Sunbeam Snowy GL5400

Excellent little appliance – This worked a treat! I put three bananas in a small pot with milk and honey. Thickened it with custard powder then blitzed it together. I refrigerated the custard overnight took my base out the deep freeze poured in my mix it went half way up the base. And 20 mins later beautiful banana honey ice cream. Show details ·  1

Doesn't do a good job – Have used this product for making > 20 different types of ice creams. I follow the recipes and chill the custard/anglais for ever in the fridge (the last time it was 2.5 hours) and yet I can't get the maker to turn the anglais into ice-cream - even after 40 minutes of churning. It remains a silky thick consistency but not nearly thick enough to be ice-cream. Show details

Excellent machine – I have had this since 2016 It makes ice cream well, but the way you use them is the key, so I will give away a few secrets. Firstly this unit works on thermal mass storage, so making sure the base is really cold is the key. Eg deep freeze until needed. The mixture you make , needs to be really well chilled before use and well aerated… Read more ·  1

before with a mixer. The book that comes with gives a few really good receipes to try.

When you do commit to using it, make sure you wrap the base up in a towell which will keep it insulated as much a possible during the chilling process. From this point you only have limited time to set the icecream with the stored energy in the base. When its done, put into a container and straight into the freezer to set hard. Take note it may not set hard which causes the paddle to lock and reverse , so keep an eye on it as it will destabilise if left too long. Some mixtures do not get that solid but are done ok.

Now if your inclined to like alcohol., throw some Baileys irish cream into a standard vanilla mix. It makes for a really interesting outcome.

The taste of homemade ice cream beats anything else you try. A lot of work for sure but so well worth it.

I would recommend this machine to anyone and i believe its been updated to a new model.

Its cheap, low maintenance and makes a good litre of icecream

Awesome machine. I wish I had 2.....maybe 3 – I was given this machine about 12 years ago, it still works to this day (2018) and makes AMAZING ice creams, gelatos and sorbets. Easy to use and clean. The recipe booklet is fantastic. I'd recommend this machine to everyone except it's no longer in production. I can honestly say that every time I have used it it has produced delicious results - no failures yet!  Show details

Absolute garbage – I placed the bottom part in the freezer for TWO DAYS and made the icecream ONE DAY beforehand and placed it in the fridge so that the mixture was cool before putting it into the icecream maker. Despite keeping everything cool as per the instructions and after ONE HOUR of watching it go round and round I finally switched it off. It STILL didn't… Read more

turn into ice cream. I've ended up having to freeze the made up icecream in the freezer in a container as this machine is absolute garbage. I wouldn't insult giving it to the opshop - it's going in the bin which is the best place for it. They called it "Snowy" - they must be on crack.

Absolutely amazing!!! – First time using it... no instructions.... so I did some googling and after freezing the cannister for 24hrs I added 200ml fruit puree (fresh peach and strawberry) 300ml cream After about 15 mins it was light, fluffy and frozen. Tastes amazing!!! Very happy so far and I hope it's just as good next time!  Show details

Worked brilliantly – I made a strawberry Sorbet - the Recipe from a 2 hat Chef. I followed the manufacturers intructions re feezing the cannister and time etc and it worked efficiently and 10/10 result. I have now made Chocolate Torrone, again 10/10 result. My fussy girlfriends taste test Rated it 10/10. I would suggest that those whom claim a bad result may want to review their Recipe and not the equipment.  Show details

Better than expected – I was looking at buying a cheap ice cream maker to try out making my own. I found this one second hand and thought I would read some reviews about it. To be honest, I nearly didn't buy it because of some of the reviews. However, I thought it was so cheap, why not?! It didn't come with an instruction manual, so some of the recommendations came… Read more ·  1

from here. I also made a recipe that would not have been in the book. I even forgot a step in my recipe and it STILL WORKED!

I am not sure what people are doing for it not to work, but my second hand snowy worked amazing! These are the steps I took:

1. Put the canister in the freezer for a day and a half

2. Put my ice cream mixture in the fridge over night

3. Churned the ice cream for 30 minutes. It was fine, but I could have done it for 35 minutes.

4. Put the ice cream in a air tight container and put it in the freezer. It would have been fine to serve then, but ice cream at 8am didn't seem right.

