KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment
Customer Review: Easy, fun, works well
Summary: 4 Stars
The ice cream maker works as well as posters have claimed and is really fun to have around. If you have time to freeze the finished product for a bit, the texture will be perfect; it is a little soft right out of the mixer but good nonetheless. Attaching the paddle to the mixer seems a little unsecure - you really have to push it onto the mixer well. I wish it would stir up a little longer but I'm wondering if mine freezes the ice cream a little too fast because I keep the bowl in the deep freeze rather than the refrigerator freezer, but it is still very good ice cream. If you look around, you can come up with some nice desserts, especially those with lower fat. I have my folks over on Sundays frequently and it's really fun to think up something to have churning up while we eat dinner. I've made chocolate frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream with ALL the fat, vanilla ice milk (though I substituted some cream), and peach ice milk made with frozen peaches, which was a very good lower-fat dessert. I've made some with egg or egg yolks (which really does make wonderful ice cream) and I'm unconcerned with salmonella as the eggs are tempered then cooked in the "batter," almost like a homemade pudding. Larger recipes do tend to spill over a bit - the perfect amount would be a double-batch, split 3 times, of most recipes but don't be deterred - it's minor spillover. This product is on the pricey side but I'm guessing it's really convenient compared to typical ice cream makers and less cumbersome; and it works perfectly. I do like having another use for my beloved KitchenAide mixer. I'd recommend it without hesitation, and I tend to be a fault-finder.Customer Review: Another great KitchenAid attachment
Summary: 5 Stars
The KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment probably gets way to much use at our house, but it does keep the treadmill and exercise bikes from getting rusty. It does not make the best ice cream my family has ever had, but it is equally as good, with a lot less mess. Like the KitcheAid Mixer, it is sturdy, quiet, and solidly made. We keep ours in the freezer when its not in use, so its always ready to go and we don't have to worry about pre-freezing it. This thing is simple and easy to use and it is light years ahead of a traditional ice and rock salt crank freezer.
I would highly advise all to read and follow the instructions carefully, and then make sure to plan ahead. Its also advisable to do a dry run; that is to set up the machine and get it running without putting the actual batter in. For all you military types out there; remember your 6 P's (Prior Planning Prevents P___ Poor Performance).
Most ice cream recipes mention this, but do make sure that the batter be completely chilled (I chill it overnight or 4 hours minimum). You should end up with ice cream the consistency of soft-serve, which is delicious and edible, but, like with any ice cream maker, has to be frozen for a couple of hours to ripen to the consistency of store-bought ice cream. If you keep your freezer at 0 degrees F, or below, try adding a tablespoon of booze (vodka or rum) to the recipe and your ice cream will not get rock hard in a cold freezer.
One disadvantage is that you can make only one batch a day. So if you need more than 2 quarts or you want more than one flavor, you need to start a couple of days ahead.
Customer Review: Works Great - for a short while
Summary: 2 Stars
Have owned two of these over the last three years. Really enjoy the ice cream it produces while still operational.
The problem is that injection molding process used for the outer white jacket is not properly engineered. What happens is in approximately 15-20 uses fine cracks occur in the supports that attach the bowl to the stand. Once these fine cracks occur the blue freezing fluid starts to leak out. If you lose the freezing fluid the science of ice cream formation is seriously interrupted.
Was fortunate that the first one purchased failed in the first year. The second did not get used as frequently, so it failed over a longer time period but the same amount of usage as the first. Contacted cutomer service after 2nd failure to see if they would go above stated 1 year warranty. Was told no, but in the desire to keep cutomers happy they had a special program to keep customers happy. Call and order one for $57.75 + 7.50 S&H. Well when they sell directly on Amazon for $63 and change does not exactly give you the warm fuzzies.
So if you are going to purchase make moutains of ice cream to ensure it breaks in the first year. Otherwise $63/20 batches is approx $3.00 part cost for every batch. When you layer on cost of ingredients it's just cheaper to buy even super premium ice cream from the store. I guess if you need to make gluten free ice cream or live miles from the store you may be able to work out the costs. Generally a fan of Kitchen Aid products, but on this one they need return to R&D. Though not holding my breath, because in a three year period it has not appeared to be a priorty.
Customer Review: ALMOST Perfect: Problem solved.
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this ice cream maker more than any other I have tried. The dasher is solid, the machine has a lot of power, and the parts fit together well.
The only problem I found was that the ice cream did not set up to be soft serve, which is usually what you expect from an ice cream maker. It is summer, and even with the air conditioning on, our house is still around 80 degrees inside. We are not complaining, because it is 105 degrees outside. I realize that the ice cream was not setting up beccause there was no cover for the top of the ice cream bowl and the chill was going out of the bowl into theair. Although it was refreshing, it was not chilling the ice cream enough.
I found a solution: After putting in the ice cream mix with the machine running, I covered the opening between the bowl and machine with clear plastic wrap. My machine has the bowl that raises and lowers. So, there are no air intake areas in that part of my machine. When I covered the opening with plastic wrap, the ice cream maker held the cold temperature like it is supposed to, and the ice cream became soft-serve.
I e-mailed the KitchenAid people about this, because they really should have included some kind of plastic cover to do this.
Even with this problem, I feel that this is the best ice cream machine I have tried. The parts are well made (so many are flimsy and break easily). The machine has power, and the ice cream machine parts fit together in a substantial way.
If Kitchenaid comes out with a plastic cover for this attachment, I will rate it 6 stars.
Customer Review: Great Ice Cream, Getting Use out of Kitchen Aid Mixer
Summary: 5 Stars
I carefully read the reviews and along with the ice cream mixer, purchased the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream & Dessert Book.
When I made my first batch of ice cream however, I somehow missed the step telling me to freeze the container for 15 hours prior to mixing the ice cream. So 24 hours later after freezing the bowl, and refridgerating the cream base and the flavorings set up very quickly (like 15 min). My 2nd batch, I did not refridgerate the cream base and something like 45 minutes later afraid I'd burn out the motor, I finally just poured the ice cream into the container to freeze. 3rd batch, I refridgerated the cream base for 4 hours prior and the ice cream set up fairly quickly. Ben & Jerry's book recommands raw eggs, and I in the reviews read this with concern. So I purchased the egg beaters (as reviewers recommanded for this title suggested). This works fine. Also because my husband has been diagnoised a diabetic, I have used 3/4 cup of
Splenda instead of sugar. And in the cookie dough ice dough ice cream (instead of making the dough from stratch) I used 10 to 12 oz. of premixed cookie dough from the tub I purchased from a warehouse food warehouse. I used a melon scooper (small end) to from the balls of dough and then also added a small bag of semi sweet chocalate bits. Also where a reciepe calls for "shaved" chococale, I found you get more out of the chocolate bar and save your knuckles by chopping it with a large kitchen knife. And with the advice from another review,
I too keep the ice cream bowl in the freezer in case the mood strikes me to make some ice cream.