Whynter Ice Cream Maker Machine Automatic 1.28 Qt Upright with Built-in Compressor, LCD Digital Display & Timer, No Pre-Freezing, ICM-128WS, White

I am having a ball using this machine. I've had a freezer bowl ice cream maker before and switching to a compressor ice cream machine has been a great decision. it is easy to use and it makes just enough ice cream. And if it isn't enough ice cream, I can make more a few minutes later. The machine doesn't take up a lot of space. It will shut off if the motor is running for too long (making 2-3 batches consecutively, for instance) to avoid overheating. It also shuts off when the ice cream gets too thick for the dasher. this happened to me and it didn't take long to cool down. I am grateful for this feature as i haven't yet figured out how long to churn a particular recipe. I don't worry about damaging the machine. This ice cream maker is well made. it looks great. The mixer bowl is solid. it has a chill feature. It feels durable and it's not loud. You get about 2 and a half Ben & Jerry pints out of it. I've only made custard ice cream so far. I have no regrets. Basic custard ice cream recipe 5 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup full fat milk, dash of salt,1 T vanilla. Adjust to your liking (I like to add an additional 1/2 cup milk). You can find full instructions on YouTube. I suggest a thermometer to help with tempering and cooking the eggs. Don't worry, it's easy. Enjoy!

It was time to replace our old and venerable Cuisinart freezer bowl ice cream maker after 25+ years. I decided to look at upright ice-cream makers with a built-in compressor. Most reviews named Whynter as one of the best ice cream makers. I chose this one, because it's an upright with a small footprint, and the 1.26 quart since there are only 2 of us. After allowing the machine to sit on the counter for 2 hours, per instructions, I made my first batch of ice cream. Knowing that it was out for delivery, I had my mixture done and chilling in the refrigerator. Needless to say, it came out perfect. The machine starts at a default of 60 minutes, so I set my phone cooking timer for 60 minutes. It had already stopped and the ice-cream was so frozen, I couldn't get the paddle out easily. I didn't want to force it, so I got out what I could and by that time, the paddle came out. I've learned that the freezer stops churning at round 30-40 minutes, using the recipe that I use. I set my cooking timer app for 30 minutes, and if it's stopped, I get the ice-cream out and into storage; if not, I let it continue to churn for another 10 minutes. I've made 3 loads, one right after another. Yes, the ingredient cannister will freeze to the inside of the machine. It's because there's frost on the outside from the previous load and air humidity. Simply empty the ice-cream into your freezer container, then add a cup of hot water to the can; it'll let loose immediately. You can prevent this from happening by spraying a small amount of any cooking spray to a cloth or paper towel, then rub it on the OUTSIDE of the ingredient holder, sides and bottom, which will prevent it from sticking. I prefer to make old-fashioned ice cream or gelato, but both require a cooked "custard" base with egg yolks. With the astronomical price of eggs, I've found a couple of ways to circumvent the eggs without compromising flavor or texture. "American" modern ice-cream simply calls for a 2 to 1 ratio of milk to cream, plus sugar, and vanilla. There's nothing wrong with this. We prefer the richer texture and taste of the old-fashioned variety. I've found 3 solutions: 1. Sicilian gelato. This uses cornstarch instead of egg yolks in the custard base. It also uses a 1 to 1 ratio of cream to milk. You can find a recipe easily on the internet. Like the old-fashioned recipes, this requires cooking, then cooling completely in the refrigerator prior to mixing with cream and freezing. I've found another way of creating an old-fashioned flavor without cooking. 2. I use one 3.4 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding with 4 cups of milk, which makes a thickened base of the right consistency. I mix it with 2 cups of cream. I reduce the sugar and add vanilla for our taste. You can use sugar free pudding mix with a sugar alternative for people who don't like or can't eat sugar. It comes out like old-fashioned ice cream without tasting like pudding. I know many of you may not like all of the ingredients in instant pudding. Frankly, neither do I. I make my own vanilla extract, so I prefer an alternative to the pudding, so I came up with a third alternative. 3. I use .75 ounce (21g) of an instant (no cook) modified food starch, in place of the pudding mix. I have a biochemistry degree. Modified food starch is simply food starch that's heated and pressed, which changes its structure, allowing it to thicken liquids without heating. The Whynter ice-cream maker makes beautiful ice cream without ice crystals. It freezes the mix more solidly than a maker that uses containers that require pre-freezing. I already have a yogurt maker, so I look forward to making frozen yogurt. We're also going to make frozen drinks. I've made homemade butter with my mixer. That's on the bucket list too.

This ice-cream maker is not cheap. But it's well worth the cost compared to the value you get. A lot of people use the ice-cream makers that rely on the bowls you pre-freeze overnight. I tried one of those once and it didn't stay frozen long enough to get the ice-cream to the soft-serve consistency you need in the finished product. Then you have to wash the bowl and re-freeze it before you can use it again. We also have two of the old-fashioned bucket-type ice-cream makers. Those make a lot of of ice-cream and it's real ice-cream when you're done. We even have the plug-in motor that does the cranking for you. But they make a huge mess and take a lot of ice and salt. And it has to be the right kind of salt. This Whynter ice-cream maker is more of a professional grade ice-cream maker. It has a compressor that freezes the bowl while the motor runs the churn. It's easy to use and doesn't make a mess. And while it does cost more than the other two kinds of ice-cream makers, it is far superior. The recipes in the booklet provided with the machine are all good, but be warned that they all make twice the amount the ice-cream maker can churn at one time. I got good results by churning half the mix, and then churning the other half right away. Keep in mind, if you don't rinse the bowl and plastic churner in warm water, the bowl will freeze into the machine and you'll have to let it sit at room temperature to thaw before you can take it out to wash it. The plastic churner is a really weird shape and it's hard to scrape clean. But it's designed to do exactly what it's supposed to do, so I can live with it. The bowl, the plastic churner, and the lid are all machine washable. You can also soak them in hot, soapy water and rinse them without scrubbing. They are very user-friendly. And the churn isn't cheap plastic. It's built to last. One last thing: the first machine I got didn't work. It didn't get the bowl down to freezing. But there were so many good reviews that I took the trouble to return it for a replacement, rather than a credit. I'm so glad I did. Our test batch of milk and sugar froze in 15 minutes. A higher fat content mix takes about half an hour to freeze to soft-serve consistency. If you churn cream without freezing it, you can make butter. I might actually try it for making herb and honey butters. All in all, I highly recommend this machine.

Love this ice cream machine. A nice change over the Cuisinart Ice cream machine that you have to put bucket in freezer. It is not noisy. Just a soft humming sound so you know it is churning. Easy to operate. Very good ice cream recipe book included. Make the 3 ingredient vanilla ice cream. It is delicious.

UPDATE: Customer Service responded. I am happy with their response but I would not buy this product again after reading other reviews with the same issue I had. My machine was squealing so I contacted Whynter customer service. I have only had the machine four months and use it once a week. Their solution was for me to buy a lubricant, take the machine apart, and grease the gears. The documents that they sent to me explaining how to do it didn’t match my machine. I am awaiting a return email for next steps.