Probably you have too many kitchen gadgets as well. I really try to think it through before adding another to my overstocked cabinets, but this was a good one. If you love ice cream, and in particular home made, the Cuisinart is handy, fast (20 minutes), and doesn't require you to make a scary 6 quarts! The 1-1/2 quart is perfect. Even if you have leftovers, if you wrap carefully and defrost for 30 seconds in the microwave you can enjoy it a second night. Not having to commit to a huge amount, I made basil ice cream using the basil in my summer herb garden. Fabulous!

This is my first ice cream maker ever.Makes great ice cream of any flavour.You just need to know how to use it properly.

This is an excellent little machine that makes just enough icecream for my family and I know exactly what goes in it. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the manual states the bowl will be ready between 6 and 22 hours. I tried using it after 6 and 12 hours. At 6 hours it did not do anything with the blended mixture. Obviously it was not frozen enough. At 12 hours, I got the outside of the mixture sticking to the bowl and the core of the mixture not churned/frozen. This may not be an issue for everyone, but with our freezer and our bowl it takes a good 20 to 24 hours of the bowl being in the freezer to get the icecream just right.

This is a great little machine. Without the hassle of using ice or salt, you're always ready to whip up some homemade ice cream! I've made variations of vanilla, eggnog, lemon, cinnamon, dulce de leche, and others in this. This machine makes ice-cream making SO much fun. I highly recommend this!

This product is easy to use and makes you into a great ice cream maker at first try.

This is the best ice cream maker I have ever purchased. I read the reviews before buying and learned a lot of helpful hints. I put a small zip lock bag full of ice inside the freezer bowl and then put the freezer bowl inside a big zip lock bag and then put the bag in my freezer. As a matter of fact, after the ice cream is made, if I don't get the ice cream out of the freezer bowl before we get it all ate, it even hardens up more.

This machine makes fantastic Java Chip ice cream, just like the commercial brand. Rather than spout about how great this contraption is, I'll instead give the recipe:

2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp instant coffee
1 2oz. Hershey's Special Dark candy bar (or dark chocolate slab of your choice) (this is optional -- I like it just as much without the chocolate)

The trick to making the best ice cream is to make sure all the ingredients are chilled before you mix them. So, first warm the milk and mix in the instant coffee (it won't dissolve in cold milk). Then chill the milk.

Chop the chocolate bar in small chunks, then chill it. Chill the sugar. Chill the mixing bowl (I use a quart measuring cup for easy pouring). Chill the spatula and/or whisk. Chill the bowl you'll use to hold the finished product (I cover it with a plastic wrap first). You get the idea.

All chilled? Mix them all (except the chocolate) together, whisk a bit to combine well, then pour into the ice cream maker. Run for 25 minutes. Pour in the chocolate chunks and run five more minutes. Yummy!

I was introduced to the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker when I visited a friend's house. It's super simple to make, in which our kids (age 3) actually made it. I never thought I'd buy an ice cream maker--another gadget that takes up kitchen space! But when I had one taste, I went out that night and ordered one! We made vanilla, chocolate, and pumpkin flavored ice cream. The fresh taste is outstanding and beats any store bought brand. I also recommend the Ben & Jerry's recipe ice cream book. We got the pumpkin recipe out of it and it tastes like you're eating pumpkin pie

I love this machine, it makes creamy ice cream in no time at all is is definitely easy to use. There are more complicated recipes that are also good, but the "basic" ones take only a few minutes to get started.

This is a great ice cream maker. It is very easy and quick to use. It takes less than 30 minutes to make great ice cream. The only thing is that it does not make large quantities. I would recommend an extra freezer bowl if you have a family and want to make enough to put in the freezer.

This is the ice cream maker you want. It works like it should. The ice cream is cold and creamy like it should be. It's not silent, but you can easily hold a conversation next to it while it's turned on--it's quieter than our dishwasher. It takes about 15-30 minutes to make ice cream. The kids love it. I love it. Enough said.

I'm very happy with my Cuisinart ice-20. It is easy to use, quick and convient. I like not having to use ice and rock salt anymore.

This is probably the best purchase that I have made in the last 6 months. The ice cream is incredible. I have had several friends over for ice cream and the only complaint is that it doesn't make enough. It does make a good server for 4-5 people but the ice cream is so good that they always want more. I placed some left overs in the freezer after making it one night and to my surprise it was still very soft after sitting in the freezer for 4 days. Before buying this I rarely ate ice cream, but after the purchase I am making ice cream about once every week or 2. The bottom line is that this is a great ice cream maker and I would recommend it to anyone.

This ice cream maker works extremely well. It made the best ice cream I have ever had. We made chocolate our first try. Wow was it good! You can taste the chocolate and the cream.

