Side by Side Comparison of: Cuisinart vs Workman Publishing Company vs Amazon

outstanding best one I hve used

Extremely easy to us + clean up is quick--have not made any gelatos yet but the basic ice cream is very good--without the gums/stabilizers and additives of most commercial ice cream--high quality dark cocoa makes a big difference in the chocolate ice cream...

I have had the Cuisinart 1 1/2 quart ice cream maker but was finding recipes to try that were more than it could handle. Enter the 2-quart Cuisinart programmable Ice Cream Maker. What a dream!!! If you are in to making homemade ice cream, this machine has your name on it. Easy to operate and clean and the end product will having you asking why you didn't do it sooner. I also bought a second freezer container so I can make 2 different flavors back-to-back.

This is my second 'ice cream maker' purchase (first one lost in the divorce)...so this time I went up a model as a recent visit to Italy said "Eat more Gelato". First recipe we tried from the included recipe book was Mascarpone & Fig Gelato. Friends, I made two quarts of this incredible dish at the request of my 15 year old daughter and the taste, consistency, appearance were simply incredible.This version does not include a countdown timer, but for the likes of me, I don't know why you would need one. Within 10-20 minutes you've got a completed product and it doesn't take a sous chef to realize what desired consistency should look like. The large cap top gives you ample opportunity to take a dip with a taster spoon and give it a try. When it's right, you know it! I don't want another electronic beep in the house...between the kids phones, my phone, computers, and whatever else is beeping, actually taking a gander at the finishing product is pretty refreshing.The ice cream and sorbets are just as incredible. Clean up is three simple pieces and I've found everybody wants to help so they can either lick the paddle or spoon the basin. This is a great deal cheaper than giving your hard earned money to Ben or Jerry, when they say 'gourmet' they mean it if you follow the directions, and I've found other recipes work very, very well in this machine and its different settings. I just completed a 'Paleo Ice Cream' that used Coconut Milk, Egg Yolks, and Honey as a base. To that, you can add anything you want: Chocolate, Avocado, Fruits, left over cookie dough. Simply a great machine.

Excellent after I placed bucket in deep freezer and not side by side freezer. Have made 3 different ice creams and all were very good.

I really love this ice cream maker! It works beautifully, looks nice and takes up only a small amount of space. I have already made several batches of ice cream in the short amount of time that I have had it and am making some more today. Although some people like their ice cream very firm I love the initial texture it has when it first finishes freezing ... so smooth and creamy! You can always put it in the freezer for a few hours to firm it up if you wish. The specific buttons for the product you wish to make are nice, too. Some reviews I've read say how noisy the machine is. Frankly, I don't find it bad at all and for the relatively short amount of time it has to run it is totally do-able. If you are considering an electric ice cram maker I would highly recommend this one!

I like this one, but it's kind of small. If you aren't looking to make enough for a party, for example, I would say it's just about perfect. The metal part that the ice cream actually goes in scratched really easily, but it was probably something I did. Feels overall high quality.

Effective but dand it's quite noisy.

Just as it was described. Made 1 I've cream and 1 sorbet now going to try a gelato. A bit loud.

I'm very pleased with the ice cream maker. Product works well. Have made ice milk twice! I still have to work out the process myself; nothing to do with the product. However, there was no shipping packaging for machine. It arrived as if someone had picked it up from the shelf ans stuck a label on. The box wasn't even taped. I was not pleased with that at all.

Really nice machine. Makes excellent frozen yogurt, which is what I've used it for thus far. Easy to understand controls and does what it's supposed to do. The canister is a bit large - it takes a bit of room in the freezer but, ya know - you adapt.

I purchased this ice cream maker as a result of a review of ice cream makers on Tasting Table (http://tinyurl.com/nr8rj45). It was deemed the best of the ones tested. Indeed the product is great, but beware, it is loud.

The product makes good ice cream in a very short time, but I wish I'd paid attention to the other reviews that complained of the noise. This thing is LOUD. Ridiculously loud! I can barely stand to be in the same room with it for more than a few minutes. The motor whines at a pitch that literally hurts my ears. You'll need to listen so you know when to shut it off, so you can't go too far. Overall, I can't recommend the product. I will look for a different model when this one dies.

Too loud. But makes great ice cream.

