It Doesn't Get Any Better Than Homemade Ice Cream

Over the past few years, I have been teaching in a far remote Native community in Northern Quebec. It has a population of about 600 and we are about 8 hours drive from the closest city. There is one store and we are lucky if the store receives any fresh fruits or vegetables or even milk.

As you can imagine, under these circumstances, any ice cream is hard to get(let alone Haagen Dazs). This was quite the dilemma for me until my wife suggested making my own. She even surprised me with an ice cream maker for Christmas. It was not a great model though it worked fine for a month, then it started leaking after that.

But it got me started. I never thought about making my own ice cream because I thought it would be too complicated and too difficult to find the right ingredients. Fortunately, it is easy and fun to do. I did some research and decided to buy the Cuisinart ICE-40. That worked well, but having to freeze the ice cream bowls for 24 hours before making a batch was time-consuming and a hassle. I wanted to make a variety of ice cream and store them in the freezer so there would always be a batch ready whenever I was in the mood. I read about ice cream makers that had built-in compressors allowing you to make batch after batch. No more freezing bowls for 24 hours! But as far as I knew, they were too expensive. Then along came the Cuisinart ICE-50BC...

The Cuisinart ICE-50BC

I bought this machine from Cayneshousewares.com for $250 CAD. Considering I spent nearly $150 for the ICE-40 this was not too expensive an upgrade all things considering.

The ICE-50 comes advertised as a stainless steel machine. The sides are brushed stainless steel which is very nice, but the top, the arm and the bottom are a silvery grey plastic.

On the top there is a turn-dial timer which works for up to 60 minutes. I would have preferred some kind of digital timer. I don't think it would have added too much to the overall cost but the turn dial works well so I'm fine with it.

Also, there is a detachable arm which houses the motor for the paddle. The paddle itself is detachable also and can be taken apart in two (the actual paddle and the long end which connects to the motor). I find the actual paddle is a strange design. There is an outer paddle which is wide enough to almost reach the sides of the ice cream bowl. This part continues to turn as long as the motor is running. However, there is a smaller inner paddle that clips on the inside of the outer paddle and this inner paddle is very loosely connected. To be honest, I don't understand how this paddle helps because it is so loosely connected, there is no way it can turn like the outer paddle does. I don't see how it turns at all when the ice cream starts to become firm. I was also conflicted about the motor and paddle parts because everything I have researched about ice cream makers always make the same point: watch out for the makers that use motors to turn the dasher or paddle because these kinds of makers are not always reliable and may break easily. It is better to get a machine that turns the bowls themselves and the dashers that go inside are held in place (which is why I bought the ICE-40 model).

As conflicted as I am, it seems to work well and I've yet to have a problem with it (I've owned this machine for about a year now and I've used it quite often so that is saying something!). There is, though, a negative about the motor I should mention and that is that it is loud. You definitely do not want to be in the same room or watch television when this thing is running. I usually start it off in the kitchen during the evening after supper, then do some work in the other room. When the timer dings or the motor stops, I'll go out and transfer the ice cream into a container and then place it in the freezer to "ripen".

The cover is clear so you can look inside as the ice cream freezes, but it is a bit of a pain to connect it to the arm. Also, there is a hole so that you can add your favorite ingredients such as cookie bits or chocolate chips just before the ice cream is ready, but it is semi-round and annoyingly slim so your last minute "add-ins" will easily spill off the sides. I just take a little pinch and add the ingredients a little at a time, but I would have preferred a large enough opening where I could add as much as I wanted at one time and watch it get mixed in with the ice cream.

The ice cream bowl itself is very solid. I don't know what exactly it is made of, but I would guess it to be aluminum which is good because aluminum gets cold very quickly. It is dense and thick so it will not dent easily. It also has a handle so you can pull it out of the base to wash it or whatever. The base has two notches that the bowl fits into and keeps the bowl in place while the machine prepares ice cream

The Ice Cream

Now let's put aside the positives and negatives aside for one moment and talk about the most important aspect: How good is the ice cream? With only the ICE-40 model to compare it to, I'll explain...

First off, with the compressor, the ICE-50BC does take longer to prepare than the frozen bowl models. Up to 60 minutes. Maybe a little more or a little less depending on the room temperature. I think it also depends on the recipe, I find my chocolate recipe takes about 40 minutes on average, my vanilla or peanut butter takes about 60 minutes, my gelato recipes (chocolate or vanilla) takes a little more than 60 minutes and my vanilla frozen yogurt recipe takes almost 90 minutes! The frozen bowl models take up to 20 minutes in comparison.

I think because the frozen bowl models take less time to freeze, there is less air incorporated in the ice cream. The ICE-50BC, in comparison, does incorporate a little more air than the frozen bowl ice cream so it is a little less dense.

The ice cream is also less firm with the ICE-50BC compared to the frozen bowl models. It is just a small difference, but the frozen bowl models are more firm. Placing the ice cream in the freezer is important after the ICE 50BC is finished, but then again, I did that with my ICE-40 model also. I like my ice cream very firm.

Summary

Overall, I think this machine is a great value. I haven't seen any other compressor model at such a reasonable price. And it does do a great job.

There are some cons however. The biggest one being the plastic parts, though they haven't failed me, are a little cheap and flimsy. This is a surprise considering how seemingly solid and well-built everything else is. I guess Cuisinart had to compromise somewhere for the price. And since everything on top is detachable, it's easy enough to order replacement parts instead of having to ship the whole unit back to the company.

There is room for improvement however. The opening on the cover could have been a lot less awkward and attaching the cover to the arm could be easier.

The paddle motor is loud, but then so is the motor for the frozen bowl machines so I can't fault it for that.

The ICE-50BC may take more time to prepare ice cream and may be a little less firm than the frozen bowl models, but this is an easy compromise for me. No more waiting 24 hours for freezing an ice cream bowl and no more ice cream bowls taking up valuable freezer space! I can make batch after batch as often as I like!

More importantly, the ICE-50 does what it's supposed to do and makes some of the best homemade ice cream I've ever tasted!

I will finish this review with a couple of helpful hints:

1. Prepare your ice cream recipes a day in advance (if possible). By leaving your recipe in the fridge overnight, you give the ingredients a chance to mix together and "ripen". You will notice the difference in taste, believe me! Also, leaving your recipe in the fridge beforehand will make it colder, thus taking less time to freeze.

2. The ICE-50BC states it has a 1.5 quart capacity, but I find this is not very realistic considering there is overrun (the paddle turns as the ice cream freezes to incorporate air in the recipe. Without the air, your ice cream would be as solid as a block of ice. The more air that is added, the more your ice cream will expand!). The recipe will also increase if you decide to add last-minute ingredients like chocolate chips. My solution? Use 1 quart recipes to compensate or alternatively, reduce your favorite recipe to a 1 quart recipe. It will freeze better and be a lot less messy for you!