Ice Cream Makers For the Kitchen and the Campsite

My all time favorite frozen dessert maker is the Cuisinart ICE-20. It is an 1-1/2 quart automatic ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet maker. It costs $50, which sets it about at the middle price range for frozen dessert makers. Given my experiences with it, and all the other positive reviews on Amazon.com and other places, it is definitely an excellent choice. I did have to seek out some recipes -- the ones the ICE-20 comes with are so-so at best. So far, the best ice cream recipe book I've found is the one put out by Ben and Jerry (no big surprise there), titled "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book".

By far the highest rated ice cream maker on amazon, the Cuisinart ICE-20 comes in both white and red. It can make 1 1/2 quarts of any frozen dessert. The instructions say it makes ice cream in 20 minutes, but that's never happened for me. There may be some crystals forming in 20 minutes, but if you don't want cream soup by the time its in the dish, give it 30 minutes.

Be careful about overfilling the container -- as the mixture gets firmer, it will start to creep up the sides of the bowl, and if you put in too much (or put in what the recipe suggests, then drop in a cup of nuts, for example) you could walk into your kitchen to see sticky goo making its way down the outside of your machine. Another thing to be careful about is the noise. The ICE-20 is too loud to make a batch during a formal dinner, or after everyone's gone to sleep. Mine is nearly as loud as our vacuum.

If you tend to overindulge and need to make more than 1.5 quarts at a time consider getting a second bowl. Homemade desserts are a wonderful thing (no preservatives!), but it is a wee bit time consuming. Making a double batch is much more efficient. Having a second bowl also makes it possible to make two flavors, which is great if you are having a party or bringing a dessert to a party. Get a few of the reusable plastic containers for $1 or so each at the grocery store and keep them on hand if you need a quick gift.

I also highly recommend you find room in your freezer to keep the bowl. We've found making ice cream is a spontaneous, spur of the moment sort of thing. Waiting six hours for the bowl to freeze is not spontaneous. You also need a second bowl because you can really only make one batch per "chill".

Ice Cream Makers for Camping

One ice cream maker that requires no electricity is the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker, available at Walmart for $38. To use this soccer-ball shaped frozen dessert maker, fill one compartment with cream, sugar and flavoring, and the other with rock salt and ice. Then roll it around for 30 minutes (an excellent way to wear out children... just don't let them kick it or abuse it too badly... ) and voila: ice cream.

LL Bean has a very similar camping frozen dessert maker that comes in several different colors. If you want to make ice cream but have no access to refrigerator, or ice, (like while you're setting up camp on a mountainside) either the LL Bean or the Play and Freeze ice cream makers are for you.