This ice cream maker is so simple. And it is very easy to clean up. Just make sure you wait long enough for the bowl to freeze. Like everyone else says, give it enough time to freeze solid.

Works great and makes incredible ice cream. Just make sure to freeze bowl ahead of time and you'll have no problems. The noise didn't really bother me as other reviewers have complained. Its only 20 minutes and not really that noisy. Very happy with purchase.

Loved this little addition to our kitchen...makes wonderful ice cream that everyone loves! Our only issue...it doesn't make enough! Makes only about 4 servings.

I've owned this ice-cream maker for a month and just love it! To avoid the problems other reviewers have experienced, just follow these tips (some posted by other reviewers too):

1) Freeze the bowl with a bag of ice cubes in it (thanks for the tip, Cynthia Nelson). It worked for me, and now I only need to freeze it overnight (instead of 48 hours each time I wanted to use it).
2) Use a blender to mix all ingredients! It's easier to pour from the blender jar into the ice-cream machine, and the sugar is properly mixed and melted into the heavy cream.
3) For fruit-flavored ice cream, use frozen fruits instead of fresh fruit puree, or you can buy fresh fruits and cut them up and freeze them. Blend away as you would if you were making a smoothie. I did this and compared it to using fresh fruit puree and found that the "smoothie" mixture chills and thickens faster in the machine (10 - 15 mins); whilst the fresh fruit puree mixture tends to take about 30 mins or longer and yields more crystals when the mixture is frozen.
4) Put a small bag of ice on top of the opening of the transparent lid - use the bag of ice cubes that you put into the bowl in the freezer. It helps with chilling the mixture faster while it is being churned. Mine did not melt nor drip into the mixture.
5) Put an empty glass container in the freezer before you start making the ice-cream mixture. Use it to store the ice-cream. I use a Pyrex bowl with its lid as glass chills faster than plastic.

I modified a recipe I found online, and get awesome creamy ice cream which doesn't get frozen hard like a rock even when it's been in the freezer for 2 - 3 days! You can, of course cut down on the sugar or use fat-free products or artificial sweeteners (which I haven't tried - I believe natural is better than those chemicals in artificial sweeteners. Our bodies can work off the sugar, but the chemicals stay in our system!)

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup Half & Half or evaporated milk
1 - 1.5 cups frozen strawberries or any other frozen fruit
1 + 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)

Put everything in the blender and blend until the ingredients are well-mixed. Turn on the ice-cream machine and pour the mixture in. Once the mixture thickens and has a soft-serve or thicker consistency, turn off the machine. Scoop and serve, or pour and scrape the mixture out with a rubber/silicon spatula into your chilled glass container and freeze for about an hour or so.

This ice cream maker is easy to use, but you do have to be sure the bowl is really frozen and the ingredients are very cold. First try was not so great but much better on subsequent tries and the ice cream turned out great. Much easier than old rock salt machines.

I am so glad we got this. It is the perfect size for 4 servings and is a great way to make desert fun. I love that you get to make your own flavor combinations.
So far the leftovers have been kinda icy so we have been making ourselves fresh half batches so we don't have leftovers.
It is unbelievably easy to use this machine. I highly recommend it.

I would have like to know ahead of time that there was a freezing element in the machine that has to be kept in the refrigerator before use. It's not a big inconvenience, but I thought all I'd have to do is just insert the ingredients and they would be frozen as the machine worked its magic.

I also thought the machine would automatically increase the volume of the ingredients for a result similar to the thick, rich, creamy ice cream sold by street vendors. I guess that was naive of me since I'm purposely not using heavy cream. Live and learn. I'll just have to keep experimenting until I get the healthful result I'm looking for.

Other than the above, I find no fault in this product.

If you are an icecream lover, then this is the gadget for you. Icecream is ready in 20-30 minutes with little or no mess or difficulty. This model makes about 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of frozen deserts. The machine is also excellent for other frozen deserts like sorbet, sherbert, etc. We are very pleased with this item.

I knew I might regret buying an ice cream maker, so I bought a red one to remind me that too much of a good (great) thing can be dangerous! I read other reviews for this and other ice cream makers, and settled on this one for my purchase. It's simple and efficient. Some reviewers found it to be a little noisy, but it isn't unbearable; electric mixers and food processors are considerably noisier. The great thing is the ice cream is so very good; my husband particularly likes the gelato. I love this new toy, but I'm glad I bought it in red. Otherwise, the ice cream could be very tempting every single day!

Overall, I've really enjoyed this ice cream maker. It works fast and makes really good ice cream, however, for best results I would say the ice cream needs to sit in the bowl, in the freezer over night, otherwise it is slightly too soft and starts to melt fast. Also, I like how the machine comes with a book of tons of recipes. No need to buy a separate recipe book.

