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VonShef Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Sorbet Maker Machine 1.5-QT - VonShef
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Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker - Cuisinart

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VonShef Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Sorbet Maker Machine 1.5-QT - VonShef
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Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker - Cuisinart
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eComparisons Score
eComparisons ScoreThe "Comparison Score" Is calculated based on the average number of times this item was compared with other items in this category by our users
7.6
9
User Rating (Amazon)
User Rating (Amazon)

Five Star Reviews:

58%
Great machine!
February 16, 2017
Really great machine. Works well. I made ice cream with almond milk and I was a bit worried it wouldn't turn out, but it did. It was so good! I added eggs and made a custard so maybe that helped. Tomorrow I'll try with no eggs and see how that goes. I love this. I can't eat dairy, coconut, or bananas, so now I can finally make some ice cream I can eat!- You can only make one batch of ice cream a day. It will get frozen to the sides and the spinner wont spin anymore.- It only comes with a couple of recipes, but you can find recipes online or invent your own.- It really is very quiet- The material it's made of isn't very heavy duty, but it's great for the price. I don't expect it to fall apart or anything.
... far I've made frozen yogurt twice and couldn't be happier with the result
February 14, 2017
So far I've made frozen yogurt twice and couldn't be happier with the result. Just as good as my favorite Haagen Daas(spelling?). This machine is not noisy. Of course it's a machine and it's running...nowhere near as loud as the sound of a blender or food processor. The yogurt took only 10 minutes to churn. We used frozen unsweetened strawberries, yogurt and very little sugar and ate it right after churning. The machine is kinda cute and stubby and lightweight. The bowl which has to be frozen overnight freezes well. A tip- before pouring the ice cream mixture into the frozen bowl, be sure to have the machine running or the mixture will freeze upon contact with the frozen bowl. This happened to us, but no problem, just let the bowl defrost on the counter and enjoyed the melting frozen yogurt.
Make sure your freezer will go cold enough!
February 12, 2017
I have an upright freezer and it took me 3 tries before I got my freezer cold enough for this to work, but oh wow! Once I did, I made Cranberry Sorbet...and it was delicious! I've never needed my freezer much below the point of keeping the meat & veggies in it frozen and had to turn it from a #3 to a #6...we'll see what the energy use is with the decrease in temperature, but having just found out I am totally milk intolerant, making my own "ice cream" and sorbets is the only way I can enjoy these frozen treats now!
Handy tool
July 25, 2016
I love this ice cream maker. It works well--makes the ice cream in about 30 minutes. You have to be near the kitchen, because when the ice cream is done, the motor shuts down--kind of grinds like it will burn itself out if you don't turn it off. I scoop the ice cream into small, individual-size freezer containers if we aren't going to eat it right away. It makes just the right amount for the two of us to enjoy for about three or four days. I am definitely getting my money's worth because I make coconut milk ice "cream" which is very expensive at the store. I think three batches of ice cream have more than paid for this machine. We make low- or no-carb frozen desserts and are having fun experimenting with the recipes.
The best appliance in my kitchen
November 29, 2015
Several years ago I purchased a frozen yogurt machine, used it almost daily, wore it out and needed a new one. I was thrilled to find this replacement on Amazon. The VonShef is very similar to the original machine (private label, perhaps?) although upgraded due to passage of time. I love this machine and still use it several times a week. I haven't tried making ice cream, so can't comment on anything but yogurt. I'm puzzled by the negative reviews as I find this machine easy to use and clean and it makes the best frozen yogurt ever, in my humble opinion. The bowl lives in my freezer. After using and washing it, back into the freezer it goes and is always at the ready. There are tons of recipes on the internet for yogurt and I adapted ideas and instructions and came up with my ideal chocolate flavor. I make two or three batches of the mix at a time and put them in the fridge. When I'm ready to make frozen yogurt, I place one batch in the freezer for about an hour to really make it cold (but not frozen), put it into the frozen bowl of the machine and let it process for about 10 minutes. Perfect yogurt and enough for about two servings.One reviewer wanted to make non-dairy for her grandson but couldn't find recipes using soy, almond or cashew milk. When adapting recipes to come up with my ideal, I substituted cashew milk and it makes a very creamy product. Of course, the frozen yogurt has dairy yogurt, but if the reviewer wanted to make ice cream or other frozen dessert, try using cashew milk in the recipes instead.I'm addicted to frozen yogurt and used to spend time and lots of money patronizing the local frozen yogurt store. The chocolate flavors were iffy and now I save time, lots of money and have exactly the flavor I want any time, every time.
New Ice Cream Maker
June 16, 2015
I have been looking for an Electric Ice cream Maker and read the reviews on the VonShef and liked what I saw. I tried making a Fat-Free version of Ice Cream, which wasn't too bad, but not the greatest, I used fat free skim milk and almond milk. I have since gotten new ingredients to try and make a "Better Fat-Free" version, using Fat free 1/2 & 1/2. The taste of my fat-free ice cream wasn't bad, I used Almond extract. I just remembered I did have a bit of a problem when I put all of the ingredients into the frozen bowl. It had started to freeze before I could put the paddle into it, but a little ingenuity and I solved that problem. So next time I'll assemble all ingredients and set up the Ice cream maker and then pour the liquids through the shoot.
74%
Works Great
February 12, 2017
This is my first ice cream maker. I had been looking into getting one for a while and was suckered into getting this one from all of the positive reviews. I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed. The machine is a little noisy, but that's the only drawback that I can really think of. The first ice cream we tried to make was a twist on Ben n Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream made from real cherries and dark chocolate chips. The ice cream froze well and was absolutely delicious. Since then we've also made blueberry cheesecake with a graham cracker twist running through it and a chocolate brownie that didn't last two nights! We usually store the ice cream in a glass loaf pan for easy scooping or in recycled Talenti containers for easy portion control. Either way, it makes fantastic ice cream that you can make as healthy (or unhealthy!) as you want, and overall it's much cheaper than constantly buying pints of ice cream in the store. Definitely worth the price and I would definitely recommend it.
Great little kitchen gadget and I usually hate kitchen gadgets!
January 8, 2017
I love this little machine! I was skeptical about this to begin with but my son wanted it for Christmas and he loves ice cream. I figured it wasn't too expensive (but I sure didn't need another useless machine clogging up the works in my kitchen....I'm looking at you bread machine and you too, food saver). At any rate, I've made several batches of ice cream and this little guy works great. I haven't used any of the recipes from the Cuisinart manual but I have used various recipes from online sources. You need to make sure your ingredients are fully cooled in the refrigerator before adding and the bowl needs to be completely frozen. So there is some planning required especially if you are using a recipe that requires a stove-top custard base. The machine is loud but it only takes about 20-25 minutes. The ice cream comes out the consistency of soft serve or frozen yogurt. If you want it hard, just put it in the freezer and it will harden to traditional ice cream. Tip: make sure you have plenty of plastic containers on hand for ice cream storage. This machine makes better ice cream than I have ever gotten anywhere else and I don't feel too bad about my family pounding bowls of ice cream because I know exactly what they're eating (cream, eggs, real sugar, genuine flavors) as opposed to a chemical s#$t storm.
Ohhhhhh yeaahhhhh!!!
July 4, 2016
O-M-G i can't say enough good things about this ice cream maker. Thanks to the feedback and suggestions from other reviewers, i've had delicious ice cream every day since i bought it! i didn't try the recipes that came with because i bought Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book, and have loved everything i made from it. i've also been inspired to create or tweak some recipes of my own (hello lavender chocolate chip - or - persian pistachio!) I've recommended this to several friends, family, and even strangers - just be aware that the price seems to jump up and down as much as $30! today it's $54.99 (which is what i paid) and yet a week ago it was round $85 - whaaa?!!

