homemade ice cream maker

1. Posted: Jan 2 2008

   pretty much.. i bought it as a christmas present for family.. it was so horrible that they actually went out and got another ice cream maker and made ice cream right in front of me.. me, thinking this was incredibly RUDE, took this one back, seeing as they didn't need it. Next thing you know, i find that the batteries don't even FIT! its impossible to get all 4 batteries in comfortably.. and after i finished SHOVING the batteries in, next thing you know, half way through the mixing process the batteries pop out of place and it stops working. the whole thing was a waste of money, and seeing as the ones i bought the present for, kept it without complaints, i went ahead and threw away all returning receipts and everything. so i'm stuck with it. .. waste

2. Posted: Sep 24 2007

   I've used this unit 3 times now with unsatisfactory results each time. Long before the 4-5 hours specified in the manual were up, the motor -- which is only driven by 4 AA batteriess after all -- stopped having enough oomph to stir the thickening liquid. And if you patiently wait for the alotted time to expire like I did at first, trusting that it was sitting in your freezer working as it should, you end up with a very solid, very un-ice-cream-like lump of frozen crystalized cream. I had slightly better results by checking on it after a few hours and manually stirring a bit to break up the biggest clumps and get the blades going again, but it still wasn't what I would call a good experience. I regret purchasing this thing, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

3. ( 5 of 5 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 31 2003

   It's inexpensive, doesn't have to be plugged in and doesn't need ice or salt--three things plenty of folks are looking for in an ice-cream maker!The ice cream turns out pretty good (if you use a good recipe!), and it is just the right amount of ice cream for 2-4 people after dinner--just start it about 4 hours before! Also, since it's such a small amount of ice cream, you don't have to worry about hard-to-find additives that will make it still "scoopable" the next day--it will be eaten by then!It cleans up easily, as long as you don't overfill the cups and rubberband the top on so it doesn't slip.IT'S STILL CHEAP, THOUGH. I use mine a couple of times a week, and it definitely shows some wear (gears slip occaisionally). In my case, having this machine for a few months has convinced me that I WILL make ice cream often, and therefore a heavy-duty machine will be cost-effective for me. But for people who will only use the machine a few times a month and are on a budget, this ice-cream maker is ideal!

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1. Posted: Sep 2 2008

   You don't need this questionable product to make ice cream. Just put your pre-chilled ingredients into a clean mason jar, add a clean marble or two and alternate between shaking and rolling the jar around on the floor and putting it into the freezer for a few minutes to keep it cold. Or you can use a gallon plastic ziplock bag and the marbles and squish and squeeze the bag. My kids make ice cream this way all the time. If you are camping just put it into a cooler of ice occasionally to chill it instead of the freezer. It works, it's cheap and easy and it's much easier to clean than this thing!

2. Posted: Aug 13 2008

   I took this to a family reunion and let the kids roll it around the room. We ate ice cream for days! The older kids enjoyed it. The little ones (ages 3-5) got a little bored because it takes longer than they are willing to deal with. The ice cream tasted great and everyone had a good time with it.

3. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 10 2008

   I bought the ball last weekend and used it for the first time last night with friends... the seal between the outer container for the ice and the rock salt, and the inner container for the ice cream is faulty. After the 30 + minutes we spent rolling and tossing the ball around we ended up with incredibly salty Grass hopper ice cream. We live in a small town and I can't even return the thing to the store I bought it at... And now, I have a useless 25 lbs bag of rock salt.

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