I don't understand why the top cover/lid doesn't fit well. It spins around and sounds like tin cans tied to the back of a bicycle. If you can sort of get the lid to stay in place, the ice cream comes out pretty good The recipes in the book should be cut in half because if you make them following the recipe, they overflow the drum. Seems like Cuisinart could have done a better job but I'll end up keeping the machine.

The ice cream is nice, but it looses stars because of the way the lid attaches very poorly to the machine. We always have to futz with it, and it still wobbles.

I purchased this Cuisinart machine after having used one of the much earlier designs for years. We thought that having the extra capacity and quicker freezing time for the freezer bowl would be a real plus. They are pluses, however we had no idea they had abandoned the perfectly good lid design they had on the earlier models for a lid with a very flimsy catch system. I've had the machine for quite a while now and I make one or two batches a week, but with a lot of frustration!. A while ago I decided maybe the lid I had was defective so I bought another lid - same problem. I see that others have taken to taping the lid down. I personally don't think I should have to resort to that after spending more than a hundred dollars! Whatever were they thinking?! There was nothing at all wrong with the old, well balanced design. I''m looking for a different machine now....

For the price, I shouldn't have to babysit this machine. About halfway through the ice cream starts overflowing, because the mixer is wonky. So, I have to stand over the machine, stopping and restarting (and readjusting the time with each restart), and moving around the mixture.Bottom line: not worth it.

Ice cream doesn't get firm - to runny.

I had this machine for less then 2 month it made great ice cream, and I used it only about 4 times. Then the machine broke the engine stoped turning it just made a sound but didn't turn, and I couldn't use this machine anymore. I tried requesting a refund but the return policy had expired already in less than about a month.I was very dissatisfied with the service that I got. I couldn't do anything to fix my broken machine there was no way to contact the seller, and I couldn't send it back!!

Makes about one bowl of ice cream

I'm going to be critical in this review. Take it or leave it.I purchased the Cuisinart ICE-21 for $49.41 in July, 2014. I was happy with it, and I had absolutely no issues except for enjoying too much ice cream. I gave it to a friend, which is why I no longer have it.When I decided to reacquire an ice cream maker a little while ago, I wanted a Cuisinart. I figured, why not get the slightly bigger one with extra buttons despite the ICE-60W costing twice as much at $118.98 in April, 2016.About a month ago, I used the ICE-60W for the first time. (See photo of the perfect ice cream.) Its operation was essentially the same as the ICE-21. I stood nearby watching it churn the ice cream. I discovered that it starts beeping a few times after a certain length of time passes. For some reason, I was misunderstood in thinking that it would stop after a pre-configured time had elapsed. It does not. I suppose that if the ice cream wasn't finished, it could be annoying if it stopped on its own. But then, I could easily push the start button again if I need prolonged churning due to ambient temperatures or due to the container being not as chilled as it should be. I would prefer beeps, and then automatic ceasing of churning.Today, I made my favorite: faux matcha ice cream. I create green tea powder by putting cheap sencha green tea leaves in a coffee grinder (not used for coffee), and sieve the powder to remove the hard stems and such. This then goes into the standard vanilla recipe. (For why I call this faux matcha ice cream, ask Dr. Google or check out the page on matcha on Wiki. Good, expensive matcha powder should not go in ice cream, unless if money grows on trees for you.) While listening for the machine to start beeping, I was a few rooms away. I heard the first set of beeps, and I went to check on it a few minutes later.Since I got the ICE-60W, I've been wondering why there's a drain hole at the bottom of the main body where it receives the chilled container. I found out why today. Ice cream expands as it's churning, which totally makes sense. What doesn't make sense to me is why Cuisinart didn't make this machine bigger. Even after following the vanilla ice cream recipe from Cuisinart, the ice cream overflowed outside the chilled container and made a mess. Had I been standing nearby, I would have been able to stop the machine before it got too messy. The photo doesn't show all of the mess, by the way. The clear plastic lid was caked on the inside.Of course, this mess is not the end of the world. I've been in much stickier situations in my life. ;) But now that my future plan is to use the Cuisinart ice cream recipe for the 1.5 quart ICE-21 machine, my question is, "why did I pay double of what the ICE-21 costs to make the same amount of ice cream?"Here's another design issue. In essence, the mechanism of how the clear plastic lid secures to the body is the same between the ICE-60W and ICE-21. The machine turns the chilled container, and the gray churning piece in the ice cream ingredients in the chilled container turns the plastic piece which has three little knobs, forcing the knobs into notches on the top of the body, and holding it all in place during operation. I don't remember ever having issues with the ICE-21, but with the ICE-60W, the clear plastic part does not want to go into place very easily. Without the clear plastic part secured, the gray churning piece does not remain in proper alignment.If I paid double for the ICE-60W, shouldn't the machine be at least twice as better or smarter, make twice as much ice cream, or last twice as long? Durability seems to be about the same between the two, the ICE-60W only makes 0.5 quart more ice cream than the ICE-21 (if you're willing to make a mess from overflow), and forget the Gelato mode or the Sorbet mode because all it does is turn at different speeds. You can make the ICE-21 work.At today's price ($114.98 vs. $49.92), you're better off buying an ICE-21 for yourself and a second ICE-21 for your neighbor, save $10, and borrow your neighbor's ICE-21 when you want to make more than 1.5 quarts of ice cream. With this, you could have 1.5 quarts each of two different flavors. I, on the other hand, would only ever have one flavor, although I must say, the faux matcha ice cream is pretty tasty. :D