(pictured - fresh strawberry from the farmer's market made me delirious!)
Five Stars
February 12, 2016
In love width this machine
Excellent ice cream machine, know how to take care of it, you will be rewarded.
November 22, 2014
This is a very good ice cream machine for its class (home use, freezer bowl). I'd owned the 1 1/2 quart Cusinart model and liked it a lot. Then someone in my house put the drum in the dishwasher and I found out when I tried to make a batch of ice cream that wouldn't freeze. Using the 1 1/2 quart model I was always scaling down recipes or hovering over the ice cream as it churned with a spoon, stealing spoonfuls ice cream as it threatened to overflow the ice cream maker because I overfilled it (not that I really minded that). I like the 2 quart size for those reasons,

If you've never owned one of these types of ice cream makers before, here's an overview. There are two main parts as far as what makes the ice cream. There is a paddle and a drum, aka the freezer bowl. The night before you intend to make ice cream (or earlier) park your clean freezer bowl in the coldest part of your freezer overnight. This is essential that the bowl be frozen through with no sloshing sound. This drum is what chills the ice cream.

When you're ready to make the ice cream, put the frozen freezer bowl into the base of the ice cream machine, put the paddle in and put the top on, start the machine and then pour your cold (repeat COLD) ice cream mixture into the freezer bowl as it runs. The cold of the freezer bowl chills the ice cream mixture, the paddle scraps the sides of the freezer bowl as it turns which scrapes off the freezing ice cream incorporating it back into the ice cream mixture and churns air into the mixture. Let the machine run for 20ish minutes. Give it a peak every once in a while because watched ice cream never freezes ;). When it's done, you'll hear the motor struggle a bit more because of the thickness of the ice cream, the ice cream will be soft serve consistency and will be done as far as its adventure with the machine. From here you could eat it as soft serve, or scoop out the ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze it for a few hours. let the freezer bowl warm up a little, then wash by hand with warm soapy water and a soft sponge or cloth.

