Ivation Automatic Ice Cream Maker Machine, No Pre-freezing Necessary with Built-in Compressor, Stainless Steel Gelato & Yogurt Machine, LCD Touchscreen Control, 2 Qt

UPDATE:I have now made about 8 batches of ice cream. Love the machine. My key recommendation is to use a half teaspoon of guar gum instead of the xanthan gum as mentioned in the recipes. Here is my latest concoction - Coffee Cocoa ice cream. Heat up one cup of milk over the stove, and add 3-4 tablespoons of ground coffee. Stir for a couple of minutes, then strain out the coffee grounds by pouring the mixture into any coffee filter or filter basket. Place the coffee milk back on the stove, and then stir in 1-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and perhaps some real chocolate chips. Dissolve the power, melt the chips, and remove from the heat. Add in another cup of heavy cream, a half cup or less of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a half teaspoon of guar gum, stir thoroughly, and pour into the mixing bowl. I set mine for 44 minutes, and then scooped into a container to put in the freezer. Absolutely delicious ice cream! I really enjoy using this ice cream maker.ORIGINAL REVIEW:On the day I opened this box, I made four batches of ice cream. Here are my takes on this machine, along with lessons learned.Chocolate Chip Mint - I followed the directions exactly, and made a delicious two quarts of chocolate chip mint ice cream. Once you mix the ingredients and pour it into the container, it churns and cools for 40 minutes. The instructions call for 1 3/4 cup of heavy cream, and a quarte cup of milk. Towards the end of the 40 minutes, the ice cream was so thick that the motor would not churn it. This can be a concern, in terms of the machine burning out. But, the ice cream is edible as a soft ice cream right after this. If you keep it in the freezer for a couple of hours, it will harden a bit more. I used the xanthan gum as directed. However, guar gum is more typical for ice cream.Baily's Irish Ice Cream - Instead of milk, I used two "airplane size" bottles of Bailys Irish Cream, and a bit more from a regular bottle. I also used the recommended 1/4 cup of sugar for a batch of ice cream. This had two issues. The ice cream was like silly putty, and very sweet. So, I took half of it and disposed of the rest, then mixed it with just heavy cream and milk and a bit of guar gum. I rechurned it and chilled it in the machine, and then back into a container in the freezer. Much better consistency and taste.Chocolate Marshmallow - I dissolved a quarter cup of pure Hershey's cocoa into a mixture of half heavy cream and half whole milk over the stove, and added in a handful of small chocolate chips, dissolving these as well. I added a quarter teaspoon of guar gum, a bit of salt, and less than a quarter cup of sugar. Since this mixture was heated, I used the default time of 60 minutes. It thickened close to the end time, and again was a bit thick for the motor to churn. But, I scooped it out and put it in the freezer. Delicious. Not gummy, and not too sweet, but great taste. I could have added perhaps a bit more than a quarter teaspoon of guar gum, which inhibits the formation of crystals in the ice cream. Oh, I also melted down a bunch of mini-marshmallows, and then stirred this into the ice cream once I put it into a container.This is my take on this ice cream maker. It makes a great product, but what is more important than the machine is how much of the various ingredients that you use. Heavy cream is expensive, so you will not be saving money compared to buying ice cream in the store. But, if you go 50-50 between heavy cream and whole milk, you still get a great end product at a lower cost. I would use guar gum instead of xanthan gum, and use less than a half teaspoon. Also perhaps use less than a half cup of sugar. I recommend this ice cream maker to anyone who is on the fence regarding getting it.

The Ivation Automatic Ice Cream Maker is a game changer for homemade ice cream enthusiasts. No pre-freezing is necessary due to its built-in compressor, making spontaneous dessert nights a breeze. The machine is simple to use, clean, and produces fantastic results consistently. This is a must-have kitchen appliance for anyone who loves fresh, homemade ice cream. Highly recommended.

The machine is so easy to use! I’m glad I caught it on sale! I nearly bought one of those ice cream makers that have a freezer bowl but this is way less work. I can make ice cream in just an hour and it’s even firm enough fresh out the machine. It is a little difficult to get all the ice cream out of the paddle because of the way it’s shaped but other than that it’s no trouble.The bowl and paddle are also super easy to clean. I only wish it had a bigger size but I can make do with this! I also wish the manufacturer or seller sold extra parts for if/when these may need to be replaced.

Easy to use and clean. I made vanilla then chocolate ice cream following the recipe in the booklet. In 45 minutes I had soft vanilla. Scooped out into container swirling in salted caramel. The chocolate ice cream I followed another recipe using Cocoa powder. Delicious! Placed both in the freezer and it hardened up and so far no ice crystals. The book recipes call for xanthan gum whisked in but it clumps up a bit. Prefer without the gum in this type of recipe. Getting the ice cream off the paddle I had to use my fingers between the blades.All in all, I highly recommend this ice cream machine.

The bowl that the ice cream is in is NOT stainless steel, so don't put it in the dishwasher it will discolor and look like its falling apart.When I purchased the product I did so with the understanding it was "stainless steel" so I guess that was just a gimmick to make you think the parts that actually touch the food is stianless steel.I called the company to ask them why they decided to make a bowl out of some easy to degrade material , they said it will be 20.00 to replace.So if your looking for stainless steel grade material for your food buy from another brand as that was just some clever marketing gimmick , as apparently its just the "color of the outside of the machine" vs what people usually think there getting when they want to find higher quality food products that is dishwasher safe.I told them they should put a big sign on the box and in the book that its not really stainless steel and its 100% NOT dishwasher safe.I doubt they will do either of those suggestions.UPDATE 12 11 2023So I finally get the expensive ALUMINUM bucket that most would assume would be stainless steel and I go to use it today.Well as Picture attached......the PADDLE that was in the box was for some other mixer.So this has been a 100% nightmare and will guarantee I'll never be buying a Ivation product at all as this is being returned.I called ivaction to see if they could overnight the CORRECT paddle they said they cannot even sell one.So go figure, they nearly misrepresent their products as "high quality stainless steel" while being made of aluminum for the parts that matter.....THEN they don't even box the items with the correct parts.Buy Cuisinart or any other brand....this company is SLOW and unconcerned about accuracy. Even the owners manual for receipts was over printed with pages upside down in chinese over the English print on some pages.....so horrible quality control.