|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 32 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
116 of 119 found the following review helpful:
 Inexpensive, but you get what you pay for Aug 03, 2007
By Brian Sharp
OK, first off, all the 1.5qt ice cream makers on the market -- this one, Cuisinart's, and Krups' -- are fundamentally the same. It's a metal bucket full of some fluid that you put in the freezer; it gets very cold, cold enough to freeze 1.5qts of ice cream mix. That, and it's a motor with a mixing arm. That's really it.
So I figured, when I bought this one, that I was getting a deal; it's the cheapest of the three. Now that I've used it a few times, I'm wishing I'd just splurged, spent the extra twenty bucks, and gotten either of the others.
The mixing blade on this model doesn't seem to actually mix very well. I made a cantaloupe sherbet last night and I looked into the bowl as the arm turned, and it was just shoving the sherbet around in a circle. It wasn't churning. The sherbet wasn't frozen solid or anything, it was still pretty slushy. The arm just seems poorly designed.
I think the motor's pretty weak, too. It turns so slowly that it doesn't need to be very strong, they just gear it way down and even a weak motor can push pretty hard. But this routinely gets stuck on bits of ice cream that freeze in a layer on the bottom of the bucket. I made a frozen yogurt, which you have to put in the bucket to start (vs. pouring it through the opening while it's running) because of the thickness of the yogurt, and it had real problems churning after that. I ended up having to churn it by hand with a spatula for a while at the end.
Finally, there are just design details that aren't very good about this. The top of the motor / lid assembly is sloped, and the on/off switch is on that surface and protrudes a bit.
When you take that motor / lid off and set it down, the obvious way to do it is to rest it on its top (with the mixing arm sticking up.) This invariably hits that switch and turns it on. Whenever I'm taking it off, I'm trying to move quickly, stir the ice cream or scoop it off into a container to put in the freezer, so it's always irritating to take that lid off, quickly set it down, and have it turn on, the mixing arm starts turning, ice cream splatters, etc. This happens every time. There's not really a better way to set it down. So I have to unplug it whenever I want to put it down on the counter. It's just not very well thought-through.
Similarly, the locking mechanism involves pivoting that big blue arm up and over from one side to the other, which is cumbersome; the electric cord gets in the way, and even when you get it right, it's not a terribly snug fit; the motor can rock back and forth a bit.
Overall, you get what you pay for, and the other brands really aren't that much more expensive. Don't be a tightwad like me; splurge for one of them instead of this.
45 of 47 found the following review helpful:
 Hamilton Beach freezes up on call! Aug 25, 2006
By Ken W. List
"Ken W. List"
My new Hamilton Beach 1.5 Qt Ice Cream Maker has become my most cherished kitchen appliance. It makes delicious ice cream, and allows me to be creative by using basic recipes and adding ingredients - you ought to taste my Chocolate-Orange ice cream! I have even taken my Ice Cream Maker to a friend's home, and in the course of a nice visit (since I had pre-frozen the freezing well, and kept it so until time to prepare) and had as much attention as the television program we were supposed to be watching before dinner. Needless to say, my H-B was more than equal to the test - and I got the kudos! It's a good and reliable product, available at a reasonable price, and is well worth every penny that I spent for it!
22 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Best ice cream you'll ever have Mar 09, 2008
By Tri Chick
I bought this product on a really hot summer day when I was craving ice cream but wanted something fat-free and sugar-free and finding a product like that in the store seems impossible. This machine is awesome! Not only did it make delicious fat free, sugar free ice cream, it also made amazing real ice cream! The recipe book it comes with has lots of great flavors you can make and with a little creativity you can make many more! The product works well, is super easy to use, cleans up with warm water and is something I find myself using all the time. If you buy this, you won't be disappointed. My only advice is keep the cylinder in the freezer all the time. That way, you never have to wait to have homemade ice cream in minutes!
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Outstand Little ice Cream Maker! Dec 09, 2007
By Michael E. Aleprete
"Mikead"
This Ice cream maker is outstanding. And so inexpensive. Forget all the negative reviews here. The top locks on very securely, it operates very quietly, and makes ice cream quick and deliscious. So easy to clean fast. The motor top is plastic encase so it can be rinsed off. The bowl rinses quickly too. No one mentioned in the other reviews that it holds a freeze for almost 2 hours. Time enough to make a second batch of ice cream on the one freeze. Heck...for $29 you really can't go wrong. Im making 4 batches of it for the holidays.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Great Value Jul 06, 2007
By Cecil
For less $ than most of the others on the market, this is one of the best of the small "freeze ahead of time" type ice cream makers. Unlike most of this type, it has enough cold stored to both freeze AND ripen the ice cream. I'm going to buy another so I can make two batches at a time.
See all 32 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
