Recipes included in review)
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this ice cream maker for about a couple of months now and I really hope it lasts a long time because we love it! We use the vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream recipes that come with the maker. I however don't like to use heavy whipping cream because it's way too rich and expensive to use and it leaves a greasy feeling in my mouth. I use half and half for half the price and it turns out so yummy and refreshing. This ice cream maker is super-easy to use and we always have the freezer container in our deep chest freezer so whenever I want to make ice cream, I don't have to wait for it to get frozen. I found it's best to not let your ice cream get too frozen in the maker because it makes it really difficult to get out of the freezer container because it gets so stuck to the sides. If you take it out when it's a little soft-set, it's much easier to scrape out. Use a heavy duty plastic spoon and nothing metal so you don't scrape the finish and ruin it. Don't dishwash it either, but handwash it. The ice cream is great right away or you can freeze it for later and I haven't found it to get icey or anything. Just let it sit out a few minutes so you can scoop it is all. I love how you can make any ice cream flavor you want and know what ingredients are used, unlike what you get at the store for a ton of money. Here's some of my favorite variations on their chocolate and vanilla recipes.
Cookies and Cream (Based off the vanilla recipe)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups half and half
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract (if using pure extract, add it once the ice cream has frozen a bit)
1 cup crushed oreos (preferably double-stuffed)
Follow directions listed in your instruction manual. However, I've found that if you add the oreos to the icecream maker while it's mixing, your oreos turn to mush and you're left with a gray ice cream (tasty however) with no chunks of cookies. Once your vanilla ice cream is made, simply put it in a freezer container and add crushed oreos to container and stir to incorporate. That way it actually looks and tastes more like cookies and cream that way.
Mocha Chocolate Chip (Based off the vanilla recipe)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups half and half
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract (if using pure extract, add it once the ice cream has frozen a bit)
2 tbs. instant coffee powder
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Follow directions listed in your instruction manual. (Mix very well so coffee granules are dissolved well.)
Coconut Cherry Vanilla (Based off the vanilla recipe)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups half and half
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract (if using pure extract, add it once the ice cream has frozen a bit)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
10 oz. jar maraschino cherries, rinsed, drained, and chopped
Follow directions listed in your instruction manual.
Chocolate Peanut Butter (Based off the chocolate recipe)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 1/4 cups half and half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (if using pure extract, add it once the ice cream has frozen a bit)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
Follow directions listed in your instruction manual.
Chocolate Chocolate Chip (Based off the chocolate recipe)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 1/4 cups half and half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (if using pure extract, add it once the ice cream has frozen a bit)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Follow directions listed in your instruction manual.
Customer Review: Three Strikes and...
Summary: 2 Stars
As I write this review of Cuisinart's Model ICE-30BC Ice Cream maker, the first game of the 2007 World Series Baseball game is underway. I am using baseball's analogy of THREE STRIKES and you're out to summarize my rendezvous with ice cream makers.
I used Cook's Illustrated's recent rankings of Ice Cream makers as a basis for my foray into home made ice cream. Strike One occurred when Kitchen Aid's dasher/paddle did not fit my Hobart N-50 mixer (Hobart and Kitchen Aid's Professional Mixer are similar in appearance, but my Hobart dates back to 1970 and its "planetery-agitator" design was incompatible with the dasher's attachment). This unit does not come with its own motor, but uses the Kitchen Aid Mixer to power the dasher/paddle.
Strike Two resulted with Cook's Illustrated's first choice, the Krups GVS 142 model which I received; but after the first try, I had difficulty getting the lid-motor-paddle combination to attach to the freezer bowl. Krup's customer service's analysis was the freezer bowl was warped and had to be replaced. I also did not care for the single molded platic paddle as opposed to their previous design which consisted of two separate parts, a paddle and drive shaft. Although Amazon's photograph of the GVS 142 model shows the two-piece paddle, Krups said the current model only comes with the single molded paddle.
In the ninth inning, with two outs, Strike Three happened with Cuisinart's ICE-30BC. It's a handsome-looking appliance, well made, and it gives the impression of being very durable. In the one week I've had it, I made three batches of ice cream from three different sources and all came out very satisfactory. The reason I down-rated the unit was due to its excessive noise, and I do mean excessive! In the US Army, I served with artillery units in Korea as well as in Vietnam; this exposure to loud noise and my senior citizen age makes my hearing pretty lousey, but the loud noise generated by the Cuisinart tipped the scale for my giving it a Two Star rating. I called Cuisinart Customer Service to report the noise problem and suggested my report be escalated up the chain for action. I asked if they had any recommendations about the noise, and the answer was brief and to the point: RETURN IT!
