Not my real name |
Date: 2006-02-28
I bought this after reading a lot of reviews. My choice was based on a number of factors. I have owned a hand-crank, ice-and-salt ice cream maker in the past - it made great ice cream but was messy; I didn't want yet another appliance that I had to find where to store; and I have owned and liked my KitchenAid stand mixer for a number of years.
This is basically a double-walled, sealed mixing bowl, with the space inside the walls filled with some liquid (presumably like the refreezable ice packs). It comes with plastic paddle. The basic steps are:
1 Freeze the bowl (I keep mine in the freezer)
2 Make and cool an ice cream custard, or a fruit mix for sorbet
3 Assemble the frozen bowl and the plastic paddle on the stand mixer
4 Switch the mixer on lowest speed, add the custard
5 Let the mixer stir the mix until it freezes (to a "soft serve" consistency)
6 Transfer the ice cream to a bowl with a lid, and freeze until firm
Here are my comments:
First, take a black marker and obliterate all the nutritional information about the recipes in the instruction book. We know that ice cream is full of fat and sugar -- that's why we like it! We don't need reminding.
* Try a dry run to assemble the bowl and paddle. This is designed to fit many models of KitchenAid mixers, and it's not obvious. You don't want to be figuring this out when you are ready to make your first batch.
* Freeze the bowl for longer than the suggested 18 hours
* MAKE HALF QUANTITIES: the two-quart recipes fill the bowl, and I had a couple of overflows as the ice cream expands as it cools.
* Also, filling the bowl means that the ice cream takes longer to freeze. The first time I tried this, it didn't freeze as the bowl had not been frozen long enough to handle the two quarts.
* Get a good recipe to use up the egg whites. I make meringue from the New York Times Cook Book. I guess an omelet would be good too.
* There's mistake in the instruction book. In one place it suggests adding the fruit, nuts etc half way through the freezing process, and in another place it suggests adding these ingredients at the end of the mixing cycle.
* Use enough mix (custard or fruit puree) to at least fill half of the bowl -- this way the paddle will mix the entire batch.
* Remember that freezing enhances the sweet taste -- so do not over sweeten the mix before you freeze, otherwise the ice cream or sorbet will be too sweet.
* If you're making a fruit puree for sorbet, a blender makes a *MUCH* smoother puree than a food processor. I think this makes a difference in the texture of the final sorbet.
* After preparation, you need to cool the custard or puree in the fridge for a few hours. Use a jug that has a decent pouring lip: this will make it much easier to pour into the freezer bowl than if you just use a regular mixing bowl.
* There is very little space between the edge of the bowl and the paddle -- this can mean a mess when you fill the bowl. It **really** needs a pouring spout designed to fit
* Getting the semi-frozen desert out of the bowl can be messy - there is no handle on the bowl and it has smooth, slippery sides.
* Use a container for the final freezing that has a little air space after you fill with the semi-frozen ice cream -- this allows for additional expansion of the desert, and prevents the need to squash the final product into the bowl.
* I've used recipes from The New York Times Cookbook and Fine Cooking magazine -- all delicious, better than store bought, and slightly different than the regular recipes for vanilla, cookies and cream, etc.
* Use the freshest eggs you can find -- not the ones that have been sitting in the fridge door for a month
Update February 2008
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Thanks very much to all the kind comments that folks have left. For those of you who haven't read the comments on this review: it's worthwhile taking a few minutes to do so as some of the commenters have additional suggestions and ideas.
Update December 2009
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A couple of the recent comments have asked whether the inside of the bowl is aluminum or non-stick. It *appears* to be metallic, but with plastics these days, it's anybody's guess. It is light gray so could be aluminum, but I'd wager that it is some sort of alloy. It is definitely NOT the type of non-stick found in Teflon-type frying pans.
BTW - I've had this for nearly four years and am still loving it. Long term durability seems to be good.
jcwetc |
Date: 2005-07-28
I agree with the earlier positive reviews about the quality of the ice cream maker attachment and the quality of the ice cream it produces. It makes the best ice cream my family has had, is sturdy, quiet, and solidly made. I also like the fact that it doesn't take up additional counter space the way a stand-alone appliance would. If you store the bowl in the back of the freezer, you can put the dasher and drive assembly in a drawer, and avoid additional clutter. In terms of simplicity and ease of use, it is miles ahead of a traditional ice and salt crank freezer.
Having said that, it is necessary to follow the instructions carefully to end up with good results. It's essential that the bowl be completely frozen (the manual recommends at least 15 hours), and the batter be completely chilled (I try to chill it overnight). You should then end up with ice cream the consistency of soft-serve or frozen custard, 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. This means that for the best results, you should start preparing the day before you want the ice cream, and actually make it a few hours before you plan to serve it to allow it to ripen. If you're impatient, don't keep everything cold enough, turn the mixer speed up, etc. the result will probably be edible, but it may not be the best ice cream.
As far as adding the batter to the bowl, I have found that the clear Kitchenaid pouring shield works fine on the freezer bowl (I have the 300 watt, 4 1/2 quart mixer) and it helps prevent spills.
One disadvantage that comes from the time it takes the bowl to freeze, is that you can make only one batch a day. So if you have a big group coming, and you need more than 2 quarts or you want more than one flavor, you need to start a couple of days early. The guide also does not come with many ice cream recipes, but I also bought the Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein (ISBN: 0688161499), and it gives you more recipes than it would ever be healthy for one family to make.
Bottom line: great product and highly recommended, but follow the instructions carefully and plan ahead.
