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: Good machine, minor flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, this product's MSRP is $79.95--NOT THE OVERLY INFLATED PRICE OF $120 that Amazon claims.
This machine does what the manufacturer claims, but it does have its quirks. When you're making your frozen treat, make sure that:
- The bowl is completely and thoroughly frozen. Give it 24 hours in your freezer.
- Your ingredients are thoroughly chilled. I refrigerate my mix and then pop it into the freezer for about 30 minutes before making my ice cream. This includes the mix-ins.
- You understand that your mix will freeze, and the resulting frozen treat will be greater in volume than your original mix. Start by using the formulas and volume in the recipe manual and move from there.
With that being said, I think this is a great product. It churns out soft ice cream in about 25 minutes. The bowl does defrost at an alarming rate IF the ingredients have not been thoroughly chilled. However, if they have been chilled, you have plenty of churn time and can make some lovely, ready-to-eat ice cream.
We have been using a "diet" ice cream mix called Wow Cow (9 little calories an ounce) that we got through a wholesaler and experimenting to make low-fat frozen treats. This machine works well, and I'm sure would work equally well with full-fat recipes.
This machine is quite noisy, so set it and leave the room. The mixing insert is okay, but I think it doesn't seem to mix the newly frozen with the warmer center as well as it could. I like the open top that allows the addition of mix-ins while the ice cream is churning.
All in all, a nice product. I did find this cheaper at Costco than at Amazon, though!
Customer Review: No more screaming needed, icecream when we want it!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yum! I had this in my "wish list" for several months, as the summer has progressed we've been spending more & more money at the local ice cream shop (when they know you by name you know you've been going to much) so it was time to order it. After freezing the insert for 24 hours we gave the simple chocolate recipe in the booklet a shot. I added in some crushed cookies for extra flavor and WOW is all I can say, I'm not even a chocolate ice cream lover and this is to die for! I found that letting it run 35mins instead of 25mins made a huge difference in the consistency though I did put the majority of it in the freezer (separate container) to harden up further. It was even tastier the next day.
It's not all that loud, and you're to busy watching it churn to notice anyways (watch your kids and the top, it's open to add mixins but little fingers fit in great to grab a taste too LOL). It was a bit difficult to scrape the icecream off the sides, I'm still searching for a strong enough spoon/spatula to do it that won't scratch up the sides.
I can see us enjoying this year round with different taste combinations (already planning candy cane during the holidays) and as soon as I can pry my little one away I'll be testing out some adult beverages too, I suspect this makes a fantastic frozen margarita and pina colada!
Lastly, I agree with another reviewer that if you do the math you'll see you're spending a decent amount of money per batch, however I love that I can use organic milk, decide on the amount of sugar/cream/eggs, and know I have the freshest icecream around. Plus, meeting an icecream craving at 2am when all the stores are closed, priceless!
Customer Review: It works, not bad, but it takes time.
Summary: 3 Stars
I've read the reviews here before purchasing, and now I have made a batch myself, I can add few notes to answer some of the comments I've come across here.
- It can make "up to" two quart, you can make any amount less than that. It probably freezes quicker if you make smaller batch. I only made a quart, and it worked fine.
- cooler MUST be frozen completely (overnight) so that when you shake it you don't hear any liquid moving around inside.
- ice cream base should be chilled before poured in.
- the label/ad is misleading to say you'll make ice cream in "25 minutes". That is the average amount of time for churning. After churning, the ice cream needs to be put in the freezer for at least few hours. When it is just made, ice cream is more like milk shake, and it will start to melt immediately.
The batch I made didn't get the right consistency until it was frozen overnight. If I put it in several smaller containers it would have frozen faster I suppose. I had my freezer set fairly high too.
Once it was frozen overnight, it did get the gelato/ice cream consistency and did not melt too fast. It was of course delicious. I had a very good recipe from gourmet magazine (which you can print from their site)
It works, beats hand-churning, and you can custom make your ice cream, which is the best part of having this. I am excited about experimenting, but I don't consider this machine something "convenient". From the time you crave home made ice cream until you actually are able to enjoy it at its best, you may need to allow at least several hours just for freezing.
Customer Review: Easy Ice Cream Maker
Summary: 4 Stars
I received this machine as a birthday gift. I have two, bigger conventional machines, one electric and one manual. I like those, but tend not to use them since they require ice and salt and are really for bigger batches, though you probably could make only two quarts. I've only made two batches in the Cuisinart and both tasted pretty good. The texture was soft, and just firm enough. We have a GE bottom freezer in the fridge that doesn't freeze well (saves energy that way, I guess). Our fridge freezer is small and you have to clear out half the bottom basket to fit in the freeze bucket and then let it freeze for 24 hours. I used the lowest setting of -5 degrees F. The ice cream mixture was fefrigerated to about 36 degrees F. That produced a fairly well frozen batch in about 25 minutes like the advertisement said. That probably was the limit because the mixture was getting so solid it was almost climbing out of the open top, though it didn't quite overflow. Don't put more than 2 qts, or it will overflow.
The motor never seemed to be laboring, even toward the end. The freeze bucket has no lid and clear top is open in the center to add ingredients along the way. It also absorbs heat through the top, so I cover it with a thick towel to keep the batch consistency uniform, and speed the freezing. I don't know whether this is a factor, but I also whip air into the cold mixture before adding to the ice cream freezer to improve consistency and folding.
Overall, I would say this is a very good electric ice cream maker and easy enough to use. You just have to plan to have enough room in your fridge freezer for 24 hours.
Customer Review: Great Ice Cream Maker
Summary: 5 Stars
Not as powerful as the Kitchenaid attachment but a very nice maker I found at Costco for $[...]. It is noisey but livable for the only 30 min it takes to make icecream.
I find the freezer bowl (walled with some kind of phase change material that absorbs heat from the ice cream mix) does better when it is frozen to colder temps so I set my freezer for its coldest temperature (-6 deg F). There should be no "sloshing" of the material in the wall of the bowl--is should be solid or you will get soft icecream.
The little recipe book is nice but it is for making "old fashioned" ice cream--that has a lot to be desired by today's standards. If you want really creamy texture add 1/8 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum (order it here on Amazon... or John's Red Mill (Google this). Some groceries have it in stock like Bloom Grocery. This stuff will really improve your ice cream receipe and is is healthy.
Try some Stevia liquid as a sweetener for diabetics and those just watching the calories. The only safe, natural, non-caloric sweetner on the market I think. Get it at a health food store (or here on Amazon) and use it 1 Teaspoon = 1 cup sugar. You will get a very clean and good tasting ice cream out of it. I trie this on my kids without telling them it had no table sugar in it... they would have not even noticed.
You can run 2 qt pre-mixes from Walmart, etc. ($[...]) through this with whole milk and it makes a nice "Ice Milk" as well. Watch out for the swelling affect from excess adispose tissue that will accumalate in various places on your body... this is a sign of overuse of this machine.