The noise/sound issue is even more pronounce because the unit runs at least 20-25 minutes churning the ice cream mixture, versus a food processor or mixer which runs intermittenly for a few minutes at a time. In my case, it might be due to the particular frequencies of the sound generated by the ice cream maker that caused my hearing discomfort. I would definitely not have young children around when the machine is in operation. My suggeston to Cuisinart was to have a sound test performed on the ICE-30B model, as well as a review of its design to see if the annoying noise can be mitigated. In the Cuisinart design, the motor rotates the freezer bowl around a stationary paddle whereas in both the Krups and Kitchen Aid models, the motor rotates the paddle leaving the bowl stationary.
The Krups machine was very quiet and I would have ordered a replacement of the same model if it had a better paddle design. Now that I've tried Cooks' three recommended models and have made Three Strikes due to one problem or another, I've decide to retire to the dugout to rethink my next step in pursuing home made ice cream. Should I consider the old-fashioned, but reliable, hand cranked model that requires lots of ice and salt? Only time will tell.
Customer Review: LOVE IT!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this ice cream machine a few months ago. My first few attempts at making ice cream were disappointing. I followed the recipes straight from the book and the ice creams were entirely too runny to consume. I had to freeze the ice cream after making it, which significantly lengthened the duration of time required to make your ice cream with this machine. After a few trial and errors, I came up with several solutions to the problem:
(1) Mix the ingredients together and freeze for an hour prior to putting them in the ice cream machine to churn for 30 minutes. This does not necessarily cut down on the time needed to make the ice cream but does allow you to eat it straight after the machine finishes churning.
or
(2) Use a custard base by mixing 4 egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk together and heating until thick. After making the custard, procede with the recipe in the book accordingly and the ice cream will be thick and wonderful!
or
(3) Use a different recipe book.
The machine is such an improvement to the days of churning the ice cream manually. It is so simple; You merely keep the inside bowl frozen then place your ice cream mixture in it when you are ready and turn the machine "on" and wait 30 minutes. As I said, the ice cream recipes in the book have all produced very runny ice cream for me so there is a little extra time needed if you prefer a thicker ice cream. However, the frustrating part of this was merely figuring out how to tweak the recipe to make it work. Once that was done (using options (1) or (2) above), the process was simple.
The machine is a little loud (I would not use it while anyone was sleeping or a child was napping) but given that it only needs 20-30 minutes to work its magic, it is manageable. One thing I was concerned about was the size of the machine and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how compact this machine is. It is not nearly as large as I anticipated which makes storeage much easier. Like other reviewers, I highly recommend keeping the freezer bowl in the freezer (in a plastic bag to prevent freezer burn) at all times so it is ready when you decide to make some ice cream. If you don't, you should expect a full 24 hours for the bowl to freeze before making the ice cream. The ice cream will not make properly if the bowl is not completely frozen.
I have added two pictures of the chocolate ice cream I made a few weeks ago (see above in the pictures of the product). It was incredible. You can see the amazing thickness and creaminess of the ice cream.
If I had written this review after the first week, I would have given this machine 2 stars. But...after some trial and error, I am incredibly happy with this purchase and give it an easy 5 stars. If you love ice cream, you will not be disappointed.
On a side note...I have two young children (ages 3 and 5) who love helping me make the ice cream. It is a great family thing to do together. My girls are so proud to eat the end product of what they made from scratch. In addition, I have taught them about measurements (i.e., a cup of sugar, a tblsp of vanilla, a tsp of this or that) which has turned the fun project into something they can also learn with which is nice.
In short...GREAT product! I would recommend to anyone!
Customer Review: Homemade ice cream is a low-carb dieters dream!
Summary: 5 Stars
As someone who is on a low carb diet, I'm always looking for new ideas to curb the `ol sweet tooth cravings. It dawned on me that all the ingredients in ice cream, except sugar, are allowed on my diet. Thankfully, there are artificial sweeteners like Splenda that can be used in place of sugar to keep your insulin levels nice and low.
I was surprised how well this unit works. The machine makes a soft goopy kind of ice cream in less than 25 minutes. I then freeze it overnight in a separate container to get the same consistency as store bought ice cream. One word of warning: ice cream without sugar freezes extremely hard. You will need to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it to melt a little.
