Jessica T
15 de noviembre de 2012
Great ice cream machine!
I bought this ice cream machine in February and have made about 3 or 4 dozen batches with it by now. It's fantastic! You pour in the custard, switch it to "on", go find something to do for half an hour, and come back to ice cream.Upon reading the other reviews, I'd like to specify a few things for people who, like me, haven't owned an ice cream machine before and want to know what to expect when they make a batch.1. Freeze your bowl completely, for 24 hours, as directed. If your bowl isn't completely frozen, your ice cream won't churn properly. There's no shortcut around this. I prefer to keep my bowl in the freezer all the time if I think the whim to make ice cream will strike me. If your bowl is room-temperature and you want to make a batch today, it's just not going to happen, so include bowl-chilling time in your planning.2. When you're done churning, your ice cream will be soft-serve consistency. This is normal. Trust me, you want it to be that way or it'd be difficult to get out of the machine to transfer into a container--I find that I have about 3-4 minutes to make the transfer, or the ice cream on the sides and bottom are very hard to get out. When you've put your ice cream into your Gladware or whatever you're using (I like OXO's freezer-proof containers) then it'll harden up in an hour or two.3. Don't touch the metal part of the frozen bowl, especially if your hands are wet. Ouch. Seriously, the frozen metal will freeze water to it in a matter of seconds. It'll do the same to your skin. By the same token, don't wash the freezer bowl until you've run it under very hot water for a few minutes or let it defrost for an hour or two. The water residue will freeze to ice (and give your next batch freezer-burn flavor if you store the bowl in the freezer) and whatever towel or paper towel you use to dry it will freeze lint balls to the metal. Not a desirable result.4. Making your own custard is actually pretty easy. You don't need a double-boiler, a regular saucepan will do fine, and despite what the ice cream books will tell you, you do not need to watch the custard like a nuclear scientist. You still have to stand there and stir it, and you don't want to let it boil, but it's not a case of "Oh, I let it go for 2 seconds, it's ruined." It's not a souffle. Personally, I've found that a slightly overcooked custard (i.e. a little clumpy on the bottom of the pan when you pour it in the strainer) makes a superior result. I like to make my custard at night, chill overnight in the fridge, and churn in the morning.5. Remember to stir your custard thoroughly before adding it to the churn (some recipes separate a little during the chilling process) and do NOT use more than a half cup of mix-ins for a full 2-quart batch, or you'll get overflow. A half cup doesn't sound like much but it really is.Pick up a copy of Leibovitz's "The Perfect Scoop". It has fantastic recipes, great tips on making a successful custard, and also has tons of recipes for making your own mix-ins. Just a great source for all ice cream-related things overall. I've got a few ice cream recipe books and I think this one is the best.Ver másVer menos
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