Homemade confection for a great summer

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Published Date 6/27/2024

I scream. You scream. Especially in the summertime, we all scream for ice cream. And according to Realtor.com’s Megan Splawn, ice cream is infinitely tastier and more satisfying when you’ve made it from scratch.

“We often think of ice cream makers as the stainless steel behemoths at our local scoop shops, but those are far from most homemade machines,” she says. “While you can find professional grade models for at-home ice cream making (and they’ll cost you a few hundred dollars), one of the most well-regarded machines for in-home use costs less than $100 and will last years even with regular use.” She advises looking for mid-priced models while avoiding off-brands, as not all ice cream makers are created equal. “A cheaper model will have a weaker churn (resulting in icy ice cream) and the base may not freeze as well over time. She recommends sticking to well-known brands like Cuisinart, Breville, and KitchenAid.

The three types of ice cream makers include canister style, compressor chilled, and salt-and-ice chilled. Compressor-style ice cream machines are self-chilling and can be plugged in and start churning ice cream right away. These also have the largest capacity, although they can be bulky and expensive.

Canister-style ice cream makers mean planning ahead. They have a removable coolant-lined canister that must be frozen solid before churning. They’re great for most home ice cream makers, but do require the base to be frozen for at least 24 hours before you can churn your ice cream—and the canister takes up valuable freezer space.

Most ice cream makers crank out enough ice cream for a family gathering. Splawn’s favorite is made by Cuisinart. “It has a small footprint, taking up just one square foot of counter space but can churn a whole quart of ice cream in just 20 minutes! And even canister-style machines can do back-to-back batches—so you can make two different flavors in one afternoon.”

Splawn warns that while ice cream makers don’t have a ton of parts, freezer canisters must be washed by hand to ensure avoiding ruining the coolant. “The same goes for most compressor-style machines, some of which don’t have a removable canister at all. That makes the hand-washing process even more tedious. The good news is that many machines come with dishwasher-safe churn blades, so you only have to fuss with cleaning the freezer canister by hand,” she says.

You don’t have to make ice cream often to appreciate owning an ice cream maker, according to Splawn. “Even if you only make homemade ice cream once a year, we believe that buying an ice cream maker is worth it,” she says, and adds that her favorite model works for most homes and family sizes and can be stored easily when not in use. If you’re screaming for ice cream at a moment’s notice or plan to make ice cream a serious hobby, she says to look for a compressor model.

Breville makes one of the costlier models ($500), available at Williams-Sonoma. But for a basic but all-around great canister-style machine, consider choosing the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, $70 at Amazon.

Realtor, TBWS

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