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: I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream
Summary: 5 Stars
And now I don't have to scream at all. I just get out my ice cream maker and in a very short time have wonderful, creamy ice cream.
I've had this machine just a few days, and just made my second batch of ice cream. Batch #1 was a custard type base that came out so smooth and creamy (coffee flavored). Because it was in the freezer overnight, it froze quite hard and solid however, and it took about 15 minutes for it to thaw enough to scoop and eat, but the consistency was still excellent.
For the second batch, I decided to take the easy way out and try a Philadelphia Style ice cream. It just went into the freezer, so I'll know more tomorrow, but it tasted just as smooth and creamy right out of the machine. This batch is a vanilla. To try and keep it more like a soft serve, I added a couple of tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Creme. I'm not a drinker, and in fact don't care for the taste of alcohol, but it didn't taste like a drink. It just gave a wonderful and subtle flavor to the ice cream. Hopefully, the alcohol will keep the ice cream at the same consistency it came out of the machine.
Along with this machine, I highly recommend
The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet AccompanimentsDavid Lebovitz (Author)
I'm a novice at making ice creams, but between this machine, and David Lebovitz book, I'm already making ice cream like a pro.
BTW, I got this machine refurbished through amazon vendor Abes of Maine, and the service was super fast, and the machine looks brand new.
If you're hesitant to buy this machine, don't be. And frankly, I don't understand the reviews that complained about the noise. Yes, it makes some noise, but it's certainly not super loud. And as for the reviewers who said their mixtures didn't freeze and thicken, I suspect they either didn't freeze the bowl from the machine long enough (I give it at least 24 hours), and/or they didn't chill the mixture prior to attempting to freeze it. I've had no such trouble. So please, follow directions carefully and I think you'll be happily surprised.
Now all I need is an extra bowl for the machine. That will be my next purchase.
**Update: The second batch came out great, and the little bit of Bailey's kept it at a nice, soft serve consistency. I would give this machine ten stars if we had that option.
Customer Review: Good but not "full automatic"
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, IMHO this isn't "fully automatic." Basically it's just a big Donvier with a motor instead of a handcrank. You have to freeze the bowl in your freezer and manually turn a switch ON to start it working then OFF when you think it's finished. It doesn't have a timer so you need to keep an eye on the clock as well, then check the ice cream to see if it's done. It takes 20 - 35 minutes so you may be standing watching it spin for up to 15 minutes. Only experience will tell you if it's frozen as much as it's going to. I let mine run past the time in the booklet and it continued to develop fairly rapidly for about 10 more minutes. At that point it looked like typical soft serve ice cream so I figured it was done. Unfortunately I didn't think to pre-freeze the "airtight container" I needed to transfer the ice cream to. I just pulled out an appropriate size Pyrex bowl with lid and started shoveling ice cream. Big mistake!! It liquefied the instant it hit the bowl. I put the portion I'd shoveled back in the ice cream maker bowl and stirred it into the still-frozen remainder, then transferred it to the now much cooler bowl (working faster this time.) After that I quickly put the covered bowl into the freezer for the prescribed 2 hours. The maker bowl was still plenty cold and the leftovers that I scraped off the sides for my chef's share had a much firmer consistency than the bulk I'd transferred to the Pyrex. Another tip is to make the mixture in a bowl that has a pour spout. I didn't think about that either, I just followed the directions to use a mixing bowl and had to use a ladle to put the base in the machine.
All in all, I think this is as good as it gets for the money. You really do have to spend a whole lot more to get one that will freeze the ice cream on it's own and not take up half the freezer getting the bowl ready. Overall it's large so you'll need to figure out where to store it when it's not in use. However, the machine itself looks nice as all Cuisinart products do so leaving it out is an acceptable option if you have the counter space. The top has a good size hole in it so it will collect dust and so on inside if you leave it out. I wish it included a little piece to put over the hole. It seems pretty easy to clean up the parts after making the ice cream. The motor seems strong enough for the job and didn't strain or slow as the product froze.
Customer Review: Very pleased with this ice cream maker
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this unit last year while it was on sale here at Amazon. I'm very pleased with this purchase. My first batch of IC was a bit of an experiment since I've never used one before. Unfortunately the bowl wasn't cold enough to really freeze the sorbet I was making. This was due to my freezer temperature; it had 3 temperature settings: low, medium and high. I now know that I need to set the freezer to the coldest temperature setting so that the bowl can absorb the heat from the custard and cream the mixture. Also make sure that you chill the custard for ~8 hours in your refrigerator.
The description states that the bowl will hold 2 quarts, but the effective volume is reduced somewhat due to the churning insert and the way it directs the flow in the unit. I recommend that you make at most 1 1/2 quarts of custard to leave room for expansion, otherwise the ice cream will start to build up at the top and work it's way out through the opening in the plastic lid. This is part of the reason why I chose the 2 quart over the 1 1/2 quart cuisinart unit because I wanted to be able to make at least 1 1/2 quarts. I also liked the design of the unit too over the smaller unit.
