tips and tricks Archives - Ice Cream Guide

Here are our top picks for ice cream makers based on what is new in 2017 and coming in early 2018. Ice cream makers come in several styles for different needs. Everything from hand-crank ice cream makers, to commercial soft serve dispensers, to counter top ice cream makers that include a freezer to cool the ingredients. Depending on your needs you will want to consider different models. Ask yourself What Kind of Ice Cream Maker Am I Looking For?

Ice Cream Maker Options

Meet Chuck. He likes to make ice cream very occasionally for get-togethers or parties at his place. He wants something cheap that can make a decent amount of ice cream so he can feed his friends. He chose the bucket style ice cream maker. Nostalgia and Hamilton Beach are popular brands for this type of maker. They are rather cheap and simple and can make a lot of ice cream while the party is hopping.

Meet Jane. She is a casual home ice cream maker, making a new batch every couple weeks. She considered some of the simple ice cream makers by Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach. They have a built in the freezer to cool the ingredients and sit on her counter in the kitchen. She gets to control the ingredients and experiment with new flavors without breaking the bank.

Meet Sarah. Sarah wants to make ice cream for her kids and husband from time to time. Sarah does the cooking in the house and likes to bake too. She has a loyal pink KitchenAid mixer on her counter and so it made sense for her to choose the KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment. She puts the bowl in the freezer the day before she wants to make ice cream and attaches it to the mixer when it is time to make ice cream. The kids love helping!

Meet Shantel. Shantel owns a coffee shop and wants to experiment with adding homemade ice cream and gelato to her menu. She makes everything she can in her business and so buying a consistent and reliable ice cream maker is important, but she doesn’t want to go with a large bulk or bulky machine. She considered the Wynter, Breville, and Lello bands. All three make decent size batches, they are very reliable and very consistent.

Meet Chris. He added ice cream to his coffee shop menu a couple years ago and he wants to add gelato now. He really needs space to make, store, and display multiple flavors and varieties. He considered the Lello and Wynter ice cream makers (which also make gelato and sorbets) and also purchased a display freezer.

Soft Serve Ice Cream Makers

Soft serve ice cream is common in restaurants, cafeterias, hotel lobbies, pools, and even cruise ships. Soft serve ice cream is a favorite style of simple ice cream in a cone.

Soft service ice cream makers are different than hard ice cream makers since they mix the ingredients, control temperature, and serve soft serve ice cream.

There are a number of popular brands of these machines and the best way to choose one for your business is to consider the amount of ice cream you need to provide, the number of flavors you want ready, and whether the customer will serve themselves.

Popular brands include Sniserv, Spaceman, and Stoelting.