Inexpensive Ice Cream Makers

[emzhengjiu]

We have some family members who are lactose intolerant but love ice cream. I'm thinking of buying something we can use at home that makes ice cream / frozen yogurt easily without a lot of bother and preferably without having to add ice. Recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Spryte]

We use the ice cream attachment for a kitchen aid stand mixer. No ice.

[wapiti]

Depends on what counts as inexpensive.  I bought a Cuisenart ice cream maker at Costco for around $50, I think (a few yrs ago).  The "bucket" gets frozen so there's no need to add ice.

[umsami]

I've had a Cuisinart one for 15 or so years.  Bought it on Amazon for $40-50.  Still works.  You have a cylinder that you need to pre-freeze.  It makes the best ice cream.  At one time I told myself I could only have ice cream if I made it myself.  Cut down on the amount of ice cream we ate, but the quality was so much better.  We tend to favor gelato recipes.

 

Looked like this, but might not be the exact same model because of time passing.  https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-21-Quart-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice/dp/B003KYSLMW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1519921096&sr=8-4&keywords=cuisinart+ice+cream

[JudoMom]

We use the ice cream attachment for a kitchen aid stand mixer. No ice.

This is what I use as well.

[Carol in Cal.]

I have an older Krups one with a bucket you freeze overnight before use.  It works just great but it takes up quite a bit of freezer space.

 

I looked at the KitchenAid stand mixer attachments, and the Williams Sonoma clerk told me that they don't get the ice cream as cold as a stand alone ice cream maker.  She said they get basically to the point of soft serve.  This was in the context of me designing my ultimate Kitchen Aid, so she really didn't have any incentive to be untruthful as she was talking me out of a sale.  So, CAUTION!

 

Last year I bought those kickball ones for some relatives, and those get to more or less the soft serve point, too.  They were pretty psyched about them anyway, though--it was Christmas, and they wanted their parents to drop everything and head to the store immediately for the materials.  Note to self:  If I ever do this again, it will be with a bag of ice and some cream included.

[Just Kate]

I've had a Cuisinart one for 15 or so years. Bought it on Amazon for $40-50. Still works. You have a cylinder that you need to pre-freeze. It makes the best ice cream. At one time I told myself I could only have ice cream if I made it myself. Cut down on the amount of ice cream we ate, but the quality was so much better. We tend to favor gelato recipes.

 

Looked like this, but might not be the exact same model because of time passing. https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-21-Quart-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice/dp/B003KYSLMW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1519921096&sr=8-4&keywords=cuisinart+ice+cream

I have this same one and it works great! Super easy to use and no ice or salt required.

[Zebra]

I have the Cuisinart one too, I think I got it for $40.

 

It's easy to use, and works great.   You just have to think ahead.   Freeze the tub for 24 hours, and depending on your recipe make the base ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge.    I just do everything the day before I actually want to make ice cream.   

 

The maker is loud, but only takes 20 minutes.