Best Ice Cream Makers

I am an experienced home baker and have used the 'frozen bowl' method to make ice cream over the last few years. Results weren't too bad, but I found… Read more

this method messy and frustrating, having to be constantly watching the churning process to stop the mixer when it has finished to prevent damage to the paddle. So I began to research what machine I thought would give me the results I was after. I have to admit I tried looking for a cheaper machine or method before purchasing the Magimix Gelato Machine. I tried a couple of soft serve machines, where I was told you could make the ice cream and freeze it, but that was a fail. The result produced churned flavoured butter using an ice cream recipe. Using a soft serve recipe only produced soft serve ice cream which after freezing, produces a very poor quality ice cream. The dasher or paddle is designed differently to an ice cream machine and the program also runs at a different speed and temperature. It will not freeze sufficiently to the temperature needed for ice cream either. So, then I began researching the compressor type ice cream machines. There are a few different brands, so reviews and YouTube videos showing comparisons were quite helpful. Ultimately compressor ice cream machines give you the best results and among these the Magimix Gelato expert excelled and is considered the best - it is the most expensive as well, but the quality and advantages surpass all of the other compressor machines and I can confirm this. The ice cream produced is better than store bought. It is truly artisan quality. There are many reasons why I chose the Magimix Gelato Expert, here are a few. It is a high quality machine that will last for years. It will produce back to back batches of restaurant quality Gelato, Ice cream, Sorbet and Granita. The machine programs include a manual setting as well, if you want to be creative. There's a pre-freeze button to help cool the bowl to freeze temperature more quickly before you start the selected program. Ice cream and gelato take between 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Smaller batches obviously take less time. The bowl holds up to 2 litres but you need to consider how much expansion and volume your batch will produce. You can comfortably place a double batch of the Gelato recipe (from the Magimix cookbook) into the machine. Gelato is a lot denser. The ice cream recipe expands more and sorbet will expand further, so check first by making a single batch recipe. The Magimix Ice Cream cookbook that is included with the machine is a great start. Many more recipes online as well. Lots of healthy and low fat recipes too. The machine features two - 2 litre stainless steel bowls. It is suggested to use a small amount of alcohol between the fixed bowl and removable bowl to help conduct the freeze temperature between the bowls more effectively. A lot of reviews have suggested it works just as well without the alcohol, but I haven't tried this as yet. I have made back to back batches using only the removable bowl, washing the bowl in between before beginning the next batch. I think this is the easiest and most practical method. Once the chosen program has finished, the product is very easy to remove and transfer into a freezer container to serve at a later time or if you choose to leave it in the machine, at the end of the cycle the machine will switch automatically onto the maintain program, keeping the product at the ideal serving temperature for 2 hours. The programs are accurate with the machine detecting when it needs to stop, by sensing how thick and frozen it is before switching automatically into storage mode, so you don't need to stress if you are busy doing something else. To summarise the Magimix Gelato Expert produces high quality ice cream/gelato/sorbet/granita in a short amount of time with little supervision. It comes with two, 2 litre bowls. One fixed and one removable. Two paddles are supplied, a spatula and measure for the alcohol, along with the Gelato Expert Ice Creams cookbook. The machine is very stable on the bench throughout the program and noise level is relatively low. The machine is robust and has a quality construction being manufactured in Italy. Included is a 3 year warranty. The sales assistant told me in the many years she has worked there, she has never seen one of these machines returned. Despite the higher cost it is well worth the quality results it produces, ease of use and all the other reasons mentioned. I purchased the Gelato Expert during a sale, which occur a few times throughout the year. So if you want to produce healthy, restaurant quality desserts without all the artificial additives as seen in the commercial products from supermarkets, this is the machine for you. There's not a single negative that I can think of, to include in my review and my husband and family are all enjoying the resulting creations.

Fantastic little machine for making the grandkids healthy icecream. The only thing I disagree with is using over ripe bananas. They taste absolutely… Read more

disgusting. Just use ripe bananas and freeze them. The taste improves 100%. We also like adding frozen strawberries and mango. Just remember to take the fruit out of the freezer 10 minutes before you want to use it. Easy to take apart and clean.

Good machine for home that delivers – With the Breville Smart Scoop BCI600 Ice Cream Maker we've been able to make home made ice cream with any flavour we want. My partner is professional… Read more

pastry chef, so that helped with the learning curve on how to use this. With some trial and error, we've been able to get out some tasty treats.

Pros:

Versatile Settings - offers a variety of hardness settings, allowing us to customize the texture of the ice cream. From soft serve to firm consistency - but it does take a few times to get used to.

Large Capacity - With a capacity of up to 1.5 liters, this ice cream maker can accommodate sizable batches, making it suitable for serving larger gatherings or households.

Cons:

Noise Level - During operation, the Breville Smart Scoop BCI600 emits noticeable noise, which may be disruptive in quieter environments or when used during gatherings.

Bulkiness - this ice cream maker occupies significant space on countertops and cannot be left on the bench at all times. It's quite bulky and a bit hard to move in and out when we need to use it.

Pre-Cooling Feature - The pre-cooling function of the Breville is supposed to accelerates the chilling process, reducing preparation time and enabling quicker dessert preparation - but it's not that great. We found it easier to just put the bowl in the freezer before use instead.

Price Point - this is priced higher than many basic ice cream makers. I'm not 100% certain it's worth the higher price point.

