Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by Erika Camardella "KitchenWitch" : Great, but small

I have done so much research on the ice cream makers on Amazon that I went a bit crazy trying to decide which to get. Then I decided to buy my cute little ice cream maker at Sam's ($39.). I have used it twice now and here are my observations:

1. Yes, it is noisy, but not intolerable.

2. The bucket MUST be frozen SOLID in order to work correctly.

3. It makes wonderful ice cream.

4. It (1 1/2 quarts)is a bit small-especially once you start adding additional ingredients towards the end (we like to add chopped up cookies or candy) and I am afraid it will spill out or clog. I end up dumping everything into a container and mixing stuff in by hand. I am seriously considering getting a 2 quart just for the extra space and peace of mind--even though this machine makes enough ice cream for a small family.

5. You have to work a bit fast when transfering the ice cream from the bucket to the storage container. It can melt quickly so just have everything ready to go.

6. Make sure to clean and dry and wrap the bucket and put it back into the freezer asap so it is ready to go for the next batch.

Overall a good buy and I would reccommend it because I don't think there are other 1 1/2 qrt. makers that offer too much more or better for the money.

Hope that helps !

Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by Cooking queen "love to cook" : Not fancy, but works.

After buying this unit, and making a couple of batches , I am still glad I bought it. IF you follow the instuctions it will work the way it is suppose to. And yes, you do have to let it sit in the freezer for 1 hr. or so before you will have formed ice cream. And yes, all mixes need to be chilled for 8 to 24 hours, and 24 hrs. for the bowl. If you do not like the wait, don't buy one and just get your ice cream from the store. But personally I have NEVER had better ice cream , it is worth the wait. I have made all kinds, full of fat, less fat, sugared, and sugarfree,ice cream, gelto, sorbet,and have been great. And add my own fresh fruit,makes such a differance , I will never buy store ice cream again! Have you ever read the ice cream box ?? It's not a pretty sight.And since there is only two of us, I have even cut the recipes in half, no waste, and no freezer burn.

Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by S. Racz : fun gadget

For anyone who remembers making ice cream as a kid with the endless hand cranking and messy rock salt, this little ice cream maker will delight you. Flip the switch, walk away, and come back after dinner to find it's all done.
The cord stores easily and neatly inside the bottom of the unit. The freezer bowl hand washes easily, and the other parts clean up in the dishwasher. The manual says it will come out soft and you need to freeze it in a seperate container to get harder ice cream, and that is true. I think that is probably true with any homemade ice cream. When it was mixing, we smelled the heat of the motor a little. Maybe because it is new?
The reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is more of a toy and not an indispenseable addition to my kitchen. It was given to me as a gift, and I probably wouldn't buy it for myself because it is more of a novelty to us and doesn't get used that much. But I can see trying a lot of the recipes that come with it and using it for more than just ice cream. I store the bowl in my freezer at all times so we don't have to plan ahead too much, and it does take up a lot of room in there. If you have room to store the unit and the freezer bowl, then it is something fun to have.

Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by R. Martinez "CasinoDealer14" : Ice Cream machine comments

I purchased this item as a X-Mas gift for my husband, he LOVES to cook and do things around the kitchen (he cooks very good). When he opened up his present (among others) he immediately put it to use, yup, he made some vanilla ice cream, to start out, just to kinda-test the ice cream maker machine and well, at first it was like ahhhhh, ice cream is kinda "soft" BUT....he figured out that the part that goes inside the machine should be kept in the freezer so when its mixing it it'll have that ice cream "consistency"; so then, the week after, my husband tried another kind of ice cream, Buttered Pecan, yummmmmmm, NOW that's more like it.....very very delicious and just like ice cream bought from the store, it was really good, so im glad he's very happy and content with his new ice cream maker machine. Our children and I are satisfied with the results! So Thank You for having this item on stock.

Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by Sam : Patience pays off with this great product

This is a great, simple product for making delicious ice cream and frozen yogurt! It's a blast to create your own flavors and recipes and reap the rewards.

Two major points of emphasis:

1) You must freeze the empty bucket for at least several hours (overnight is best) before you make anything.

2) You must freeze the products in a separate container (not included) for at least 4-6 hours or overnight before it is the right consistency.

So while it only takes 20-30 minutes to run, it actually requires a couple days planning to have the desserts when you want them. This is just the reality of making frozen desserts and not a flaw in the product.

OVERALL: Highly recommended as a gift for dessert lovers
ALSO: The booklet that comes with actually has a great set of handy recipes you can use as a base to make almost anything you can dream up.

This is my first frozen dessert maker of any kind.

Cuisinart ICE-25 Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
Review by Disneysteve : Great value! Really good results!

We just got this recently and have made two batches so far. Our first batch was basic vanilla ice cream using the recipe that comes with the machine: milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Couldn't be simpler. In 25 minutes we had delicious, though quite soft, ice cream. We put it in a container and froze it and the next day we had firm ice cream that needed an ice cream scoop to serve. Wow!

Our 2nd batch was lemon sorbet, again using the included recipe. Similar results. Soft (Slurpee consistency) after 25 minutes which firmed up once frozen. Sorbet is a little more involved to make because you need to prepare the sugar syrup first, but that can be made in advance and stored until you are ready to make your sorbet.

The machine is not overly noisy (we could still watch tv in the next room) and very easy to clean up. I'm only sorry we didn't buy one sooner.