Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart ICE-20FR Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart ICE-20FR Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White
Customer Review: Great machine - just like new out of the box
Summary: 5 Stars
Having used a Cuisinart food processor for years, I felt comfortable about ordering this machine, even re-conditioned. The price was what sold me - and the 90-day factory warranty plus the positive customer service experienced by other reviewers regarding minor problems with the product helped too. My machine arrived within about 3 days of ordering (thank you, Amazon.com). It was clean, packaged as new, with no discernible defects. I immediately washed & dried the machine's freezer insert, and placed it in my freezer overnight. My first batch of a mocha-chip gelato was good, the second batch better, and a follow-up jasmine tea sorbet (fat-free, no less) was superb. Storing the machine's insert in the freezer keeps it ready for use, and chilling the sorbet or ice cream mixture for several hours or overnight helps the freezing process. It's a bit noisy, but not more than I expected. Generally, a fun toy and nice addition to my culinary arsenal.Customer Review: A well-designed, easy-to-use ice cream maker
Summary: 5 Stars
The Cuisinart Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker one of my favorite kitchen appliances. It's easy to use, and works well without any poking around to make it work.This reconditioned model is what I have, and it's a fantastic value. There's no noticable flaws or blemishes on mine, and it seems to come with all the parts that the new model would.
When making ice cream, the noise is definitely audible throughout my house, but not so loud to prevent normal conversation in the other rooms. You'll know it's on, but not so much that you'll be wondering whether it's worth the intrusion on your life.
My key piece of advice to anyone planning on purchasing this item is that you should freeze the bowl as long as you possibly can. It makes a splashing sound when you shake it before you freeze it, but I discovered (the hard way) that just because you don't hear the splashing anymore doesn't mean that it's frozen enough to make ice cream.
Customer Review: Just Like New
Summary: 4 Stars
I was thinking about making ice cream at home but I didn't want to invest a lot of money in something that I thought might be just a passing fancy. This product was the perfect match for me. I have made several great (and a couple of not so great) batches of ice cream. The key to the success of this product is making sure that the mixing bucket is frozen SOLID! Solid means frozen at zero degrees. Like most things, the bucket will freeze below 32 degrees, but it will not be solid enough to make a quality product. I have also found it helpful if the mix is good and cold at the time its poured into the ice cream maker. Anyone that is concerned about the ice cream maker being reconditioned, I couldn't tell, it looks brand new. I gave this item four stars instead of five because, like some of the other reviewers stated, it is a bit loud, although not awful. I will be hard pressed to go back to store bought ice cream!Customer Review: great ice cream, easy to use!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been wanting to make my own green tea ice cream & found this on amazon.com. I thought it was a great price & thought I'd give it a try. I used the premium vanilla ice cream recipe in the book, but left out the vanilla beans & instead steeped green tea in the hot milk. I also let the machine run longer (for about 45 minutes) because the ice cream still got harder & the freezer container was still pretty frozen. After ripening it in the freezer, the ice cream was a perfect consistency-- smooth and scoopable. And it tasted great too! I'm very happy with this purchase! Easy clean-up.One word of warning for those who don't know: when making the custard for the ice cream, be careful not to curdle/cook your eggs. Heat until 140-160 F to make sure it is safe to eat though. I'd also be careful not to add more than 3 cups of liquid, etc. because the mixture "grows" as it freezes.
Customer Review: Great for cool treats
Summary: 4 Stars
Bought this from a warehouse club a few years ago, came with an extra bowl. An extra bowl is a nice feature as we have a lot of nearby relatives and it's nice to make more than 1 1/2 qts of ice cream at a time for a get together.
Fairly easy to use, freeze the bowl, place on base, add paddle and cover, add in ingredients, turn on and come back about 20 minutes later.
Makes good, fresh ice cream. Ours had a recipe book, one of our favorites is making chocolate ice cream but you add in a package of instant chocolat pudding, anyone for a bowl full of pudding pops? You can add mix ins like nuts candy, etc. Just make sure they are in small pieces.
Only drawbacks, gets a little noisy, and the opening where you add your ingredients could be a little better designed, either offset a little or have a chute to add stuff in.