Conclusion: While the Breville Smart Scoop BCI600 Ice Cream Maker offers versatility and automation in ice cream making, it comes with drawbacks such as noise level, bulkiness, and higher price point. Despite this, I'm overall happy with the product, and it delivers what it's supposed to.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Good and bad – Purchased this couple of weeks ago, some good and bad points. Relatively quiet, easy to use and clean afterwards. But it leaves a reasonable layer of… Read more

product all around the bowl that you can't scrap off because it's stuck to the frozen bowl so without scratching the crap out of it you end up wasting food really, not until the bowl has thawed that the product comes away, so that's a negative. I have tried many dairy free recipes variations but they come out icy in this machine so it's ok but definitely not a 5 star.

BUYER BEWARE - MACHINE NOT AS PROMOTED/EXPECTED! – I purchased this product based on information provided on websites + also based on product packaging information. Essentially, the marketing claims… Read more

it does certain things and omits key information, not allowing you to make an informed purchase decision.

By all means, the home made ice-cream tastes great (this is the only reason I don't give a 1 star rating). But it would taste just as great in a cheap ALDI knock off version or in the Ninja or any other ice-cream maker. The reason for a customer purchasing the Cuisinart is because of the alleged commercial quality manufacturing features & ease of making "batch after batch" without the need to pre-freeze bowls. It is promoted as churning "perfect consistency", yet this is an utter lie because once you've paid for the product and opened up the recipe guide, only at that point in time are you made aware the ice-cream making process is more complicated than described, takes far longer than you had planned for to get the consistency you're after and also requires fridge and freezer space (not just freezer space like with other brands) in order to get what you're after (and what you're after is the picture of the ice-cream in the cones on the product packaging).

Customer service is nothing to be desired, they basically just fob you off in any way they can and then argue points which they brought up with you to begin with, not points you were ever intending to talk about. They have no assurance to their customer to just 'stick with' the machine because I guess deep down they already know the machine doesn't do what it says it does, so they have no other customer service path, other than to fob you off.

The Ice cream maker is quite noisy to start with. The paddle/blade started giving problems just outside warranty whereby the blade would not stay… Read more

attached to the spindle and would fall into the ice cream. This is poor design and if not for a Reddit user posting a solution, I would have ended either throwing out the product or an expensive repair. Solution: Attach a 5mm (diameter) x 2mm Neodymium magnet to the base of the inside of the paddle and it works. Magnets cost about $5 for a pack of 8-10.

amazing customer service - and Jasmine and Angela have gone above and beyond their duties Show details

Purchased a white one in December as a family Christmas present. Took a little bit of getting used to but was well received for new years party. Not… Read more

the easiest thing to clean especially after making ice-cream (always hard to get all the fatty residue completely clean). When we were setting it up for another party I noticed a big crack in the handle (the silver cap ended up falling off revealing it was a pathetically thin bit of plastic. Also the locking mechanisms (x3) all showed signs of cracking, to the point little bits were falling off. As I only had the eftpos receipt (which they should have stapled to my main receipt but cest la vie), had the usual "we can't do anything without the proper receipt" line from the lady at the store. This violates Australian Consumer Law, as you can use credit card receipt as proof of purchase, and I was in their loyalty club so they had my receipt anyway. When i offered to bring up the clause in the law, and pointed out that the vessel cracking and leaking DOES consitute a major failuer, the lady begrudgenly refunded my money. Given the retailer "claims" its worth $1000 but "on special for $499", its interesting that google search shows it with a normal price of "upto $499"). Given some of the other reviews have mentioned similar issues with the quality of the product, they really should consider a recall...

I recently bought a Davis and Waddell ice cream maker . I was disappointed to see that the item was packaged up in polystyrene and even the box was… Read more

not recyclable due to the plastic covering. The multiple soft plastic bags covering much of the product are polyethylene low density. In some countries and states, this soft plastic can be recycled however, in Western Australia are not able to be recycled. I find it disingenuous for a company to place the onus of recycling a product that isn't recyclable on the consumer.

Considering the research regarding the problematic nature of plastic, for our environment and the suggested hormonal modulation of plastic chemicals and their additives to human health, I believe it is high time for companies such as Davis and Waddell to change their packaging to a more sustainable product. Plenty of businesses, such as IKEA have already changed their packaging to cardboard and paper. It is doable and I will not be buying another Davis and Waddell product until changes are made in this area.

Get Outlook for iOS

I love this machine sometimes it looks like I'm making snow, I've made all sorts of desserts and drinks from alcoholic sorbet, cocktails, milk shakes… Read more

and of course frozen drinks and ice cream all very easy to make the only downside is everything has to be frozen prior to making unlike other products anything and no sugar free products unless it has alcohol but I would still recommend this price range is $234 -$300

Effective – Smaller for about 2-3 servings, it wont make ice cream if you're using unfrozen ingredients, however it will make the cream expand, kinda like half… Read more

melted icecream, such that putting it back in a container will harden it fine. I recommend using a blender with ice or other frozen ingredients and go from there, perhaps using a gum stabilizer with lower fat mixes.Last batch was store-bought perfect after putting in freezer. We purchased last year, and have used once or twice a month with no problems. It makes four servings (1 pint), which is more than enough for two people. For the price, it is great!

started out to be a exciting machine, made 1 orange juice slushie and was ok then made 1 x soft serve and machine made some funny noises pulled apart… Read more

and found auger snapped in 2 places. After a difficult time to try and get warranty they finally sent a new auger, which lasted 3 times until this new auger broke in the exactly the same spot and the same exact break type. Do not recommend this keeps breaking and is just rubbish