Home Ice Cream: A Chilling Choice

It's time to take matters into your own golden hands and start making ice cream at home. This is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. But for the preparation of homemade dessert you will need a special unit. In this article we will talk about how to choose an ice cream maker for the home, take into account all the characteristics, descriptions and reviews of the happy owners.

A sweet and delicate delicacy that can refresh in the summer heat. He is loved all over the world from young to old. Of course, we are talking about ice cream. However, now that we know from which, to put it mildly, useless ingredients it is made in factories, the desire to eat them to the dump sharply disappears. The amount of colorants, preservatives, flavors, palm oil, milk fats and harmful E confuses buyers.

What is an ice cream maker?

Ice cream, which is also smartly called a freezer, is a compact apparatus consisting of a food bowl and whirl, which mixes these products. The small size of the machine contributes to its popularity in the kitchens. Especially often this mechanism can be found in cottages and in their own homes, where people prefer to spend summer vacations.

Ice cream at home does not require supernatural money and moral strength. All you have to do is go out into the garden, pick fresh berries and fruits there, put in the bowl, and she will already do everything for you. But more on this later.

Types of Ice Cream Makers

In order to choose the right ice cream maker suitable for your home, you need to have an idea of ​​the existing varieties. The price varies depending on the type of operation of the device, power, as well as the size and material of the bowl. The following types of ice cream makers are available for sale:

• mechanical;
• electric compressor;
• semi-automatic electric.

Principle of operation

The principle of the ice cream maker is to continuously rotate the whorls, which allows you to get a soft homogeneous mass without lumps and ice. In addition to performing its main function, the machine can also be used to make fruit ice, healthy frozen yoghurts and trendy smoothies.

Key features of ice cream makers

The main differences between the models are in the type of control, which we will consider in more detail below. In addition, the dimensions of the bowl, the overall dimensions of the body, the material from which the device is made, as well as the power and performance of the machine, also play a part in making a difficult decision.

How to choose

If you do not go into details, then there are only two types of ice cream makers: automatic and mechanical. But we will definitely go into details, do not be afraid. Electric freezers can be not only automatic, but also semi-automatic. The main difference between them is the need for preliminary freezing of the bowl.

Carefully read the characteristics set forth below and, based on your own preferences and tastes, the amount of free time and family members, the budget, make the final decision.

Material

Bowls for organizing a small ice cream production at home are made from the following materials:

• food grade plastic;
• metal (steel).

A metal bowl is preferable, as it is completely hygienic and safe to use. The fact is that over time, microcracks can form in a plastic container in which bacteria settle. This alignment is categorically impossible, because the bowl is in direct contact with the consumer product.

However, you must pay tribute to the bowl of plastic.It costs much cheaper when compared with a competitor in stainless steel. Both options are good in their own way, both are quite strong and durable.

Control

According to the type of management, ice cream makers are divided into the following varieties:

1. Mechanical The name speaks for itself: making ice cream completely falls on your fragile shoulders. The first stage is to put the bowl on time to cool in the freezer. This will take at least 12 hours of time. The next step is to place all products in a container and not leave it for 40 minutes. At the same time, every 2-3 minutes you will need to scroll the handle, acting as a mixer. The least convenient, outdated option that requires your continued presence. As a cooler, the mechanism uses ice mixed with coarse salt.
2. Electric semi-automatic. Get ready for the fact that the semiautomatic device settles in the permanent residence of one of the shelves of your freezer. In addition, only one portion of ice cream is placed in the bowl, and the cooling time is so long (12-24 hours) that you can only feast on it once a day. A significant difference from the mechanical type is that all that is required of you is to press a button and proudly leave to go about your business. After 15-40 minutes, the rotating blades will prepare the long-awaited dessert.
3. Electric compressor The best in terms of technology is an ice cream maker with a compressor. Such instances work without a preliminary cooling procedure. The design itself already provides for a refrigeration unit mounted inside. Your task is to press a button, thereby starting a small motor. He will bring the bowl to the desired temperature in about 7 minutes. After this, place the prepared mixture in the container, close the lid and wait about half an hour. Very often there are models where, in addition to the usual stationary bowl, the set has a removable container. Thus, you can cook in both bowls at the same time and get twice as much refreshing goodies. True, it will be quite expensive to buy an automatic ice cream maker with a compressor, but filling the device justifies the high price.

Bowl size

The volume of the bowl directly depends on how much ice cream you and your family members need to be happy. If you live in proud loneliness, you can get by with the smallest bowl - from 1 liter. A large family with sweet tooth children will obviously need a larger capacity. Fortunately, ice-cream makers are produced with a capacity of up to 15 liters - this size is just enough to eat up to the dump.

Please note that if the capacity of the bowl is 1 liter, then at a time you can use a maximum of 600-700 grams of the liquid mixture. During cooling, it increases significantly in volume. If you fill in too much of the composition, it may simply not freeze.

The height of the bowl usually does not reach the mark of 20 centimeters, on average being about 15 centimeters. It is important to understand that the height of the ice cream maker should not be too large, otherwise it simply will not fit in the freezer. Fully automatic models can certainly be of any size.

Power

Domestic ice cream makers are not energy-consuming appliances; they do not require a lot of electricity to work. Semi-automatic models have power from 5 to 35 watts, and automatic - from 150 to 200 watts. Mechanical options require only the power of your hands.

There are also some models that, thanks to their compact size, can operate on batteries directly in the freezer.

Rating

To make it easier for you to navigate among the variety of brands and models, we have prepared a rating of the most popular and high-quality options:

ProfiCook PC-ICM 1140

• Semi-automatic control
• 1.8 liter bowl
• Power 12 W
• 1 bowl

Of the additional useful little things there are:

• display;
• timer;
• automatic shutdown.

Scarlett SC-IM22255

• Semi-automatic control
• Bowl 0.7 liter
• Power 10 W
• 1 bowl

Clatronic ICM 3581

• Semi-automatic control
• Bowl 1 liter
• Power 12 W
• 1 bowl

Steba IC 20

• Semi-automatic control
• Bowl 1.5 liters
• Power 10 W
• 1 bowl

Of the additional useful little things there is a timer.

BRAND 3812

• Automatic control
• Compressor available
• Bowl 1.5 liters
• Power 150 W
• 1 bowl

Of the additional useful little things there are:

• display;
• timer;
• spoon in the kit;
• 1.4 meter long cord.

Summing up all of the above, I would like to once again note that the manufacture of ice cream at home is a simple and very interesting matter. Modern technologies make it possible to facilitate this work for humans as much as possible, as can be seen from the evolution of mechanical ice-makers into fully automated ones.

There are many models on the home appliance market where you can get confused. The main thing is to pay attention to your own preferences, correctly prioritize. Have a nice cooking!