Some tips:
Don't use granular Splenda. A cup of Splenda has 96 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates! Use a liquid Sucralose sweetener.
Go to your local library and get the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. There are lots of recipes that can be made low carb: French Vanilla, Ben's Chocolate, Butter Pecan, Cherry Garcia, etc. You don't need a double boiler for the chocolate recipes; a microwave oven will work even better. (Keep in mind that the book was written in 1987.) Yes, those are raw eggs they're asking you to ingest. If you have a problem with this, you're going to need to find an alternative emulsifier that's low carb.
So, you made 2 quarts of your homemade ice cream. Aren't you proud? Now where are you going to put it? Think ahead and buy some containers from Sweet Bliss Containers.
The "freezer bowl" of the ice cream maker needs to be frozen overnight. It's size is 7½" x 7½" x 6½". Will you have enough room in your freezer?
You will have a thin layer of super hard ice cream stuck to the "freezer bowl" when you're finished. Let it thaw a bit. Don't try to scrape it off; you don't want to damage the "freezer bowl."
Keep your ingredients as cold as possible! Don't melt chocolate, mix in the other ingredients, and attempt to make ice cream while the mixture is warm. Put it in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours so it can chill. Also, don't take out the "freezer bowl" until the very last moment. Have everything else prepped before you do.
Vanilla Ice Cream: 4 Large Eggs, 42 drops of EZ Sweetz, 4 cups of Heavy Cream, 2 cups of Whole Milk, and 4 tsp of Vanilla Extract. One cup of ice cream is 425 calories, 45g fat, and 3.2 g net carbs. I like to add unsweetened chocolate chips to the mix. Freeze 2 oz. of Bakers unsweetened chocolate squares. Get a very, very, SHARP knife and start slicing the frozen chocolate into slivers. It should naturally break into small chip like pieces. I have more success cutting the squares by laying them upside down on the cutting board. Add the chips after 15 minutes. Be warned that the additional volume of the chips can make the mixture begin to overflow. Thankfully, the ice cream maker has an open top, so you can eat the excess while it's churning. :) BTW, the chips add about 35 calories, 4g of fat, and 1g more carb per serving.
Customer Review: Simple to use. Not too bulky. Does the job.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this a few months back from Sharper Image. Since then, I haven't bought ice cream outside of my home. You can make not only ice cream, but sorbets, slushes, and other frozen desserts. It's very simple to use: mix the ingredients, turn the single switch on, and come back in 20 minutes. The machine makes a humming noise as it's churning. I'd say it's louder than an electric can opener, but quieter than a blender.
Clean up is pretty simple. There are only 4 parts to the machine: the machine base (which you don't wash), the drum, the mixer, and the top. The last two are easy enough to put in the diswasher. In fact, if you pour perfectly, then you don't have to clean the top. The drum, however, you'll have to wash by hand. It's easy enough to clean though. Just DON'T use paper towels to dry it if it's still in the frozen state, otherwise the towel pieces will stick.
I've seen two common complaints that I'd like to address:
1) "You can't use it right out of the box." True, you have to take the drum (it's like a thick bucket) and put it in the freezer overnight. Or at least until you can't hear the liquid sloshing in between the walls of the drum. But keep in mind how ice cream is made.
Regardless of what device you use to make ice cream, in all cases you're basically taking a sweet cream-based liquid (cream, sugar, egg, flavoring) and stirring it against a cold surface. This freezes the substance while still keeping it soft (there's a microscopic amount of air inside the ice cream), instead of becoming a block of frozen solid cream. The old hand-crank devices do this by lining the outside surface with chunks of ice and rock salt. This machine instead just has a single piece you store in the freezer until it's cold, then take it out when you're ready to make ice cream. This is much less messy and easier than having to get ice and rock salt out for every recipe.
2) "It comes out soft." Yes, freshly made ice cream will have a consistency like softserve. All you have to do is pour it in an air tight container and stick it in your freezer. Then it will have the correct consistency of store-bought ice cream. It says this right in the directions. I have to wonder if people bothered to read them first.
Although about a dozen sample recipes are included, I would recommend buying an additional ice cream recipe book. I HIGHLY recommend the one by Ben & Jerry's, as it's extremely informative (gives their trial & error tales for each recipe, etc.), has lots of recipes, and is very easy to follow. I'd also recommend getting some Tupperware or similar to store the ice cream. I've found that the 2-quart Glad Interlock plastic containers are the perfect size for a batch.
Have fun experimenting. Oh, and as I'm sure others have said: you may just need a gym membership after getting this.