Ice Cream Maker Recommendations?!

[j_anne]

hey all! my family has been really into frozen yogurt this summer. however, i'm getting tired of a) paying ridiculous prices for it and b) not being able to get the flavors i really want. i'm looking into getting an ice cream maker, but i had no idea that there were so many options or such a large price range, 30 up to 300? has anyone else gotten into ice cream/frozen yogurt making? and if so, what did you get/use? is it worth it to get a higher quality one that has more freezing technology? i'm looking at a NewAir ice cream maker (http://www.air-n-water.com/ice-cream-makers.htm) at the moment. Anyone used one?

thanks for the help!

and, if anyone has some favorite recipes they wanna share too.... ;)

[Big Daddy's House]

Mine is the Gellato 470 Jr..

[Big Daddy's House]

Here's what MINE looks like.

[PappaLazarou]

Does yours have a compressor Sherm ? Mine has the bowl you have to freeze for 24 hours before you start churning. Unfortunately I don't make ice cream enough to warrant a compressor type. Unless of course they were cheap...:)

[Big Daddy's House]

Yeah, it DOES have a compressor with its own sealed refrigerating system.

I haven't made ice cream in a while myself, but this IS the way to go. The ingenius idea behind this system is that you never have to pre-freeze the bowl in the freezer first.

The system that YOU have forces you to wait for the double-wall bowl to freeze, like you said, for 24 hours. And even then, if you want to make consectutive batches, you are forced to freeze the bowl each time, which means wasting up and monopolizing so much prep time.

Mine, and units that work on the same principle, take far less time to make frozen treats because it enables you to make batch after batch after batch continuously, if you want to.

The only pre-freezing that must be done, if you want to call it that, is to turn the unit on and let the freezing chamber chill down to -4 degrees, and you're good to go!! It came with a removable aluminum bowl. I bought 3 additional bowls to make it four, so that I can make consecutive batches and not have to wash the same bowl first before making another batch.

Your system needs extra space in the freezer to freeze the bowl. I don't have that kind of space in either of my freezers because I keep a lot of food in them.

[SilverSage]

That looks like a great machine, Sherm.

But since I don't make ice cream very often, the Cuisinart was more within my budget. I just keep the bowl in the back of the freezer, so it's always ready. At about $50, it's very affordable, and makes great ice cream!

[Big Daddy's House]

Thanx, SilverSage.

Yeah, I once had the electric 4-qt machine that used rock salt an ice. It lasted for 20 years, but it squeaked so badly that I just couldn't use it any more.

That is when I decided to get a self-contained unit. To eliminate the messy chore of having to use salt and ice.