Ice Cream / Gelato maker review

We mentioned some time back that we'll do a review on ice-cream makers, mainly because during our hunt for one we realised there was a lack of reviews from the region. Most of our extensive research online pointed us to UK or US sites and on top of that we also browsed a couple of retail shops before we lined up our options. So we hope this comprehensive review we had done will be helpful to you.

Our initial research pointed us to 2 basic types of home ice-cream makers - one with built-in compressor and one without. The ones without compressor will require pre-freezing of the freezer bowl before churning the custard mixture which meant that without spare bowls, you could only make 1 batch per day. Some e.g.s are the Cuisinart Ice 20 and Ice 30. On the other hand, ice-cream makers with built-in compressor will allow you to churn the custard mixture quite immediately without much downtime of chilling the bowl. But of course compressor models come at a much higher price tag but as we are experimenting with the recipes, we need the efficiency afforded by the compressor makers.

After much scouting around, we only found 4 models available in Singapore: Taurus Ice 1518, Delonghi Gelataio GM6000, Lello Musso 4080 and Cuisinart ICE 100. For those who have been following our blog, you would already know the winner and here's why...

Actually, we would really liked to have the Lello Musso however, it was beyond our budget plus it will take months for it to be shipped to Singapore. The fight was then between the Delonghi and the Cuisinart, with both getting good reviews on the texture, we decided on the sturdier option (can't afford to buy too many spare blades!).

So far the Cuisinart ICE 100 has served us well even though we were slightly worried that it would sound like a jet engine, it turned out to be pleasantly quieter than a blender. Most importantly it produces nice, creamy texture of gelato at times where we got the ingredient proportions right. As ultimately the machine is really just one part of the equation.

As we endeavour to become better ice-cream chefs, we would definitely love to get the opportunity to experiment and review other ice-cream makers in the future. Sponsors are more than welcomed! ;-)