5. Wash the canister and put it back in the freezer ready for next time.

For what it is and the price you pay, I think this product is great!

Not very good – Ended up throwing mine out, it's really no better than freezing icecream in a container and mixing it yourself. Its inconvenient to freeze the large bowl and takes forever to actually make the icecream. Not worth buying!

Excellent Value – I've had this ice cream maker for years and it has been wonderful. Unfortunately it's almost worn it out now and I will be looking to replace it soon - with the same again. As long as the bowl is well and truly frozen and the mixture is as cold as possible, you get perfect ice cream. My family like it as soft serve, straight from the bowl, then… Read more

the rest goes in the freezer. I've looked at replacing with more expensive models, but except for the top of the range ones that don't have to be pre-frozen, they all work on the same principle, so no reason not to buy the same again. Freezer bowl not too large to be kept in freezer all the time; inexpensive and works. Nothing.

Works well for the price you pay – I've used mine for over 1yr now. here are some tips : 1. Make sure you cool your mixture overnight in refrigerator before churning. 2. don't churn for 30+ mins (45min max) 3. freeze for 6hrs+ after churning before eating. 4. always put bowl in freezer for 12hrs before use. inexpensive Ice cream made not creamier than the kitchen aid which I got for Christmas this year

Awful! Just awful! – I brought this machine last week, I prepared everything as instructed in the instruction manual. Froze the bowl for over 24hrs and prepared and cooled the ingredients today in the fridge only to have it churning away in the ice cream machine for almost 2hours and not even freezing slightly. After 2hrs, this is just a cold milk shake and I have to… Read more

now put this liquid in the freezer for it to actually freeze.

I will give this another go and if it doesn't work next time then I will be definitely be returning it. The price, but now I know what it was so cheap! It doesn't make ice cream at all. It makes a cold milk shake

Terrible product – Do not get sucked into thinking you will get ice cream out of this machine. After several attempts and doing everything as per the book I can confirm that this machine will swish your mix around for a while and turn it into a swished mix ... it would be easier and cheaper to use a spoon. Come on Sunbeam stop kidding us. A shame the web site forces me to select at least 1 star in the review which is the only reason this piece of junk got one.

Great machine for price – This machine makes great ice-cream. Haven't had a bad lot yet and have experimented with lots of different recipes. I only ever use half cup of sugar - we don't have a sweet tooth. I always keep the the bowl in the freezer and store packets of frozen veg in it so no space is wasted. Easy to use, reliable.

Good – Does what its supposed to when the direction are followed, quick, quiet, very economical. Cons - limited 1L capacity bowl Initially when I considered getting an icecream maker i was disheartened by how expensive other models are, was esctatic to find the Sunbeam snowy! Reliable, quiet, inexpensive limited bowl size Show 4 replies

Good – We've never had a batch fail. Always delicious and properly frozen. Every bit as good as quality store bought ice cream. Probably because we follow the directions to a tee. If we tried to take short cuts, I'm sure the result would not be the same. Some reviewers complain about the freezer space taken up by the mixing bowl, but I don't see that as… Read more ·  1

any different from the space a container of store bought ice cream would take up. As diabetics, we use Splenda instead of sugar and low fat milk and cream. The Snowy allows us to eat ice cream as an occassional treat and stay healthy. If you like to eat a lot of ice cream or have a big family, spend $300.00 and buy a model with a built-in compressor and larger capacity. But for $48.00, I'm delighted with this little beauty. Suberb taste and textured ice cream. By making my own ice cream I can use sweetener instead of sugar, low-fat dairy, add fresh fruit, keep control of the ingredients. (Tip: add a little essence, such as banana, vanilla, rum, brandy etc.) Limited to 1 litre at a time. Takes 30 minutes to make, not counting the overnight pre-freezing of the bowl and then the re-chilling of the mixture before churning. (I've got a feeling some of the other reviewers may have neglected this step and ended up with slush). The machine does most of the actual work, but that's how long it takes to get product.

Expensive garbage – I owned my one of these quite a while ago. It was terrible. I tried everything to get it to produce a decent ice cream (and I definitely didn't skip the step of refrigerating before attempting to freeze. I often made a mixture, stuck it in the fridge overnight and then attempted to make it in the machine the following lunchtime). After 13 months… Read more

of frustration and freezing the mixtures in containers in the freezer anyway I gave up, got rid of it and have gone back to just making ice cream with a container and my freezer. Much cheaper and works much better.

