When my mom was here last week, she gave me a stern warning:
“Adam,” she said, sternly, “do not buy an ice cream maker.” (I had mentioned the idea of buying an ice cream maker). “You are moving in two months. You do not need another thing to move. Do not buy an ice cream maker.”
So when I was in the mall today, and when I was in Crate and Barrel, I did not take a picture of the ice cream makers on the shelf:
I did not note their reasonable price ($49); I did not ask the saleswoman about their utility (“They’re great!” she said); and I did not ask her to ring one up for me right away.
And, of course, when I got home, I did not put it on the table and take a picture of the box.
Nor did I take it out of the box and study its contents:
Did I take out the bowl part and put it in the freezer for 24 hours of freezing, like the book says?
Surely not. I am a good, reliable, dependable, upstanding son who would never betray his mother by buying an ice cream maker. I resent any other implications.
oh wow, that’s going to be so fun! i can’t wait to see how your ice cream turns out. when i was little, i got “the three minute ice cream maker” for christmas. it didn’t work though, unfortunately. it was in the trash by the 27th. i hope the adult version works better.
Dang, I just got rid of my nearly-new Krups because I’m moving. (Ten bucks – if only you’d thought to hyper-mosey over to the south Texas garage sales last weekend! Very little sorbet grunge on the handle, I swear.)
My parents have your Cuisinart model. I’ve enjoyed using both it and the Krups (no real difference). However, I’ve never been able to get the ice cream to be as firm as store-bought. (And I stored the bowl in the freezer by default.) If you discover the secret…
Oh, and don’t be afraid to experiment with root beer extract – that was my finest hour as an I-screamer. :)
OK, you’re a law student who’s soon to be a drama student.
How do you make money to afford an affordable ice cream maker?
I don’t make my own ice cream. I trust the lovely people at Edy’s.
I have this same model, and I actually purchased it right before moving out of my law school apartment. I have no regrets. My only gripe is that the canister eats up lots of valuable freezer space. I suppose I can’t complain though, since the alternative is a self-refrigerating model that would eat up even more of my far more valuable counter space (I think kitchen counter space in Manhattan is now going for about $1500 per square foot).
Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom once in a while during freezing; the plastic blades do not run flush with the canister walls, and you can end up with ice on the outside, soup on the inside.
About the too-soft ice cream–maybe this is too obvious to even mention, but when they reviewed different models on America’s Test Kitchen they said that with machines like the Krups (if I remember correctly it was mentioned by name) it is best to make the ice cream ahead of time and then let it sit in the freezer for a good while to harden up. Supposedly that did the trick for them. I’m sure there’s a run-down on their web site. Which I probably should have looked up before I posted, but oh well.
Nice food blog–and bonus for being in my former city.
We have this ice cream maker and love it. It usually turns out great stuff, but lately it’s been a little icy. I think it could be cheap milk (store brand) or not enough cream. Get good milk (Mayfield whole milk in Atlanta) and use lots o cream.
I feel your pain. I am not allowed to even go into William Sonoma. It makes me ankle bracelet activate and alerts my probation officer. I am obsessed with ice cream makers (the Braun) and stand mixers (the kitch-aid). I already HAVE a stand mixer and I routinely go into stores and find myself ready to buy another one. WHY? I have no idea. I love them. And I lust after an ice cream machine. Even though I don’t like ice cream all that much. When I was a manager at GAPKids, we shared out back hallways with WS and they were very nice people. They used to let me go drool/pet the appliances when the mall was closed. What is WRONG with me?
Good luck packing your apartment up.Better hire a Mac truck. Love, Mom
Susan, that’s true, my ice cream would get firm if I put it into the freezer for an hour or three. I was just a bit disappointed because the marketing hype (at the time, anyway) was that you could be really spontaneous and have ice cream in “just 30 minutes” (woo hoo!).
And, you know, sometimes you just *have* to have ice cream in 30 minutes or less. Really! :)
They’re wonderful little machines, even so. Much more efficient than the “kick the can” ice cream at Girl Scout camp…
Dude, your mom just got mad at you.