The negative comments that people have left seem mostly to be due to them not understanding how this machine works or that they expected something different, or both. Yes, you have to freeze the bowl overnight -- that's how this type of ice cream machine chills ice cream. It doesnt have its own refridgeration unit. If you want that, then pay 5x+ the price for a different type of machine. No, this machine doesn't produce solid hard ice cream -- it produces soft serve consistency because it churns and you can't churn rock solid ice cream. And You MUST WASH THE FREEZER BOWL BY HAND. This isn't a "to keep it looking it's best" issue like you sneak your pots and pans in the dishwasher even though you shouldn't -- the heat from the dishwasher will destroy the freezing liquid in the bowl and the bowl will never make ice cream again. You can tell that a well meaning relative put your bowl in the dishwasher because the bowl will still sound sloshy even though it's been freezing for days.

The It Never Froze My Ice Cream comments -- the person either put their freezer bowl in the dishwasher or the bowl wasn't cold enough. Or the freezer bowl was defective.
The It Won't Make Ice Cream Immediately, It Makes Soft Serve...comments -- that's true, but that's how this machine works.

Some have commented that they have to let the finished ice cream (after being I the freezer) sit on the counter for 15 minutes until they can scoop it. My suggestions are: 1. Use more fat in your recipe, 2. Let it churn more air as the machine runs, 3. Know that most commercial ice creams have a ton of what they call "overhead" which is basically air in the ice cream. You may notice that the same volume of two different brands of ice cream weigh differently. Ultra premium brands like Haagen Daaz have little overhead compared to, say most grocery store brands. Lower quality ice creams also have thickeners and stabilizers that hold the ice cream together but keep it from really forming solid. Ever leave a bowl of ice cream on the counter overnight and the next day it's a little melted but mostly in the same shape? That's the stabilizers. All of this makes commercial ice cream soft and easy to scoop even though it's frozen. Take heart that better quality ice creams like the one you are making are naturally harder when frozen, and therefore may take a sturdy ice cream scoop and perhaps a little muscle to scoop. On properly made ice creams (enough fat, enough churning) I've never made a batch too hard to scoop straight from the freezer.

In short, this machine works beautifully and its make quality ice cream. I'm very happy with it.

Four Star Reviews:

