Cuisinart ICE-21RP1 1.5-Quart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker, Double Insulated Freezer Bowl elminates the need for Ice and Makes Frozen Treats in 20 Minutes or Less, Red

I got this ice cream maker because I wanted to make flavors I can't get in the stores, like Green Tea Ice cream. Making your own ice cream is a great way to make it as rich or as simple as you want, or as guilt-free as you want, too. I've never made my own ice cream before this, and I was a bit nervous about buying another appliance just for this, but I really like Green Tea ice cream and the store bought stuff just wasn't hitting the spot. Anyway, after reading the reviews on several ice cream makers, this model appeared to be the best overall for value/cost and ease of use. It was also said to be not as noisy as the others.Once I got it and made my first batch, I was amazed at how easy it was to use. I followed the directions, as well as read the helpful reviews here that had a lot of good tips, the main one being to make sure that your bucket is frozen solid, at least 24 hours, and that your ice cream base mixture has been chilled to be as cold as possible. My first batch only took 12 minutes, much quicker than I thought it would be. I didn't find it to be noisy at all when running, I could certainly talk, and hear over it - it's just a mechanical hum noise, and it's not on that long.One tip, get a plastic or nylon, NOT silicone or metal, scraper to scrape the sides and bottom of the canister to get the rest of your ice cream out. I say no silicone because it's too soft to scrape the sides effectively. Most of the ice cream is like soft-serve, but the sides and bottom will have a layer of hard frozen ice cream. I use a Cuisinart pot scraper that's handheld, no handle, and it has a rubber edge and a nylon edge. The nylon edge easily scrapes off all the ice cream from the sides and bottom. Clean up is extremely easy, everything washed by hand. The ice canister will still be frozen and you can wash it out and put it back in the freezer so you can make another batch sooner, but it has to be dry of all water before you put it back in the freezer. This isn't easy to do when you rinse it out and the remaining water freezes right away before you have a chance to wipe it dry. I just wash it and air dry it, it thaws out, but I only make one batch at a time anyway. Once dry, I do keep my ice canister in the freezer so that it's ready to make ice cream whenever I want, but that's something that's optional depending on how much room you have in the freezer.Overall, I'm glad I got this model. I was lucky to get it on sale at $49, and it's worth it at that price. The other models that have the freezer motor in them are more convenient in that you don't have to worry about freezing the canister in the freezer ahead of time, but the cost is much more expensive, and the appliance is much larger than this one. For a small family of occasional ice cream eaters, a quart at a time, this ice cream maker is perfect.

I purchased this to make homemade ice cream with xylitol. For anyone wondering about making ice cream with xylitol, it's a 1 to 1 measure and it works perfectly. I also use homemade vanilla extract - i.e. vanilla beans soaked in vodka. The strong alcohol content has absolutely no effect; the ice cream comes out perfectly. And the taste is divine. Anyway, to the machine itself...Ease of use: Superbly easy. The paddle isn't really a paddle. It remains stationary while the freezer bowl rotates around it. The paddle functions to agitate the mix so some of it is forced between the edge of the paddle and the bowl, then forced back into the center (i.e. the churning). It's a neat design that prevents the splashes a rotating paddle would otherwise create.Freezing the bowl: The bowl freezes rock hard, no problem. I wonder if some of the folks reporting freezing problems have left the label on the exterior of the freezer bowl. The label does include a notice that it must be removed before use, but it's not very prominent. I was actually looking to see if the wraparound label COULD be removed from the bowl when I spotted the fairly small notice that it SHOULD be removed.Freezing the ice cream: Direct from the machine, I find the ice cream to be way too sweet. If I were planning to serve soft immediately, I would reduce the amount of sweetener. However, I normally freeze mine and the flavors really meld then so the sweetness is just right. For freezing, I fill the containers to the top before placing the lids. When I don't have quite enough to fill a container, I put a piece of cling wrap directly on top of the ice cream before putting a lid on the container. Basically, the point is to prevent air from getting to the top of the ice cream or crystals will have a better chance of forming. Using this method, I've had perfect packed ice cream every time - very much the consistency of Breyer's ice cream. (I usually freeze for 24 hours before serving).Timing: Not much seems to happen until the last 5 minutes or so. The exact amount of time will vary depending on how well the freezer bowl was frozen and how chilled the mix is. For me, it takes about 25 minutes to get the firmer consistency I like. However, it's not as firm as packed ice cream and it does start to melt pretty quickly so you have to work fast at the end. I pack it and freeze it using the method described above.Cons: I do wish it were easier to scoop the ice cream out when it's done churning. There is no handle or anything else to grip the bowl and, as another reviewer noted, the bowl is very cold (still frozen) after the churning. I throw a kitchen towel over the sides so I can balance it between my elbow and waist to scoop the ice cream into the containers.Looks: I bought the red thinking I would display this on the counter. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in the overall appearance. It's a rubbery molded plastic and the base is a bit larger than I expected. The overall look encouraged me to clear space in a cupboard to store it. Probably just as well since I don't really need yet another appliance cluttering my countertops. :-)Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the purchase and love being able to easily make ice cream with the ingredients of my choice.

The media could not be loaded. So far, it's made ice cream perfectly. The recipe book is very helpful, I've been making all of my concoctions based on the book but have made slight variations in flavors here and there. The ice cream is perfect creaminess and consistency every time. It's typically not a very messy process except for one time, I may have had too many mix-ins and it ended up overflowing. The cleaning process is pretty easy, not many nooks or crannies to get into. Easy assembly. Happy with the price I paid. Paying more, you'd get more features but there's nothing complicated about this process so I'm happy I selected this model which does a great job making ice cream.