Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker, White

I bought this for my husband's birthday. He's hard to buy for, but I thought the idea of custom ice cream flavors would be enticing. The machine was on special from Williams Sonoma, and included a second chilling cylinder, so it's possible to make two flavors on the same day. I had used a Donvier manual ice cream maker before, and found this one very much easier to use. For example, the stirring blade stays put in this machine, whereas in the Donvier, it can move around and ruin your ice cream.

Never having made ice cream with a machine before, I was not sure when to stop the machine, and I fear over-loading the motor. I guess experience will be the best teacher. My husband is happy with the ice cream, so I guess this one is a "mission accomplished". I have yet to try frozen yogurt or sorbet, but I suspect it'll do well with those mixtures, too.

I would recommend this machine, including a second chilling cylinder. With only one cylinder, it would be okay for singles or a very small family, as the cylinder must be frozen 24 hours and makes just 1.5 quarts of ice cream.

I've had this for a long time and never felt the need to replace it.

For the price, it's a good value, however there are a variety of tradeoffs.

The design is simple, easy to use and easy to clean (once it's warmed up).  I do recommend it, especially for apartment dwellers who only make ice cream occasionally or at predictable intervals.

Things to be aware of, though:

1) The freezing container takes up a pretty big chunk of space in the freezer, and should be wrapped with plastic wrap to avoid frozen condensation and dust from getting in.

2) The freezing container should be in your freezer for a MINIMUM of 24 hours before you use it.

3) To wash it, you have to wait for it to warm up or the water will freeze to the inside.

4) The ice cream it makes will be slightly grainier than some other methods (not terribly so, though)

5) Can usually only freeze one batch per freezing cycle (so one batch per day, essentially).