11%
Great for the price. But no spare bowls as advertised.
July 5, 2017
This works great for what it is designed to do: consistently churn ice cream materials as they "freeze" in the freezer bowl. It's a great price and makes an adequate amount of ice cream. It's appears to be easy to take apart and clean. It's not exactly quiet but that shouldn't be much of an problem. I can see that it will do its job fairly quickly as well so it's not like it's noisy for hours on end anyway. My only issue is that the freezer bowl is not a replaceable item, or even an option to purchase one additionally (or separately). I had to return mine because the bowl arrived with scratch marks inside and they don't have the capacity to replace just that part. What confuses me is that in the description for the item it says "SPARE BOWL NOW AVAILABLE - See offer above." but there is no offer anywhere else on the page and, after contacting them about my issue, they emailed me directly to confirm that I cannot purchase just the bowl. Very odd. This is why I thought they might be able to just swap out the bowl. Additionally, the price I originally paid was VERY reasonable ($25) but the very next day the price went up to $35 and it is now $38 so if I were to want it replaced I would have had to pay the higher price as they can't exchange the item. Returns only.
not a bad lil machine for $20.00
June 1, 2017
I had bought a $40.00 machine and all it made was very expensive cold milk. Luckily I was able to return it. I was skeptical about a $20.00 machine. I did learn a few tricks. I made coffee chip ice cream. I mixed the ingredients and put them in the freezer for about an hour in the frozen crock. And after 30 mins of churning, returned the full crock to the freezer for a few more hours. Finally I have edible coffee ice cream. I would have given a 5 star if it were more heavy duty. The bottom part is plastic and completely hollow , no insulation. .
So far its working great! I have found that if I start making ...
April 7, 2016
Bought this to turn my protein shakes into delicious delicious ice cream. So far its working great! I have found that if I start making my ice cream right after taking the bowl out of the freezer I get quite a bit frozen to the sides... Maybe my freezer is just a little cold but ehh, normally I just let the bowl sit out at room temp for about half and hour to 45 mins and it works out perfect.
I do recommend this product
August 14, 2015
Just got my unit over the weekend and made fresh strawberry ice cream last night from a recipe I got from Epicurious or recipes.com. I downloaded a lot of basic ones, because the manual only features 6; Ice cream (3), sorbet, custard and frozen yogurt. The ingredients are in metric, so be prepared to go online to convert them to imperial measurements. (ie -200 ml. = 6.34 oz.) They also call for confectioners sugar as opposed to granulated, as opposed to all that I found online. I also bought an ice cream recipe book, used, .04 cents plus shipping from Amazon.You have to be careful, because many recipes that I found are for the big White Mountain freezers. This machine only makes 1.25 qts, 40 oz.Most recipes require that you have a blender or cook the base first. This is an ingenious and simple machine. One warning, if you are weak, you will have trouble trying to release the lid from the motor unit, as the clips are difficult to open to separate them for cleaning. Also, the inner freezer bucket stays frozen for hours after it's been emptied, and you have to wait for it to warm up before washing it. I do recommend this product.
It will spoil you !!
May 14, 2015
This ice cream maker arrived right on time and well packaged. If you follow the basic instructions and adapt some ice cream recipes for its size, you will enjoy real homemade treats. The inside canister keeps a good temperature, as long as you keep it in the freezer for a good 6 to 8 hrs before using it.
I scream, you scream. . .
January 11, 2015
VonShef Ice Cream maker is compact, manageable and simple to use. I purchased one as a Christmas gift for my Mom. It arrived intact in a timely manner, and is great in most ways. The two things I would mention are: 1) It is a product from the UK, and the recipes are metric. You will need to convert. This is pretty easily done, though, with all of the information available on-line; and 2) Please remove the lid from the motor unit right away when you're done making your ice cream! If you don't, the ice-cream will seep in between and they will get stuck together!!! (Don't try to remove the inner ice-cream bowl from the outer bowl, though, until it has thawed or warmed up sufficiently.)
15%
Loud machine
June 16, 2017
This is the first electric ice cream maker I have owned so I can only make a review based on this one. I have used it 4 times. Each time it has made the ice cream in 45 min to an hour. I used the vanilla recipe from the book and it was really good. My "4" rating is because it is so loud it is hard to be in the same room with it. Other reviews from other machines remarked on how quiet it was and now I understand. Of course there are several hundred dollars in price difference.
Not too bad
May 30, 2017
I am no in love with this item as I thought I would be. I do like it very much, it is easier to use than my old ceder bucket top motor ice cream maker. I find that it does not thicken the ice cream as well as the cheaper ceder bucket one. I do love the finish and the convenience of this machine. The cord stores neatly in the bottom. It does make good ice cream, but you do have to put it in the freezer for the best results. Even with its minor flaws it is a great addition to my kitchen and you don't need ice. I do wish it had a cover for the opening at the top. There is nothing like homemade ice cream. I may have to run it longer than 25 minutes to get a thicker consistency to serve as a soft serve.
Love Homemade Ice Cream
May 11, 2017
Worked as promised. I left it in the freezer overnight on the coldest shelf. Maybe it was too cold. A layer of super-frozen ice cream formed around the walls and bottom of the tank, maybe 1/16th inch thick. I'll raise the freezer temp next time I try this and see if that helps.
It makes some great ice cream
January 18, 2016
It makes some great ice cream. I would recommend following the recipes in the booklet first and than make sure custom recipes mimic them. My mom's peppermint ice cream never set, but it is a very cream heavy recipe. Expect everything you make to seem too runny at first, but once you drop it in the freezer for an hour you'll have awesome ice cream. The almond espresso recipe was especially good. Try to candy your almonds first to give them a little extra crunch.
Awesome ice cream, I little room to improve on the churner
July 29, 2015
I few people have claimed it doesn't chill enough. I have no problems at all and each batch finishes with plenty of "chill power" left to go. Your freezer needs to be well below freezing to get it cold enough. I keep it in the freezer all the time so it is ready to go. Simply rinse with water when done and put it back in the freezer. My friends go nuts when I have ice cream, You can't buy better ice cream if you follow a good recipe. (thanks to Alton Brown's recipes(I can say that here, can't I?)) The only gripes I have are 1) I wish the churning paddle scrapped closer to the walls of the bowl, and 2) this is my biggest gripe, no way does this crank out 2qts. Not even close. My first batch of ice cream was strawberry and I poured in about 1-1/2 qts of batter into it. When I came to check on it, I discovered that the batter expands as it freezes and half frozen ice cream was oozing and flowing out the top and all down the sides. Now I'm standing there with a spoon eating ice cream like Lucille Ball in a chocolate factory trying desperately to keep up with the overflow. I can think of worse things, but each batch only fills 2 and 2/3's pint size containers. Not even close to 2 qts.

