Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, 2-Quart Ice Cream, Sorbet and Frozen Yogurt Machine, Fully Automatic Double-Insulated Freezer Bowl Makes Frozen Desserts in Under 30 Minutes, ICE30BCP1, Silver

This is a very good ice cream machine for its class (home use, freezer bowl). I'd owned the 1 1/2 quart Cusinart model and liked it a lot. Then someone in my house put the drum in the dishwasher and I found out when I tried to make a batch of ice cream that wouldn't freeze. Using the 1 1/2 quart model I was always scaling down recipes or hovering over the ice cream as it churned with a spoon, stealing spoonfuls ice cream as it threatened to overflow the ice cream maker because I overfilled it (not that I really minded that). I like the 2 quart size for those reasons,If you've never owned one of these types of ice cream makers before, here's an overview. There are two main parts as far as what makes the ice cream. There is a paddle and a drum, aka the freezer bowl. The night before you intend to make ice cream (or earlier) park your clean freezer bowl in the coldest part of your freezer overnight. This is essential that the bowl be frozen through with no sloshing sound. This drum is what chills the ice cream.When you're ready to make the ice cream, put the frozen freezer bowl into the base of the ice cream machine, put the paddle in and put the top on, start the machine and then pour your cold (repeat COLD) ice cream mixture into the freezer bowl as it runs. The cold of the freezer bowl chills the ice cream mixture, the paddle scraps the sides of the freezer bowl as it turns which scrapes off the freezing ice cream incorporating it back into the ice cream mixture and churns air into the mixture. Let the machine run for 20ish minutes. Give it a peak every once in a while because watched ice cream never freezes ;). When it's done, you'll hear the motor struggle a bit more because of the thickness of the ice cream, the ice cream will be soft serve consistency and will be done as far as its adventure with the machine. From here you could eat it as soft serve, or scoop out the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze it for a few hours. let the freezer bowl warm up a little, then wash by hand with warm soapy water and a soft sponge or cloth.The negative comments that people have left seem mostly to be due to them not understanding how this machine works or that they expected something different, or both. Yes, you have to freeze the bowl overnight -- that's how this type of ice cream machine chills ice cream. It doesnt have its own refridgeration unit. If you want that, then pay 5x+ the price for a different type of machine. No, this machine doesn't produce solid hard ice cream -- it produces soft serve consistency because it churns and you can't churn rock solid ice cream. And You MUST WASH THE FREEZER BOWL BY HAND. This isn't a "to keep it looking it's best" issue like you sneak your pots and pans in the dishwasher even though you shouldn't -- the heat from the dishwasher will destroy the freezing liquid in the bowl and the bowl will never make ice cream again. You can tell that a well meaning relative put your bowl in the dishwasher because the bowl will still sound sloshy even though it's been freezing for days.The It Never Froze My Ice Cream comments -- the person either put their freezer bowl in the dishwasher or the bowl wasn't cold enough. Or the freezer bowl was defective.The It Won't Make Ice Cream Immediately, It Makes Soft Serve...comments -- that's true, but that's how this machine works.Some have commented that they have to let the finished ice cream (after being I the freezer) sit on the counter for 15 minutes until they can scoop it. My suggestions are: 1. Use more fat in your recipe, 2. Let it churn more air as the machine runs, 3. Know that most commercial ice creams have a ton of what they call "overhead" which is basically air in the ice cream. You may notice that the same volume of two different brands of ice cream weigh differently. Ultra premium brands like Haagen Daaz have little overhead compared to, say most grocery store brands. Lower quality ice creams also have thickeners and stabilizers that hold the ice cream together but keep it from really forming solid. Ever leave a bowl of ice cream on the counter overnight and the next day it's a little melted but mostly in the same shape? That's the stabilizers. All of this makes commercial ice cream soft and easy to scoop even though it's frozen. Take heart that better quality ice creams like the one you are making are naturally harder when frozen, and therefore may take a sturdy ice cream scoop and perhaps a little muscle to scoop. On properly made ice creams (enough fat, enough churning) I've never made a batch too hard to scoop straight from the freezer.In short, this machine works beautifully and its make quality ice cream. I'm very happy with it.

Having owned a lot of ice cream makers over my lifetime, I was intrigued by the simplicity (and hopefully low maintainence) of this design. I was very impressed at the simple design, which makes this machine a breeze to clean- something sorely lacking in those old ice buckets of yore.My first attempt worked OK, but a few batches since simply did not meet my expectations. The recipes simply did not produce ice cream, but more of an ice milk. Still delicious, but not quite there. Some testing was definitely in order; I know recipes can be pretty forgiving within reason, so I wasn't too worried about that. What did worry me was that the freezer simply didn't seem to perform up to par. A quick check of my chest freezer with an appliance thermometer proved my suspicions: the freezer was hovering at about +5 degrees F! That few degrees makes a WORLD of difference I'm churning a batch of my mocha recipe and even at 8 minutes to go the ice cream is gorgeous!My recommendation to anyone having issues with your machine is DEFINITELY check your freezer temperature and adjust if needed, it'll make all the difference! I'm actually enjoying some of the most delicious, CREAMY ice cream I've had since childhood when we made it by the gallons with family and friends. WOW is this an awesome setup! Now I dare to try a bunch of other family recipes dating back to the early '60's without fear. If you want one of the easiest methods for making GREAT ice cream with little cleanup afterward, this is the machine, don't miss out!

When i was growing up we always had Christmas and Thanksgiving at grandma's house, and grandma always made homemade ice cream! I got nostalgic when I saw this and I was so excited to try it, I have never regretted it! Now my family has homemade ice cream for the holidays! I'm not going to talk about how the ice cream tastes because that's up to what recipe you use, but if you've never had good homemade ice cream you've really never had ice cream! (use a recipe that includes heavy cream and egg yokes!)I always keep the container in my freezer so it's always ready to go! I've has this ice cream maker almost 4 years and never had a single issue! The motor is powerful enough to make any dessert I've tried and the container stays cold, even after we've eaten the ice cream and i wash it out with hot water! The motor is loud enough that I generally let the machine operate in the garage or the basement while we are enjoying our meal. Definitely a great purchase and id buy again in a heartbeat!

The only thing that bothered me was my bowl would get freezer frost from storing it in the freezer. It would break off in churning and become little lumps in the ice cream. I bought seals that fit great. Also put the sealed bowl in a 2 or 2.5 gallon freezer ziplock bag.Other than that, this is perfect. The ice creams take about 20 minutes. It’s been nice to control ingredients and not be eating filler and/or chemicals in stores’ ice creams. Had the 1.5 quart for several years as decided to upgrade to get the 2 quart capacity.

I really like this Ice Mixer/Ice Machine, but I’m giving it 4 stars because it makes some noise while spinning. At first it can sound a little concerning — I even looked up YouTube videos to compare, and many people had the same reaction. So if you’re worried about noise, especially with a baby at home, this might not be the best option.That being said, it has helped me make some delicious desserts, and the best part is enjoying a rich, homemade ice cream at the end. If you like making your own ice cream with clean or organic ingredients, this is definitely a good choice!