Top 4 Best Ice Cream Makers – Updated October 2017

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Out of all the ice cream makers that we looked at, one stood out above all the others and that was the Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop. It is easily our top pick and we give it our highest recommendation. This machine has a powerful mixing motor and is self-cooling with a built-in compressor. Unlike with other, cheaper models, the Breville Smart Scoop does not require ice or rock salt to make ice cream, nor do you have to pre-chill a canister.

In addition, the Breville BCI600XL is the only home-use ice cream maker that gives you the ability to choose the hardness of your ice cream. The machine can sense the consistency of the contents in the mixing bowl and will automatically adjust the temperature in order to maintain the desired hardness level. There are 12 different hardness levels that you can choose from, giving you a great deal of control and customizability when making frozen desserts, as ice cream and gelato require a thicker consistency than sorbet or frozen yogurt which have a softer texture.

The Breville Smart Scoop even gives you the ability to mix in “manual” mode, which is necessary for pre-timed recipes or if you just want to have greater control over the mixture’s consistency. The unit also has a pre-cool function, which can bring the unit’s temperature down to optimal levels for making ice cream in as little as 10 minutes, allowing you to make your ice cream faster. Other great features of the Breville BCI600XL include the useful “Keep Cool” function which will keep your ice cream/frozen desserts from melting for up to 3 hours after it’s done mixing, as well as the audio alert feature which will notify you when your ice cream is finished mixing and ready to eat.

If you’re looking to get the best bang for your ice cream making buck, then you’ll definitely want to consider the Cuisinart ICE-100. It’s significantly less expensive than the Breville BCI600XL above, but offers many of the same great features. Also, like the Breville, this ice cream maker is also fully self-contained with a built-in refrigeration compressor. So there is no need for rock salt, ice or to have to freeze a bowl overnight in your freezer, making it much more convenient to make ice cream than “bucket” or “canister” style models that require one or more of the aforementioned.

Additionally, the Cuisinart ICE-100 can make up to 1.5 quarts of ice cream in a single batch, and comes with 2 different paddles – one designed for making creamy ice cream and the other for making richly textured gelato. Additionally, the machine has fully digital controls with a touchpad and an easy-to-read LCD display. Furthermore, the built-in timer will allow the user to set the length of the freezing cycle from a short 10 minutes to up to 1 hour. The machine will even keep your ice cream cool for a short time after the freezing cycle has been completed.

At over $250, this is certainly not the cheapest ice cream maker around, but if you like having the option of being able to make home-made ice cream or gelato whenever you want (without having to deal with the hassles of buying ice or waiting for your bowl to freeze), then you may want to spend a little more to get the Cuisinart ICE-100. Its design, build quality and the quality of ice cream that it produces is about as good as it gets.

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The White Mountain PBWMIME612-SHP is a throwback to the days when people made ice cream by hand-churning it in wooden pine buckets. The 150 year old manufacturer of ice cream makers has added a modern twist, however, by adding a powerful 12,000 RPM motorized mixing arm to the bucket ice cream maker of yesteryear. So you don’t need to hand-churn it like grandma did back in the day, although you do have the option of swapping out the motorized paddle with a hand crank if desired (Note: the hand crank is sold separately).

Measuring 21 in. high and 13 in. across with a weight of almost 19 lb., the White Mountain Appalachian is one of the largest and heaviest ice cream makers on the market. This may turn some people off, but its large size means that it can make very large batches of ice cream – up to 6 quarts at a time, which is about 3-4 times the capacity of the typical ice cream machine.

The White Mountain PBWMIME612-SHP is not as complicated to use as you would think, either. To make ice cream with this unit, you just need to fill the bucket with shaved ice and a little rock salt. The inner canister would then be inserted into the bucket and the motor/dasher assembly placed on top, after which you can pour the ingredients in and turn the motor on for mixing. Not only will you be able to enjoy eating delicious ice cream, but many people will find making ice cream in this way to be a fun and enjoyable family activity where you can get the kids involved as well.