Three Star Reviews:

10%
I must say I am a bit disappointed with this Ice-cream maker
September 16, 2017
After having it for a few weeks now and having tried three different recipes, I must say I am a bit disappointed with this Ice-cream maker. I like the fact that it is easy to disassemble and to clean, but the plastic blade does not gather up the icecream very well from the bowl walls. I tried a recipe with mascarpone cheese and it was impossible for me to make the ice-cream, as the plastic blade would almost immediately get stuck, all the bowl wall was covered by the frozen mixture. Yes, I poured the mix little by little through the opening and yes, it was already turned on. Not sure if this specific recipe was not appropriate for this ice-cream maker or it is just the ice-cream maker not doing its job properly, in all honesty. All in all, the results I have got with my ice-cream have not been as good as I was expecting, but oh well... I am using granulated sugar instead of inverted sugar/syrup, which might also be a part of the problem. If you just want to have a toy for kids I guess this is the right product for the price. If you want to get gourmet creamy ice-cream, I would say you will only get that with a expensive professional pressure ice-cream maker. I will keep trying though, let's see if I get better results with the VonShef.
Verdict Still Out
August 16, 2017
I'm actually withholding my views as I've only used it once and I'm not sure about the freezer yet. I placed three stars for now but that will most likely change. It could very easily be a one, based on my first use, but I want to make sure the problems were not of my own doing. I'm going to have to use this item a few times to see if it stands up to its billing.The first use, after leaving the freezer bowl in my freezer for almost exactly eight hours, then letting my mixture spin for about 45 minutes, resulted in a very cold, but still very liquid ice cream soup. I replaced the bowl back in the freezer overnight. The next morning I had a very HARD bowl of great tasting stuff. (Hard to call it ice CREAM)I don't know how much of this is my fault. I need to experiment with a number of variables before a proper review of this item can be rendered. Watch This Space.
Very loud and disappointing
August 12, 2017
I have only used this once and it seemed to make more of a frozen yogurt than actual ice cream like shown in the photos. Maybe its because I used coconut cream and milk instead of regular milk. I assume it will work better with regular milk. Either way once I froze it it was very hard. Harder than frozen hagan daaz ice cream. Again maybe it was just my recipe so Ill give it 3 stars but I dont think I would buy this again if I had the chance. It was also very loud.
Great little machine but...
October 16, 2016
This is a great machine. Used it several times and really like it. Compact, easy to clean. Found some recipes online as the recipes for the machine are metric(to much trouble to convert). As husband is diabetic, needed no sugar, very little carbs. Made ice cream, allowed to hard freeze in silicone cupcake forms, popped out of form and vacuum sealed. Great portion size, no worry about freezer burn. Would have been 5 star but machine came with a lot of scratches in freezer bowl and residue was evident in several places where it had been used and returned. I did pay for new but got used. Left feedback to seller but no response. Will not buy from this seller again! Was not going through the whole refund routine, washed it thoroughly. Feel seller could have sent new freezer bowl. Amazon is great with customer service and returns(I have returned things) but they need to verify condition when returned items arrive. If it is damaged or obviously used, needs to be sold as that.
I'm sure there are better options out there
February 1, 2016
This gets stuck for me a lot, but I can't bring myself to purchase anything fancier for my rare ice cream making indulgences. It works, but I can't just leave it running and trust that it will do the job. Will continue to use, but with mild expectations.
They did make my return easy. I bought a Cuisinart and it is significantly ...
December 5, 2015
Lasted a few months and then the motor broke. I bought a second one and the motor fritzed 1/2 way through the first batch. They did make my return easy. I bought a Cuisinart and it is significantly better. The Cuisinart is quite and much easier to clean. The Vonshef just the paddle spins while the Cuisinart rotates the bowl. I've found it to make much creamer icecream.
4%
Nice size but VERY loud
June 22, 2017
This makes decent ice cream fairly fast. It is extremely loud while it is running. Our previous Cuisinart Ice cream maker was almost silent. I am glad I bought the extended warranty in case the motor goes out since this sounds like a Harley on my counter!
Bigger but loses more ice cream down the drain.
April 22, 2016
Just like the smaller version, but makes more and takes up more counter space. Ice cream is becoming a staple in our household since we are all on a no carb, high fat diet. This makes it easy.