What a disappointment!

Terrible – I bought this to see if I'd end up using an ice cream maker often enough to justify buying one with an in-built compressor. The results were pretty inconsistent. Sometimes it would solidify, other times you'd end up with liquid even after 40 minutes of churning. The paddle never ever reversed direction even when it seemed like the mixture was… Read more

about right.

I wasn't sure if this was the fault of the machine or the recipes I was using because the one recipe I tried from the instruction manual actually turned out.

Eventually, out of frustration, I bought the much more expensive Sunbeam version with an internal compressor to settle whether it was me, the recipe or the machine that was at fault.

Turns out it was the machine. Every recipe I've tried in the Sunbeam 'Gelateria' has turned out perfectly, even when they failed in the 'Snowy'. That machine also turns out creamier ice cream.

Although the 'Gelateria' is a much larger appliance, it's far more 'ready to go' than the 'Snowy'.

Most people probably don't have a second freezer, and wouldn't want to sacrifice so much space to have a canister permanently stored. If you don't store the canister in the freezer permanently, you have to plan ahead, which is kind of annoying.

I'd probably go all out and buy a proper machine, unless you're using it more as a mixer for pre-bought ice cream. Inexpensive Inconsistent results

Freezing a canister

Terrible – I found the Snowy extremely difficult to pull apart and put back together again. My hands were painful for several days. I enlisted the help of a friend for a few days so I could try out the machine. I started out using my own recipe which didn't freeze so then I tried one of the recipes provided. It worked the first time but not the second time.… Read more

Reliability is really important to me so this makes the Snowy a really poor product. Also the main reason I want to make my own icecream is so I can use my own recipes with less fat and less sugar. I think the success of the Snowy probably depends on whether the canister is cold enough to freeze the icecream and, apart from shaking the canister, there is no way of knowing this.

Having to pull the machine apart every time.

Good – I love this machine I found it was very simple to use. I'd have to agree with the review before me that some people skip the step of re freezing their mixture before putting in the machine. I have never had a batch fail yet. Found it very easy to use and the ice cream tastes great :) It's not very big and you have to pre freeze the bowl which is kind of a hassle.

Excellent – This was a bargain (about $40) and really glad I bought it. I don't follow the recipes that often, as too long to make the custard and cool in fridge. However, I blend a tin of frozen fruit and put this in on its own or with some cream for fruit icecream and the kids love it! It's a good idea to put it straight back in the freezer afte you have… Read more

washed it so it is ready to go again next time. I can make frozen desserts for my children and know exactly what is in the ingredients (even those products saying 'no artificial colours' etc can have some nasty additives). It's really simple to use and the kids love helping. It takes a bit longer if the kitchen is really warm and may not even freeze properly if too hot. Still have to make 'custard' on stove first if you want to follow the recipes.

OK – Good value for money. You can just make it on a hot day as long as you think ahead and have the canister in the freezer. Overall a great little machine It is extremely easy to use and clean. You can take it apart and it even can be cleaned in the dishwasher (except for the electrical part) Not enough ice cream for if you want to make a large lot for the whole family. Can

OK – The snowy icecream maker has worked for me everytime i have used it, but friends who have the same machine have had times when it has not worked, especially in hotter and humid weather. I have made some of the recipes that came with it, and have also used other recipes that have worked well too. I used this machine a fair bit initially, it was a… Read more

real novelty when we had a few people over for dinner. I have hardly used it in the last few years however, as it is so much easier to just buy ice cream (and the ice cream takes up less space in the freezer). Simple and easy to use machine. Pull apart for easy cleaning. Relatively inexpensive and great novelty value. You have to plan ahead if you want to use this appliance since the canister needs to be frozen for approx 48 hours before it can be used. You could leave the cannister constantly in the freezer 'just in case', but i don't have the space in my freezer for it to remain there, especially in winter.

Terrible – Similar to another review, the machine just didn't work. My first batch of ice cream ALMOST froze so I thought I'd continue to make several more batches to see what happens. My subsequent 4 batches was crap! It didn't freeze at all. In fact, the more batches I made, the more watery it became. I returned it to the store last night and got a store credit for it instead. Inexpensive compared to other models Didn't work.