I don't usually like all those "extra" small appliances that clutter the cupboards and are seldom used. But I LOVE this one!!! It's easy to use and very easy to clean. Pretty much all I have to do is rinse out the bowl and paddle and stick the bowl back in the freezer. This is a real winner. If you buy this, you might think about buying Marlene Koch's 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes because it contains several recipes for ice cream, sherbet and sorbet - all low fat and low sugar.
PS You DO have to follow the directions for this ice cream maker to work well: Make sure your bowl is completely frozen (24 hrs?) and have it running when you pour in the ice cream mixture.

This is a very simple, but effective gadget. I bought this for my ten year old daughter's birthday and she loves it. Very easy to mix up a batch of about anything...5-10 minutes max. We are on our fourth batch, and have started experimenting. The quality is great, texture somewhat below that of store-bought, but we know every ingredient so it's much healthier. Would recommend it highly.

I bought this to replace a cheaper table top ice cream maker and was very satisfied with it's preformance. I found that it freezes well if you put ice cubes in a bag in it. I made mocha chip ice cream and it was great.

I just purchased this machine from LNT on Tuesday. I put the tub in my deep freeze for 2 days before I even used it. I made just the basic vanilla first (of course!) and it turned out wonderful!!! Just a few hours ago I made the mint chocolate chip and except for the fact that I used too much peppermint it turned out perfect. Just make sure you only use 1 teaspoon of peppermint not the 1 1/2 it says you can use.
I have been using 1% milk and fat free half & half to save myself from gaining 10 lbs. This makes a wonderful ice cream and my husband didn't even know I used the fat free stuff.
I have already got it back in the deep freeze and think I will make strawberry for Sunday.
So glad I finally just got it and I know I will be using this darn thing all the time.

I purchased the Cuisinart one and a half quart ice cream maker for my grandson for his eighth birthday. He enjoys cooking, and he loves to make different things for his family to eat. I was hopeful that the Cuisinart ice cream maker would be a gift he would enjoy, and I hoped it wouldn't be too difficult for him to use. He, along with his family, have made ice cream several times since I gave it to him. They have all commented on how tasty the ice cream is - even as far as saying, it's the best ice cream they've ever had!

Great ice cream maker .... I can make delicious ice cream in less time than it takes me to go to the store and buy some.

This machine will make ice cream (soft serve style) out of just about anything, and everything: frozen strawberries thrown in a blender with milk, fat free half and half with rose water, milk and chocolate syrup, etc, etc. You could get fancy and cook up a batch of custard style with cream and egg yolks...if you can afford the calories; but the low cal stuff tastes pretty darn good. I know this machine has paid for itself in the savings from buying ice cream at the store.

The recipe had to be adjusted a bit but its perfect for this machine.

12oz. Pineapple juice
1/2 c. Milk (gives it a more fluid consistancy)
1/2 c. Heavy Cream (no ice, this freezes well)
1 c. Cream of Coconut
1-2 tablespoons of white sugar(depends on taste
Cherries
Parrot Bay Coconut Rum

Put the pineapple juice in a large bowl, and add sugar and stir until absorbed. Then add the milk, cream, and cream of coconut and stir well.
Retrieve the frozen bowl and assemble the machine. Turn it on and pour the mix slowly into the machine. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the right consistancy.

This is the vergin part, however if you want it with rum, than your best bet is with Parrot Bay Coconut Rum (preferably cold when added) add to taste. Add Cherry.

Variations can include, banana and or orenge.

This is the machine out of four that I have tried that makes a perfect consistancy with so little freezing time of the bowl. I will admit that I keep it in my extra freezer which is colder than my main one, but the bowl was good and frozen in about 7 hours. The booklet says 6 hours is minimal but I gave it an extra hour just to be sure.

The recipe in the booklet for pina colada's is out of a single mix can. So this can give some ideas, I hope you like this as much as my friends and family.

Perfect ice cream the first time I tried it! Just make sure to freeze the sleeve for at least 24 hours, and you'll never have a problem. Sorbet is my new favorite food...

I'm using Dave Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" for recipes - haven't tried any from the cookbook that came with the machine yet. I highly recommend this book!

There is absolutely nothing I enjoy more than ice cream and this product is a dream come true. It is everything I expected. I love it and use it often.

I purchased this recently. I like making ice cream at home mainly because I control the ingredients. The ice cream has turned out pretty well. I have tried ice cream, frozen yogurt, and slushies. They all tasted excellent right from the machine, if you freeze them overnight they are not so good. The higher the fat content the longer they last. After 24 hours the texture is not good. I recommend you make just enough to eat immediately or freeze a couple of hours to make the ice cream harder.

I also agree with many other reviewers that the canister must freeze for 48 hours. I tried it once after 24 hours and it was a big disapointment. I wasted ingredients and had to start all over again.

I never had one before. I really enjoyed this one ! The mango sorbet (recipe in the manual) is great !