UPDATED: Previous review continues BUT am now finding that this machine is different from the smaller version. In the smaller maker, the interior paddle moves while in the larger one it is stable and the freezer container moves. Unfortunately in this larger unit, there is a considerable gap at the bottom of the paddle and the bottom of the freezer unit so that we lose a considerable amount of ice cream that is frozen completely to the bottom, It just ends up down the drain when I wash it out. Have to start with more cream to end up with enough to eat.
Where's my ice-cream?
April 12, 2016
I bought this machine because of the reviews on it, but I should have payed more attention to the negative reviews. I made a custard-based ice-cream today and it did not freeze properly. I made sure to leave the base in the freezer for over 24 hours and when I took it out and shook it, I heard no water, which means it is frozen completely. After I made the custard, I placed it in the fridge overnight and it was very cold. The machine started to thicken the batch but it never got to a soft-serve texture....it was still very runny. I also noticed that it did not scrape the sides very well and I blame the performance of the ice cream on this fact alone. I'm not very happy with the purchase so far, but I will try one more time to see if it does what it is supposed to do.
Worked Great - twice
July 2, 2013
I bought this for the 2012 holiday season, made a batch of ice cream in December and a second batch for my daughter's birthday in April. They turned out fine. When I tried making the third batch in June for another birthday, the unit turned but no longer chilled to help maintain the temperature of the pre-frozen bucket and the mixture never set up.
Cuisinart was fine with replacing the unit but I'm out an additional $20 for having them ship the new unit to me and shipping the defective one back. Not to mention the spoiled batch of ice cream and the hassle of dealing with the return.
My last two "old-fashioned" electric ice cream makers lasted about 10 years each. I expected better quality from the Cuisinart brand name. I'll let you know if the replacement holds up any better.
A few helpful hints
May 26, 2012
Here are a few pros and cons as well as a few helpful hints just incase anyone is experiencing some of the same problems.
PROS: This machine is easier, less messy, and cleans up easier than the salt and ice method of ice cream making.
CONS: You must plan 24 hours ahead so that your bowl is frozen. This machine does not make solid ice cream, soft serve at best. The paddle does not fit in the bowl tight enough so the walls don't get scrapped very well; this creates a more dense ice cream.
TIPS: 1. If you have room, keep bowl in your freezer so you don't need to plan. 2. Only make 1 quart of ice cream, it will freeze better. 3. Chill your ice cream mixture over night in the refrigerator or chill it in the freezer for 1-2 hours (keep an eye on it so it doesn't freeze). 4. While making the ice cream, manually press the paddle down and to one side to get a full scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl. I do this about every 5 minutes. 5. After about 20 minutes you will be at soft serve consistency, it probably won't get much better than this. Take the bowl out, leaving the paddle in place, and cover with plastic wrap. Put the bowl with paddle in your freezer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, put bowl/paddle back in the machine and run it for a few seconds pushing down on the paddle to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Repeat this as many times as you want until you get the results you are looking for.
After reading this, it should be clear why I am only giving this machine 3 stars. Best of luck!

Two Star Reviews:

6%
Two Stars
March 20, 2017
not what I thought was poor quaily
It's already broken.
July 30, 2016
I bought this ice cream maker at the end of November, have used it 5 times, and it's already broken. I poured in my coconut milk and cocoa and immediately it. Again to make a strange noise, like loose parts in the motor. Then it stopped and will not come back on. So disappointed! I would really appreciate a contact from the manufacturer.
Dieters & Protein Pros Beware... Everyone else can buy it!
May 11, 2016
I purchased this unit hoping to turn my super nutritious diet protein shakes into soft serve. Unfortunately the design of this product is not conducive to use with costly protein shakes or for dieters looking to eat every ounce of ice cream. The inner bowl is placed in the freezer for 8 hours, then when you add liquid, the mixing blade moves the liquid around. It takes 15 - 20 minutes for the temperature of the bowl to permeate the liquid to the consistency of soft serve. When you remove the ice cream from the frozen bowl, there is still approximately 1/8" of liquid that is frozen solid to the bowl and can not be removed even by scraping. Even after sitting on the counter 30 minutes the liquid was still frozen solid to the bowl. That's how good the frozen bowl works!After sitting out overnight the liquid melted and the wasted mix measured 1 1/2 cups! If you are making sorbet out of frozen water and you don't care about the waste, this is a good unit. However if you are using expensive ingredients, this is a good fit for you.
I would recommend making small amounts and eating it immediately
October 27, 2015
I thought the blade moved too slowly and so the cream froze to fast along the edges. Also when it changed directions the lid came off every time. It does not latch well. The ice cream was chrystally and not smooth and creamy. I would recommend making small amounts and eating it immediately.
Doesn't last long...
May 15, 2015
Well, it works great for the time that it does last, but after less than a year it started rattling and now it won't turn on at all. To make matters worse, the fastening screws are triangle heads, meaning I can't even open it up to see what the problem is. What a ripoff. That being said, we've all spent $35 on something that was SUPPOSED to only give us a few weeks of enjoyment, so I'm not furious. But I do expect my electronics to last long enough that I don't have to keep restocking every year.Here's my review when it was working:It works fast-ish, it's easy as hell to figure out, and the consistency of your ice cream will be what you expect from ice cream. Overall, it's not a bad ice cream maker. It just doesn't last as long as, say, your blender or your waffle maker.
What an awful piece of what came out of the south end of the bull walking north
January 31, 2015
The plastic cover is cheap, cheap, cheap plastic that is brittle and shattered the first time I used it. The paddles are also cheap plastic and the motor is so weak it can hardly turn them. Needless to say, it barely made edible frozen yogurt.
3%
Paddle broke first time I used it
March 27, 2017
Blade broke first time I used it. Didn't have nuts or anything heavy in the mix either. I think there was probably a bubble in the plastic that weakened the connection between the vane and the cylindrical frame. But that connection is ridiculously thin, so it is at least partially a design flaw, not just a fluke.
Impulse buyers beware...
February 12, 2017
The machine is fine: it looks nice and feels fairly sturdy. But it's just not worth buying, in my opinion. The ice cream it produces is fine, but a little icy, because the freezer bowl simply can't get things frozen fast enough to prevent ice crystal formation. Perhaps you could get over this if using the machine saved you money vs. store bought. Not so. To follow one of the recipes in the book that comes with the machine, I had to buy nearly $30 (!) worth of ingredients (and I wasn't buying the fancy stuff, mind you). This to produce about the same amount of ice cream as I could have bought for $5 at the store—and which would have actually been nicer because it was made professionally. If you're dead set on making ice cream at home, this isn't a bad product, but for most people it's just not worth the time, hassle, and expense.
Extremely frustrating. A huge tease.
July 11, 2016
I really want to love this machine, there are so many great things about it, but one major flaw for me: the mixing arm doesn't reach/scrape the sides of the bowl perfectly, so by the end of churning time, there's a staggering 1/2" of frozen-rock-solid ice cream (which hasn't effectively been lifted and churned) around the sides and the base of the bowl. This frozen-solid layer starts to form almost immediately when I turn the machine on. I find this infuriating and unforgivable, because the main impetus of buying my own machine was to save money over store-bought ice cream - and this thing consistently wastes an an entire serving's worth of ingredients. Sometimes I have the patience to stand there for 15 minutes carefully picking at the frozen layer, and if I manage to get most of it off, it's typically 3/4-1 full cup of ice cream's worth! The only solution I've found to this issue is to hover over the machine while it's working and lower a spoon in, holding against the side of the bowl, and consistently (for 20 minutes straight) move it up and down and all around to manually scrape down this layer - essentially, I'm acting as another mixing arm. Needless to say, this is super frustrating, as I was expecting the machine to do the work, not me.

