Cuisinart ICE 21R Ice Cream Maker Review

"I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream" pretty much sums up the mood at our family picnic while we were indulging in homemade vanilla ice cream.

We had not made any in years. In fact, we could not find our old hand crank machine. We had to buy a new one and that is why we have this Cuisinart ICE 21R Ice Cream Maker review. Read why the days of hand cranking for hours are gone.

Although we initially bought it to make ice cream for the family picnic, we will also be using it for healthier treats like frozen yogurt or sorbet. With this model, you can also create gelato, frozen custard, drinks, slushies or become fancy and make ice cream sandwiches or even cakes. Of course, for special occasions, we will be making my favorite peach ice cream.

Features

• FREEZER BOWL - Remember the days of rock salt? This model uses a special double insulated bowl that you freeze ahead of time. The materials in the bowl make freezing mixtures faster and eliminate the need for that messy rock salt and ice.
• PATENTED MIXING PADDLE - Place the paddle in the freezer bowl while freezing. The combination of the icy paddle and bowl makes frozen desserts in 20 minutes or less. The paddle aerates in such a way that desserts are smooth and creamy.
  
• LARGE CAPACITY - You can make up to 1.5 quarts at a time.
• LARGE SPOUT - The lid has an easy lock feature and it is extra large so you can easily add ingredients without making a mess. You can even add ingredients during the freezing cycle.
• HEAVY DUTY MOTOR - The motor is located at the base of the machine and gives it the power to produce results in a short amount of time.

The cord is stored in the base to keep it hidden and the counter uncluttered when not in use The machine automatically cuts off when the motor starts to overheat. It is available in different colors. I love the red color to match my other appliances.

Product Performance

The proof is in the pudding and everyone certainly enjoyed the homemade vanilla ice cream at the family picnic. Everyone was expecting to spend hours cranking.

It literally took 20 minutes for the mixture to thicken. We then froze it while we ate dinner and relaxed. After 2 hours, the mixture was not too hard, but hard enough that you needed a scooper for a nice firm ball.

We could have added ingredients like nuts or chips 5 minutes before the recipe was complete, but we wanted vanilla to go with our pie!

Dimensions

The dimensions are 10.25 x 10 x 15 inches and the weight is 9.5 pounds.

Pros

• Makes frozen desserts in just 20 minutes
• Simple to use and makes clean up easy
• Affordable
• Stops automatically when motor starts to overheat
• Comes with recipe manual

Cons

• Must freeze the paddle and bowl at least 24 hours ahead of time
• Can overflow and make a mess if you add too much mixture. Follow the directions and there will not be a problem

Price

The machine is reasonably priced, especially considering the amount of time saved. You can purchase additional freezer bowls and paddles separately.

Cuisinart ICE 21R Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt and Sorbet Maker Rating

For ice cream lovers, this product is a great buy. It has thousands of highly rated customer reviews.