I actually just made some french vanilla bean ice cream a few hours earlier at the time of the writing of this review. I made a little over 1 1/2 quarts of custard and the cream ended up coming through the opening in the lid. The freezing is a bit uneven because when I stopped the unit to pour out the soft-serve into a container to set up further in my freezer, at the bottom of the bowl was more "frozen" ice cream and not soft serve. I don't know if there would be a way to fix this for future models or it's just a peculiarity I'll have to live with. I could just image the churning insert to be very hard to get out if this were to happen to the entire mixture.
Again, this is an easy ice cream maker. Remember to chill your custards and make sure your freezer can freeze it down to an appropriate temperature so your cream sets up after 25-30 minutes in the unit. If you don't want to chill your custards, you'd most likely want the cuisinart unit that has the included compressor so it can freeze the bowl while it works (takes up counter space, but it doesn't take up freezer space, which might be nice for some folks)
Customer Review: LOVE IT - So good that we have three of these
Summary: 5 Stars
My boyfriend bought one and since he loved it so much I bought two of these ice cream makers and love them.
PROS:
- Makes 2 quarts of good quality ice cream (sorbet, etc.) without all the preservatives in store bought ice cream. Just be sure to use the best ingredients to get the best results.
- Small recipe book with delicous and simple recipes is included with the unit.
- It's so easy to make - just keep the freezer bowl ready at all times and a few ingredients on hand, combine the ingredients and ice cream is usually mixed in 30 to 35 minutes.
- Clean-up is easy.
- Machine is so sleek and elegant looking.
- The cord fits inside the bottom of the unit for compact storage.
- To us the unit is quieter than a blender or mixer; so we are surprised about the noise level other users find loud. However, if you have a small kitchen, you might consider the motor sound annoying especially when operating the unit for 30-35 minutes.
CONS (they don't bother me but they might bother you):
- You'll be paying more for the ingredients to make ice cream at home than you can get on sale in the supermarket. However, I prefer this because then I know what's in the product.
- You really should make the ice cream at least 3-4 hours in advance of eating it because only a small amount at the bottom of the bowl is frozen enough to eat; the rest is like a slush or milkshake until frozen in the freezer. I covered the "ingredients opening" with a silicone circular pot holder but that did not help to keep the ingredients chilled any more than normal. I suspect everyone is eating very soft ice cream if they don't freeze it first since after many batches not one came out frozen. I am afraid to use partially frozen ingredients in the unit because I feel it might break the plastic mixer piece. However, the colder the ingredients the firmer the end result should be. I expected this, however, so I'm not disappointed at all. I usually freeze the ice cream overnight before serving to get it to the consistency of what you see in the supermarket.
We love our three Cuinsart ice cream makers!
Customer Review: Excellent Ice Cream Maker; Consistent Results
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research on ice cream makers before purchasing this product, as I figured it would take up a lot of space and be an "investment piece" for my kitchen. As fate would have it, after deciding I was going to buy this model I found it at [...] for $49.99 - the same day!
In the six weeks I've owned it, I've made the following flavors: Sweet Custard Ice Cream with Crunchie Bar crumbles, Fleur de Sel Caramel, Roasted Banana, Chocolate Frangelico (which I made with local goats milk instead of regular milk), Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet, Mixed Berry & Pomegranate Buttermilk Sorbet, Strawberry Sorbet, Rum Raisin, Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Dark Chocolate... and a few more I can't remember at the moment!
This machine has consistently produced excellent ice cream. To those that have difficulty making thick ice cream, I'd suggest freezing your canister for 48+ hours in a very cold freezer (I store mine in our chest freezer, which doesn't get opened often!), rather than the "12-24 hours" that the manual suggests. Also process it for 30 rather than the recommended 20-25 minutes. If you find that your ice cream is very icy, please know that ice cream needs fat to make it soft (using alcohol also improves texture as it doesn't freeze) - so it's tricky to get a nice texture with any non-fat frozen yogurts and sorbets. I've made my sorbets with either buttermilk or a small amount of high-fat Greek yogurt. With sorbets I generally use so much fresh fruit that you can't taste the dairy at all.
For me, most ice cream recipes use too much cream and too much sugar. The recipes I've tweaked & developed tend to use about a 50/50 ratio of cream (NOT heavy cream) to 1% milk, and about 25-30% less sugar than regular recipes call for. I compensate by adding more flavor. I find my ice cream recipes are tastier and less rich than the recipes they were developed from - with a great texture. Also keep in mind that making custard-style ice creams using eggs yields a nicer texture.
Also, I wouldn't complain about the noise it makes. Yes, it is powered by a motor - it makes some noise. Certainly not enough to bother my family!