But I must list the pros, to be fair:
- cannister freezes really well, and in my freezer, in far less than 8 hours. It retains the cold very well, and is typically still frozen solid by the time I'm done making my ice cream, even in 80+ degree weather.
- the ice cream that I do manage to get is great (but this is my first home maker so I have nothing to compare to.)
- beautiful design
- slot on the bottom of the machine allows you to pack away the cord

So I'm really happy that I can make my own ice cream at home now - and this is my first home ice cream maker so again I don't have much to compare to, but overall, I'm just really disappointed in how much manual correction is required from me to prevent waste.
not worth the money
January 24, 2015
I love this ice cream maker but I order in September but really started using it in October I use it maybe once a week sometimes less.
I plug it in this morning on 1/24/15 and it would not run nothing sounds like motor. Just dead want do anything but make a noise at beginning.
It really is bad to buy something and it last less than a year. So for 3 months i use this product it is not worth the money. I am going to try to notify the company. But it is probably a lost cause. My daughter was going to order one I told her not to now
Won't work unless your freezer can be set at -17 degrees!
January 5, 2015
This machine only works if your freezer gets at least to 0 DEGREES FARENHEIT (NOT CELSIUS). This is VERY cold (equivalent of negative 17 degrees celsius)-- considerably below freezing. My freezer is a high efficiency freezer and does not go that low. This information should be on the product description, but you only find out after buying the machine and reading the whole booklet (it is hidden in the middle). Saying it makes ice cream in 30 minutes is false advertising, because it takes 6-22 hours to freeze the freezer tub (if it freezes at all, which mine never did even after days in the freezer). Once you make one batch you have to re-freeze the tub before making another batch, which means waiting another 6-22 hours, then the 30 minutes of churning. And the consistency after churning is only like soft-serve, (or so the instruction book says-- my attempts only resulted in liquid). My recommendation: stick to the old-fashioned ice and rock-salt method. It only takes an hour, doesn't require the electricity of having your freezer set at negative 17 for days on end, and gives a better consistency ice-cream.

