Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Ice Cream and Gelato Maker, Fully Automatic with a Commercial Quality Compressor and 2-Paddles, 10-Minute Keep Cool Feature, Black and Stainless Steel

I had always wanted an ice cream maker with a compressor as we make a lot of ice cream but only can do so through the hot summer months. Neither of us likes store bought ice cream and, too, it's gotten so expensive. Upon much research and also watching Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) use this model, I decided to gift myself with it.Best decision I could have made! I read the instructions twice just to make sure of what I was doing and mixed up my first batch of ice cream from the included booklet. My husband wanted fresh raspberry so this is the one I made first. It was delicious. The only thing I could have done any better was to really crush up the raspberries better. I only mashed them a little thinking they would break up on their own as raspberries are so fragile. They didn't break apart in the mixer enough but it was really good anyway.The bowl and paddle are very simple to get ready and the lid is easy to lock in. It even has a little door that can be opened to add nuts, etc. in the last five minutes of freezing. The really BIG rule is to not put in too much mix. If you do, as it freezes, it will go over the rim of the basket and then you will really have a mess. But the nice thing about the maker is that after a batch is done, wait 10 minutes and then you can make another batch. This you can do all day long if you choose.A recipe from the booklet makes just the right amount for the freezer. But in saying that, if you are a big ice cream eater or have very many people to serve then you will need to make more than one batch. As there are only two of us, this is the perfect amount to make as it last several days, depending how big a bowl my husband gets.I've made several ice creams, vanilla, chocolate (delicious) black walnut, butter pecan and several vanillas with the addition of items toward the end. One of my really favorite things to make are the sorbets. If the fruit is really ripe and sweet, much less sugar can be used in the recipe. Strawberry sorbet is my favorite. Unbelievably fresh tasting. And frozen fruit can be purchased all year around which are much better than the insipid fruits I'm able to purchase out of season.The machine freezes the contents pretty firmly and even has a 10 minute cycle at the end of the churning cycle to keep on chilling. The machine will shut off the churn cycle when it can go no further and then go to the chill cycle, beeping to tell you what is happening. Cuisinart has thought of everything in their design and produced a superior product here.A few hints: always have your mix well chilled before putting into the machine. I even set the mixing bowl in the freezer for twenty minutes before putting in the machine. Thoroughly chill the storage container to have it ready to put the finished ice cream. There's not much melting doing it this way. Have a small silicone spatula handy to scrape out the finished ice cream from the machine bowl. This gets all the ice cream out and the silicone is non scratch. You do not want to scratch the machine's bowl because it would damage the Teflon coating. And last but not least, just take an extra minute and hand wash the bowl, paddles and lid. So much gentler on everything.I found out that the Cuisinart does not churn in as much air as a White Mountain or similar out door maker does which makes the frozen product freeze harder. No problem though, just let it sit out of the freezer for a minute or two or microwave the container for 7 or 8 seconds to thaw it up a bit. Also, I noticed that several reviewers complained about how loud the machine is when churning. We haven't been bothered by it as it's quieter than our dishwasher...hmm...maybe I need a new dishwasher?????Well, now on to many trials and experiments with different recipes...can't wait.

We have never had an ice cream maker but had wanted one for years. I remember years ago visiting family and enjoying some homemade ice cream. The one thing that I had always dreaded was the fact that you needed a bag of ice and rock salt to freeze the ice cream. Never invested in the ice cream maker for this very reason. After self quarantining due to the COVID-19 crisis, our favorite ice cream stands were long longer a viable option. Due to our longing for some good ice cream during the crisis, we decided to pull the trigger and invest in a machine. After some research I found a couple of machines that were self contained and did not require the use of the the dreaded ice and salt. After reading many reviews for multiple manufactures and models we settled on the Cuisinart ICE-100 as our best option. Reviews on Amazon were 4.5+ with approximately 1000 reviews submitted. I did read a number of 2 star reviews (I typically ignore 1 star reviews as being not realistic complaints) and most looked to be years old and in some cases did not seem too concerning. I was leery about the ones that concerned ice cream not freezing in the middle of the batch and also reviews that mentioned loud noises or squealing sounds but I found these same types of reviews with every machine regardless the manufacturer. These reviews did put me off a little and had me second guessing but then I stumbled across on a video review a professional reviewer posted and he mentioned that one thing you needed to do was to ensure that the removable bucket is completely dry, even the gear type teeth on the bottom which can sometimes retain a little water which could potentially freeze and cause some of the issues I had read in the reviews. The second warning I took to heart was to make sure the bucket was completely dry before putting the device away for storage to eliminate the potential for a musty smell developing. With all this in mind we patiently waited for the arrival of the ice cream maker. The manufacturer recommends a 24 hr wait time once the machine arrives to allow the coolant to settle which will allow proper operation. Once this was over, we proceeded to mix the ice cream solution we found and pour it into the machine and start it up. The hardest part of the entire process was now the wait for the machine to finish.I do admit that the volume of the bucket is small but it is plenty big for just the two of us now that our kids are all grown and moved out. Since our immediate family had all been self quarantined for well over a month with really no contact with anyone else, we decided to have them over to celebrate our wedding anniversary and what better way to do that than with fresh homemade ice cream. The machine did a great job and made enough for 4 grown adults and 1 grandchild to partake in. Everyone loved it and have asked a couple of times to come back for more. It is funny that now we have this machine we have become obsessed and have made a couple batches a week of all kinds of flavors and types. It has been fun to experiment and find new recipes that we can both help to prepare. My in-laws loved this machine so much that they had us order a second machine for them and they too have been experimenting. I have waited for 1.5 months to write this review to make sure that the machine works properly. We have been very pleased with this machine. We did have a call from the in-laws after their first use saying the bucket had become frozen in the machine and the beater stopped turning. We needed to remind them they needed to make sure the bucket was completly dry and they should even blow a little air into the little holes on the bottom to make sure the gear mechanism was dry before assembling.One great benefit of having a self contained machine over one of the old fashioned machines with the ice and salt is the fact that we can immediately make multiple batches without waiting. I highly recommend this machine and have found that it runs with no problems if you follow the instructions for operation and take care to keep everything clean and dry. A couple of words of caution is to make sure that the bucket is not too full and that the lid is secured properly We did have a batch of Banana Chocolate chip that we were making that was a little too full and we had to stop the machine mid cycle to remove some of the mixture so it didn’t overrun the sides of the bucket. Secondly, if the lid is not Seated properly it will allow the beater to move a little and you will hear it knocking a little. Stopping the machine and reseating then beater fixed the problem.Lastly there were some reviews about the machine being noisy. We did not find this to be true with our machine. It is not silent operation but I would compare the noise level to that of a kitchen mixer running on the slowest speed which is no problem at all.I would highly recommend this machine as it will bring you plenty of fun and enjoyment as you find and experiment with various recipes.