Magimix Gelato Expert

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 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… Read more

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.

It’s our first gelato machine and we wanted to get a machine that gives us the closest experience as a commercial gelato machine. So far it’s been doing an amazing job. It’s steady and strong. It is high quality. The only issue and concern is sometimes when we want to continue the second batch, the bowl is not cooled down the same way like the… Read more

first round. We understood that we have to wait 5 minutes for the bowl to be freezing and adding alcohol to between the bowl, it sometimes does not freeze and leaves water condense on the rim of the bowl. When it happens, it takes longer to set up and run the machine. We used to wait and waste 30 minutes or more as the gelato base was not freezing then we learned to turn off the machine, let it rest, and power on, then it would work again.

We’re not sure if this is normal or not, if anyone knows, please let us know.

I have considered buying the Magimix Gelato for years.Now that I have finally done so, I couldnt be happier.This machine is so simple to use and it makes the absolute best ice cream I have ever tasted. The build quality is superb and I have told every one of my friends about my new found skill. Toaster is next!! Show details

Super cool! – I have been making creamy desserts and icy cold drinks all summer. It is so easy to use. Definitely the best purchase of the year! Show details

Gelato Expert a wonderful breeze to use – As a Magimix Cook Expert customer found the Magimix Gelato Expert a breeze to use with helpful tips with YouTube and Facebook page. Love making ice cream - Vanilla, chocolate and Coffee so far. Highly recommend it, so easy to use and look forward to making many more wonderful desserts.  Show details

If I could put a minus 5 stars I would. Do not deal with this company and expect any type of customer service. I have had to lodge a co plaint with both ACCC and consumer ombudsman and they still don't care and won't have a manager reach out. Their website has no disclaimers until you receive the item so if it's not suitable don't think they will… Read more

ever let you return it even though they were in the wrong. 16 emails back and forward and I'm still waiting for a manager to get in touch. Pathetic and illegal trading.

Objective and honest review – I have been regularly making my own Ice-creams and sorbets for well over 30 years and up until recently have used pre-freeze bowl units which have been cheap and effective albeit inconvenient and noisy. I bought this to replace another self-freezing machine I was gifted after only 2 weeks of use. Admittedly it was a third of the price of the… Read more

Magimix, twice the size but offered a few unique, user-friendly features. That said, it did not have the build quality, small footprint, large freezing volume, quiet operation and [apparently] quick freezing I was looking for. An attribute list that couldn't be matched for the price. I had in fact been tempted to go all out and purchase a commercial grade unit but found this that met my needs and given it was a familiar brand that has been around for a very long time, decided to try it.

Its compact dimensions and quiet operation are what I consider to be its best features. Its beautifully minimalist design takes up little bench-space.

In the month I have had the unit I've made dozens of frozen desserts and generally I am quite happy with the results, however it simply does not freeze ice cream in 30 mins as purported (with the mix pre-refrigerated and ambient temp below operating threshold as per instructions) - certainly not in Brisbane. This is a real shame as it was one of the key selling features that encouraged me to part with such a large amount of money for this domestic unit.

The freezer element doesn't completely encapsulate the bowl as there are areas of unfrozen mix at the base, particularly around the plastic parts and also towards the rim. I've tested this with the precool function on the unit and it's obviously relying on thermal conduction to cool the entirety of the bowl surface which it doesn't quite achieve as there is a warm spot on the base around the centre of the drive shaft as well as around the rim which is clearly visible in the photo. The freezer coil needs to be extended to give full coverage including the base. The unit could also do with more insulation between the freezing element and the case body as condensation builds on small areas on both sides during use where the element is near touching the case (it feels cold to touch - pic attached).

Pictures of two different sorbets both 1l each - The first was measured at 28.5% BRIX and the second at 30.0%. The machine took nearly 50mins to complete each task.

On the topic of condensation, this builds considerably around the lip of the bowl so that you have to wipe it away before decanting the finished product otherwise you get it (along with whatever anti-freezing alcohol) in your dessert.

Regarding the alcohol use between the bowls... I used the included measure the first few times but found it was both wasteful of expensive alcohol and excessive. Also, there would always be some that found its way into the finished mixture even when using less than the measured amount. All that I do now is wet a small piece of kitchen paper with it and quickly wipe over the exterior of the bowl and the surface of the fixed bowl and this is enough to ensure the bowl releases without issue and minimises the liquid that can drip into your finished product as you unload. I personally would never use the fixed bowl to freeze directly as it would be problematic to empty and clean.

I'm not sold on having to screw and unscrew the nut that holds the paddle and bowl assembly in place - it's a bit clumsy. This could be redesigned to achieve a more convenient quick-release mechanism.

While this unit has a pre-cool feature it relies on guesswork... the cheaper unit this replaced had a very convenient function which would sound an alarm when optimal temperature was reached, and then held at that temp until you start the churning cycle. This eliminated the need to guess when it was actually cold enough to begin. I use an infrared thermometer which clearly shows the temp differences across the surface of the bowl. The other unit also had a visual display that showed exactly at what level the ingredients were frozen in relation to the pre-selected hardness setting. Some features that would be incredibly useful on a high-end domestic unit such as the Magimix Gelato Expert.

Another consideration is that the spare parts are really quite expensive.

I think if Magimix addressed a few of the considerations raised in a future revision of the machine, then I would be tempted to buy it again.

On the purchase process... I purchased this through the Magimix Australia website and there were some issues with delivery... no tracking was provided and it wasn't until after 2 delivery attempts (driver did not leave calling card) when I queried it's whereabouts, that I was told this by MA. I had to spend an hour and a half driving to collect it myself. I was far from impressed and let MA know this. They provided some compensation by sending me a second bowl though.

A perfect replacement for the old freezing-the-bowl first – A perfect replacement for the old freezing-the-bowl-first system. Fresh frozen desserts in 30 minutes. Show details