There’s something special about homemade ice cream. The easiest way to make ice cream at home is with an ice cream maker. But finding the best ice cream maker for you depends very much on your family and your style of doing things. If you’ve never owned one before, you might think it’s just a matter of looking up the best ice cream maker ratings and buying one of the top ones. Sounds good, but that’s actually step two of the process.
Many people don’t realize that there are several kinds of ice cream makers until they start looking for one and find themselves faced with a myriad of very different choices.
Do you want a manual ice cream maker or an electric ice cream maker? A top of the line compressor ice cream maker or an old fashioned bucket freezer?
More importantly, does it make any difference?
Yes, it does. The kind of machine you choose will affect how you make your ice cream, how much time it takes and how smooth and light your ice cream turns out. It will make a difference in the noise level in your kitchen and especially in how much advance planning you’ll need before you can make your own homemade ice cream.
Electric gel-canister models require you to plan a day ahead. The biggest ones only make 2 quarts of ice cream. But they’re affordable and easy to clean.
If you want to churn out 6 quarts of ice cream at a time, on the other hand, you’ll need a freezer bucket and will have make sure you have lots (and I mean lots!) of ice and salt on hand.
With a compressor ice cream maker, there’s no advance preparation required and the ice cream will be so far beyond anything you’ve ever made, you won’t believe it. But you’ll have to provide enough storage room and be able to cover the high cost of one.
If this sounds confusing, it needn’t be. It’s a matter of figuring out your priorities:
Are you looking for spur of the moment gourmet results (compressor ice cream maker) or for an afternoon of family fun with the kids, churning away like Laura Ingalls Wilder? (Old-fashioned ice cream maker.)
Are you on a budget (electric gel-canister model), or is money no object? (Lucky you!)
For an easy way to figure out the right machine for you, follow the 5 Easy Steps to the Best Ice Cream Maker for You.
That done, you can move on to step two, which is finding the best rated ice cream maker in your category.
And once armed with the ice cream maker that works for your lifestyle, there’s no homemade ice cream you can’t make!
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