The Best Ice Cream Makers

Summer means pool floats, beach toys, and ice cream makers.

Gone are the days where churning out a batch requires you to have a basic understanding of chemistry and the arms of a stevedore. Today’s machines are well designed and more than capable of making that sweet, sweet treat.

Now, before we begin: Ice cream making requires a few basic items. There’s the churn, which continually whips the mixture, the cold unit, which you need to freeze contents as quickly as possible to avoid the creation of unwanted ice crystals, and a container to hold everything while the magic happens. More basic versions consist of a plastic dasher — the paddle that stirs everything and pre-frozen pot to mix in; on the higher end you can find fully digitized models with stainless steel parts and a number of different settings that allow you to churn out styles of ice cream

With so many models available on the market these days, some good and some bad, we wanted to help identify the best choices available. Here are some of the best ice cream makers you can buy.

If you’re nuts for ice cream, invest in this idiot-proof ice cream maker. It does all the work for you, and in 20 minutes, you have homemade goodness. This ice cream maker has digital LCD time programming, and auto shutoff. In 20 minutes, you have two quarts of goodness.

“Very easy to clean, and very easy to use, and makes just right amount. Nothing really negative to say about this machine at all. Each time we made gelato it has been a big hit with anyone who comes over to visit and its good for parties or just socializing,” writes one reviewer.

This makes ice cream the simple way. It rotates inside the bowl of the stand mixer to whip up the gelato of your dreams.

“I really like this attachment. I read the prior reviews and was a little worried about leakage but I have no worries so far. I have made the vanilla ice cream recipe from the instruction booklet and a chocolate ice cream recipe from the internet. Both came out beautifully,” says one reviewer.

There are no controls to mess with, the easy-lock lid ensures everything stays in place, plus it’s easy to clean. All you have to do is stay nearby to hear the machine turn off when the mixture is finished to scoop out the treats.

“Took about 40 minutes from pouring ingredients to dishing it up. Fed a huge family with friends and some extra for the freezer. We made four gallons the first week! Oh, and I should mention we eat ketogenic (no sugar or grains) and made some excellent sugar free low carb ice cream that tastes better than even the sugary chemical filled junk from the store. Even better, none of our guests had a clue that they were eating healthy ice cream,” reports one Amazon reviewer.

The enclosed guide has 130 different recipe’s to make and allows you to create fruit ice cream and frozen yogurts. Its elegant design fits perfectly into smaller kitchens, looks great on counters, and is easy to clean. If you have dietary restrictions, or are trying to limit sugar intake, this maker allows you to create custom recipes to fit your needs.

“This machine is amazing!! I have only used it twice and both times I was in complete shock as to how absolutely delicious my frozen fruit “ice cream” came out. I love ice cream but don’t buy it because of the fat/sugar/calorie content and when I saw this product I had high hopes that this dessert would taste somewhat like ice cream but honestly I did not expect it to be so good,” gushes one reviewer.

Forget ever buying ice cream again. This machine has three modes: ice cream mode, cooling mode, and mixing mode. This means you can always add fruit to your concoction, or modify it as you go along. When it’s done, the ice cream is ready to eat, and doesn’t require any further freezing to harden it. The stainless steel bowl is removable for easy cleanup.

“With this ice cream maker you can even simply pour in eggnog, or chocolate milk with heavy cream and turn it on. It’s fun to be able to make a treat for friends and family on the spur of the moment. Cleans up easily and super easy to use. I would definitely buy this again,” says one reviewer.

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