Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
by Cuisinart
|
List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
Customer Review: Did not like the product
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this for my wife and she did not like the product. I guess we were not informed that the mixing tank should be frozen for many hours before use. It was used one time and will probably never be used again. The unit is not as user friendly as advertised - if we would have known more - the purchase would not have been madeCustomer Review: USE PLASTIC UTENSILS FOR SCOOPING!
Summary: 4 Stars
Remember to only use plastic or silicon utensils to scoop ice cream from the container. We were using a metal spoon and scratched the inside of the drum. YIKES! Otherwise, it makes great ice cream in a flash. Definitely order the Ben and Jerry's recipe book as a companion, great recipes for classic Ben and Jerry flavors and more. Have fun!Customer Review: Works Great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this ice cream maker. I was afraid it would be one of those products you buy but never use because they are such a pain. But this machine makes it really easy and we have already used it numerous times! I had family over and one batch easily fed 6 people. Not only that but everyone loved it. Buying ice cream from the store doesn't even cross our minds anymore because it can't even compare to the ice cream this machine makes. It does come out soft, which I personally like, but some time in the freezer easily remedies that. I also like that you can buy additional freezer bowls and am considering doing so in the near future. I have absoultely no complaints about this machine.Customer Review: Homemade ice cream is a low-carb dieters dream!
Summary: 5 Stars
As someone who is on a low carb diet, I'm always looking for new ideas to curb the `ol sweet tooth cravings. It dawned on me that all the ingredients in ice cream, except sugar, are allowed on my diet. Thankfully, there are artificial sweeteners like Splenda that can be used in place of sugar to keep your insulin levels nice and low.
I was surprised how well this unit works. The machine makes a soft goopy kind of ice cream in less than 25 minutes. I then freeze it overnight in a separate container to get the same consistency as store bought ice cream. One word of warning: ice cream without sugar freezes extremely hard. You will need to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it to melt a little.
Some tips:
Don't use granular Splenda. A cup of Splenda has 96 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates! Use a liquid Sucralose sweetener.
Go to your local library and get the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. There are lots of recipes that can be made low carb: French Vanilla, Ben's Chocolate, Butter Pecan, Cherry Garcia, etc. You don't need a double boiler for the chocolate recipes; a microwave oven will work even better. (Keep in mind that the book was written in 1987.) Yes, those are raw eggs they're asking you to ingest. If you have a problem with this, you're going to need to find an alternative emulsifier that's low carb.
So, you made 2 quarts of your homemade ice cream. Aren't you proud? Now where are you going to put it? Think ahead and buy some containers from Sweet Bliss Containers.
The "freezer bowl" of the ice cream maker needs to be frozen overnight. It's size is 7?" x 7?" x 6?". Will you have enough room in your freezer?
You will have a thin layer of super hard ice cream stuck to the "freezer bowl" when you're finished. Let it thaw a bit. Don't try to scrape it off; you don't want to damage the "freezer bowl."
Keep your ingredients as cold as possible! Don't melt chocolate, mix in the other ingredients, and attempt to make ice cream while the mixture is warm. Put it in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours so it can chill. Also, don't take out the "freezer bowl" until the very last moment. Have everything else prepped before you do.
Vanilla Ice Cream: 4 Large Eggs, 42 drops of EZ Sweetz, 4 cups of Heavy Cream, 2 cups of Whole Milk, and 4 tsp of Vanilla Extract. One cup of ice cream is 425 calories, 45g fat, and 3.2 g net carbs. I like to add unsweetened chocolate chips to the mix. Freeze 2 oz. of Bakers unsweetened chocolate squares. Get a very, very, SHARP knife and start slicing the frozen chocolate into slivers. It should naturally break into small chip like pieces. I have more success cutting the squares by laying them upside down on the cutting board. Add the chips after 15 minutes. Be warned that the additional volume of the chips can make the mixture begin to overflow. Thankfully, the ice cream maker has an open top, so you can eat the excess while it's churning. :) BTW, the chips add about 35 calories, 4g of fat, and 1g more carb per serving.
Customer Review: Excellent Ice Cream Maker; Consistent Results
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research on ice cream makers before purchasing this product, as I figured it would take up a lot of space and be an "investment piece" for my kitchen. As fate would have it, after deciding I was going to buy this model I found it at [...] for $49.99 - the same day!
In the six weeks I've owned it, I've made the following flavors: Sweet Custard Ice Cream with Crunchie Bar crumbles, Fleur de Sel Caramel, Roasted Banana, Chocolate Frangelico (which I made with local goats milk instead of regular milk), Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet, Mixed Berry & Pomegranate Buttermilk Sorbet, Strawberry Sorbet, Rum Raisin, Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Dark Chocolate... and a few more I can't remember at the moment!
This machine has consistently produced excellent ice cream. To those that have difficulty making thick ice cream, I'd suggest freezing your canister for 48+ hours in a very cold freezer (I store mine in our chest freezer, which doesn't get opened often!), rather than the "12-24 hours" that the manual suggests. Also process it for 30 rather than the recommended 20-25 minutes. If you find that your ice cream is very icy, please know that ice cream needs fat to make it soft (using alcohol also improves texture as it doesn't freeze) - so it's tricky to get a nice texture with any non-fat frozen yogurts and sorbets. I've made my sorbets with either buttermilk or a small amount of high-fat Greek yogurt. With sorbets I generally use so much fresh fruit that you can't taste the dairy at all.
For me, most ice cream recipes use too much cream and too much sugar. The recipes I've tweaked & developed tend to use about a 50/50 ratio of cream (NOT heavy cream) to 1% milk, and about 25-30% less sugar than regular recipes call for. I compensate by adding more flavor. I find my ice cream recipes are tastier and less rich than the recipes they were developed from - with a great texture. Also keep in mind that making custard-style ice creams using eggs yields a nicer texture.
Also, I wouldn't complain about the noise it makes. Yes, it is powered by a motor - it makes some noise. Certainly not enough to bother my family!