One Star Reviews:

15%
Don't waste your money.
July 17, 2017
Unfortunately this product is a waste of money. It has a difficult time churning ice cream with its plastic blade without the lid coming off. Very disappointed in the quality.
One Star
July 7, 2017
didn't freeze the mixture.. returned.
the container is not easily removed from the bottom bucket to remove the slush ...
June 19, 2017
I was very hopeful that this maker would work well, but, unfortunately, I tried twice to make ice cream, and neither batch froze into more than a slush. Their are faults with the construction. The inner container that you freeze completely defrosts, during the ice cream making time, it should not. Also, the container is not easily removed from the bottom bucket to remove the slush easily, you have to turn the whole thing upside down to get it out. The inner container should have some handles on the top edge. Don't waste your time and money on this.
Takes three or four times longer than my hand crank ice cream maker and the end product is not nearly as good. I bought it as a
February 6, 2017
Flimsy materials, especially the paddle. Takes three or four times longer than my hand crank ice cream maker and the end product is not nearly as good. I bought it as a gift for my granddaughter and I worked with her on her first batch. I was extremely disappointed with the product.
Don't buy this unless you have a commercial freezer
June 25, 2016
This product requires a zero degree freezer and I dont know anyone who has one like that in their house. Very disappointed the info didn't specify that. Total waste of money.
Only lasted two weeks.
February 21, 2016
Stopped working after two weeks.
4%
Defected
September 15, 2017
The tub wall turns to liquid in no time regardless how long you keep it in freezer(i tried 2 weeks) therefor this machine is useless.
I was never able to make any ice cream not even once.
Does not work
July 4, 2017
Worked once kind of. Second use did not freeze recipe. I followed instructions on freezing bowl in freezer for over 24 hours, but did not freeze/make ice cream. It started to, but did not complete process. Want to return
Cuisinart is NOT What it Once Was
January 24, 2017
This was given to me as a Christmas gift. I have tried to make ice cream in it twice without success. Per the instructions it should make ice cream after freezing the tub for 6 hours. My freezer temp is -13 degrees. It's supposed to take 30 minutes. Totally liquid after 45 minutes. So I read all the online comments some of which advised that the freezer will not make ice cream if the tub is only frozen for 6 hours. Freezing for 18 hours was recommended. So I tried that plus I put the ice cream mixture in the cold drawer for 24 hours. Still no ice cream after 45 minutes of running the machine. I'm going to try again. The tub has been in the freezer now for WEEKS!! If it doesn't work this go round it's going back!
The arm inside broke after one use and I cannot ...
November 18, 2016
The arm inside broke after one use and I cannot find a way to get that part replaced even though I purchased a 3 year warranty
Not stainless steel.
October 27, 2016
Touted as stainless steel, but the freezer bowl is aluminum. Deceptive. Many people do not want to prepare foods in aluminum because of the health hazards. They should clearly state the bowl you actually make the ice cream in is not stainless steel. Called the company, and they said the bowl is a stainless COLOR.
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Pricing info
Old Price
Old Price
Price
Price
$50.52updated: Mar 19, 2020
$54.99updated: Mar 16, 2020
from 21 sellers
Features
Answered Questions
Answered Questions
Article Number
Article Number
5060351494090
0683405166108
Brand
Brand
VonShef
Cuisinart
Color
Color
White/Silver
Silver
Height
Height
370.1 in
433.1 in
Length
Length
488.2 in
629.9 in
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Designer Habitat Ltd
Cuisinart
Model
Model
13/049
ICE-30BC
MPN
MPN
13/049
ZPV-3946
Number of Parts
Number of Parts
13/049
ZPV-3946
Product Group
Product Group
Kitchen
Kitchen
Product Type
Product Type
KITCHEN
KITCHEN
Publisher
Publisher
Designer Habitat Ltd
Cuisinart
Quantity
Quantity
1
1
Reviews
Reviews
Score
Score
8.2
9.2
Studio
Studio
Designer Habitat Ltd
Cuisinart
Weight
Weight
23.5 oz
42.3 oz
Width
Width
374.0 in
433.1 in
Feature
Feature

Voted by Great British Food Magazine as one of their Top Five Ice Cream Makers on the market

The VonShef Ice Cream Maker makes delicious home-made Ice Cream in 15-25 minutes, as well as Sherbet, Sorbet, Gelato and Frozen Yogurt. No rock salt needed!

Create your own flavors and open up a new world of taste

1.5-Quart capacity double insulated freezer bowl. Bowl Dimensions: Overall Height - 5.9 Inches, Outer Diameter - 7 Inches, Inner Diameter - 5.1 Inches, Depth - 4.5 Inches

Low Noise (65dba). With ingredient funnel. Size: H:9.8 Inches x D:8 Inches. Easy clean accessories

Fully automatic frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream maker

Brushed stainless-steel housing; heavy-duty motor

Large ingredient spout for easily adding favorite mix-ins

Double-insulated 2-quart freezer bowl; instruction book and recipes included

Product Built to North American Electrical Standards

User Overview
  • Problem with sizes

    According to your review, the Cuisinart is 366 inches by 720 inches. That's not even going to fit in my driveway, much less my kitchen.
    Problem with sizes
    USA
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