Don't waste your money. Poor design, lid literally falls off as the paddle churns ice cream. I've had to place a pot of water on machine lid to add weight and hold pot the entire time. Waste of money. Poor design. Ive been making ice cream for 45 years. This is my 3rd machine in all those years. The machine base works. Poor design

Need to leave container in freezer for 24 hours to make, do not have extra freezer space maintain if I wanted ice cream or plan ahead. i wanted to pull it out & make ice cream, not happening with this one unless it can stay in freezer12/7

What am I doing wrong!? I read many reviews before purchasing this product. I opted for the 2 qt. machine for my husbands birthday gift because , well, he loves ice cream. I even pre-emtivly purchased a second inner bowl, asni just knew he would want to keep his favorite flavors flowing. And what I've seen so far, 3 days later, is a soupy mess that never freezes while churning. What have I don't wrong!?? We froze the inner bowl for 2 days and still thw ive cream never dis freeze. Actually, to total opposite keeps happening....I take the very cold, near frozen concoction from the freezer and pour the slush straight into the spinning, frozen ice cream churn, then 30-40 mins later, alli end with is soup!! Either someone needs to tell menthe secret I'm missing, or back to Amazon all of this order is about to go!!! HELP!

So terribly disappointed. My ice cream maker made a total of 6 quarts of ice cream and suddenly failed. This is a good brand and I expected way more than 6 quarts for what I paid for it.

I am sorry to say this did not work out for me. Upon initial use, the ice cream overflowed down the sides of the machine, and persisted throughout the process, seriously overflowing! It did not seem to turn itself off at the correct time as the ice cream in the bottom of the bowl was frozen like sheets of ice. I followed the recipe for Simple Vanilla Ice Cream in the included recipe booklet. Out of what was supposed to be 2 qts, we got less than 2 cups. To be sure my machine was going to work or not, I tried a second batch using half the amount I had made per recipe and after a momentary sign of life, it died. Start/stop light would not even come on. The ice cream was delicious and I would love to have an ice cream maker I could count on. But I am afraid to try this one again so it's back to consumer reviews for ice cream makers. Maybe an Italian one? I want to add that Amazon was great about returning it. I had exceeded my 30 day return limit by 3 days, spoke to Customer Service and Kevin B. graciously helped me. So back it goes.

Sent this back. Cover is very cheeply designed. Problem is, it is an important piece of the machine as it keeps the stir mechanism in an upright position. Unacceptable!

After using for 3 ice cream and 1 sorbet, the motor stopped turning. Happened today.8/17/ 2015. When I went to see what I could do, I found out that the last day to send it back was 8/15/2015.Very pissed off!

The first time I used this machine, it was so noisy I thought it was broken , but it made ice cream. On the second run, I realized the bowl sat crooked in the housing and was rubbing against the top. After a few minutes the top flew off the machine. This machine is clearly defective, yet because I am one day passed the 30 day return policy, I don't know if I should mail it back or not. I am a frequent customer of Amazon, but I will never again buy an appliance or any thing that requires more time and use to make sure it is of quality. I am hoping to get a prompt response from Amazon and that they will refund my cost.