Mar 15th, 2010 | Written by tj | Posted in Food and Beverage |

There’s an old saying that everything tastes better homemade and that’s especially true for homemade ice cream turned out from your own ice cream maker. If you’ve never tried it, then you don’t know what your missing because, done right it’s one of the most exquisite experiences in life. But if you’re looking to buy an ice cream machine, the large range of choices makes shopping a bit daunting. Well here’s the skinny on what to consider in regards to a home machine.

Ice cream making isn’t too much different than making ice in that you’re freezing something, in this case an ice cream mix. Where it differs from ice though is that enormous amounts of air are beaten into the mix as it freezes and basically, all machines work this way.

The most basic variety is a hand-powered ice cream maker. It’s pluses include large capacity, as well as best reputation for quality ice cream. On the down side though, there’s the mess of freezing rock salt and ice slurry to deal with.

The next machine is often referred to as a canister model because it has a freezable bowl or canister which must be frozen in the refrigerator 12-24 hours before making a bowl of vanilla, which is one negative about this model. Another is these usually come in small capacities which isn’t really a problem for small families. On the plus side, their extremely easy to use, not messy and clean up easily as well.

Finally, the creme’ de la creme of ice cream machines is the freezer type; so called because it contains a freezer compressor just like your fridge. No dealing with canisters or rock salt—nope—just drop in your mix, turn it on and wait till it beeps. Minuses include the cost, $1000-$2000, as well as the size, but if you love ice cream…

Hopefully this article as helped you in some way in deciding on what kind of ice cream maker to get. If you’re having trouble deciding though, look at the canister models first as these require the least effort as well as the lowest cost. If you’ve got lots of people to treat, go with the hand-cranked model (these come with motors by the way) and finally if money is no object, either a hand cranked machine or the freezer type. Well good luck and happy hunting.

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