Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, 1.5 Quart Sorbet, Frozen Yogurt Maker, Double Insulated, White, ICE-21P1

Ordered this to replace my 20 year old cuisinart ice cream maker. The fluid in the freezing bowl walls for my old machine would no longer freeze and they no longer make replacement bowls for that model. This new machine was SIGNIFICANTLY lighter than my old machine--love that. The only downside is that the power cord in the new machine is much shorter--maybe 1 1/2 feet. Other than that, the machine is quiet and works perfectly.Here are some basic things to know about this machine. 1. You must put the freezing bowl in the freezer the night before you plan to make your ice cream. 2. Once the fluid in the freezer bowl wall is frozen, you add your batter and run the machine for 15-20 minutes. The machine churns and freezes your batter while sitting on your counter top for that time. 3. Once "done" you need to transfer your ice cream to a freezer storage bowl and freeze for at least 2 hours to get the ice cream to a good frozen texture. 4. It only makes 1 quart at a time. Bottom line is you must plan ahead. This said, the process requires very little active work. Literally maybe 5 minutes to wisk up the batter and 3 minutes to transfer it to your storage container. Super simple.Once last recommendation--I would highly suggest using ONLY cold water to wash the freezer bowl after use. The directions say use only lukewarm water, but from reading other recommendations and my own experience with a failed freezer bowl (in fairness, not used often but lasted 20 years), using only cold water to clean the bowl will help to preserve the life of the coolant in the bowl walls.

I bought this because I wanted to try making my own ice cream. After making a test batch of chocolate ice cream I don't think I'll purchase store bought ice cream again. The quality of the ice cream is awesome, smooth and creamy.This is a heavy sturdy product, the freezer bowl has some weight to it. The paddle is made of plastic, I would prefer it be metal but at this price point it makes sense it's plastic. There have been some comments on the noise level, but I don't feel it's overly loud. From the comments I've read and videos I've seen it much quitter than I expected.The recipes that come with the manual are the best place to start. The Chocolate ice cream recipe is really good and was a great starting point. Additionally, they can be modified. I used the Strawberry ice cream recipe as a base for making Cherry and Blue Berry Ice cream and they turned out great.I would say that these recipes will make a bit more than 1.5qt., as another reviewer commented you only want to fille the freezer bowl to about three quarters of the way to allow to the ice cream to expand. So using the recipes will over-flow the bowl once the ice cream starts to solidify.Overall I'd say it's well worth it.

This is a great little ice cream maker for my purposes eating carnivore. It’s a little noisy, sounds a bit like an older bread machine that self kneads the dough. It’s not the worst, especially for the amazing end result.***MAKE SURE THE MIXING PADDLE IS ALREADY IN THE MACHINE AND THE MACHINE IS TURNED ON BEFORE POURING ANYTHING IN***There is definitely a learning curve with it. I’m using it for a sugar free keto/carnivore ice cream recipe (2 cups heavy cream+5 egg yolks+vanilla extract+some stevia sweetener). Do yourself a favor fellow carnivores and thoroughly beat all your ingredients with a hand mixer for a few minutes until smooth, THEN pour it into the ice cream machine. It comes out DELICIOUS and creamy, better than anything store bought.I had perfect frozen custard within about 12 minutes, and the ice cream barrel had been in the freezer for about 17 hours before I placed it on the machine. Just shake it first to make sure it’s frozen solid and there’s no sloshing within the barrel. It gets a really even cold surface and evenly freezes the ingredients, awesome end result for a budget ice cream maker.Since you can’t put the barrel in the dishwasher, Easiest way I’ve found to clean it is just let it sit out for a few hours to melt all the residue off the sides, then wash it out with antibacterial dawn. Let the churning paddle sit in the barrel full of soapy water and swish it around to clean it simultaneously, then dry it off and pop it back in the freezer so it’s ready next time you’re wanting a frozen treat.My only gripe with it is that the churning paddle is plastic, would’ve preferred metal, but it works well enough once locked into place.