Appliance Reviews

I ordered this ice cream maker about a week ago and got it yesterday. I immediately put the bowl in the freezer - I'm not a patient person. Then this afternoon I made the simplest recipe from the manuals that comes with the ice cream maker (the Ben & Jerry's cookbook I ordered hasn't arrived yet). It was for cookies n'cream (vanilla ice cream with crumbled oreos added during the last 5 minutes. It worked out quite well. The ice cream was soft when finished, of course, but hardened up after a few hours in the freezer. It tastes & has the exact same texture of Dreyer's cookies n'cream ice cream. All the Ben & Jerry ice creams seem to ask for eggs, and I imagine that's where they get their denser consistency. All in all, I was quite pleased.

I think that they key is having a very cold freezer. Mine is at the coldest it goes and I imagine that's why I didn't need to freeze the bowl for a whole 24 hours.

I bought this ice cream maker after seeing one like it on the food channel. I have one of those Rival brand ice cream makers that requires the salt and ice. What a mess! and loud!! This Cuisinart ice cream maker is wonderful! It is quiet compared to my old Rival and very easy to use. You keep the bowl in the freezer at all times, and when you make up a batch of ice cream, you just pour the cream in the frozen bowl and turn the button to ON. In 20 minutes or less, you have ice cream. I am very glad I bought this. I also purchased Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream & Dessert book and a Farberware Millennium ice cream scoop along with this maker and I would highly recommend those also!

I asked my husband to buy this machine for me for Christmas instead of jewelry, and have no regrets! I love all the sorbets, ice milks and ice creams that we can make. It is simple to use, and the results taste great!

My only complaint is how loud the machine is. I can't really let the machine run while we are having dinner unless I put the ice cream maker far away from the kitchen and dining room. But other than that inconvenience, I can't complain.

I would agree with the other reviewers -- use cold ingredients, and start your ice cream as soon as you take the bowl out of the freezer. I let my bowl freeze for at least two days before using it. I put it in a plastic bag, and then put a zip-loc bag of ice in the container just to be sure.

I have a hard time using all of the egg yolks and heavy cream to make true "ice cream" (although a splurge once in awhile isn't a bad thing!). I try to stick to the lower fat recipes. You can find endless recipes and ideas on the internet. I must admit that when in a hurry I just throw together some milk, half and half, real mexican vanilla, sugar, and a pinch of salt (no recipe here, just taste it to your own creaminess and sweetness level) to make ice cream for dessert. It's like having fresh soft serve. Yum!

If you would like your own ice cream maker, you can't go wrong with this machine!

Although it is a bit noisy, it is not distracting...you can watch tv and carry on with a normal conversation with it running.
Being able to do two different flavors at the same time is great..or even just double the amount of one flavor!

I would recommend this machine to anyone interested in making their own ice cream. After 25 minutes you have an ice cream with the consistency of soft serve. [Though sometimes you have to run it for longer because some ingredients add more liquid to the mixture, so naturally it won't be as firm as others. Also, for those of you complaining how you have to refreeze the bowls and run it again...you are most likely not freezing the bowls long enough in the first place. For best results, leave the bowl unused in the freezer for at least a day...that way the liquid inside is COMPLETELY frozen.]

After your ice cream is done, just put it all in an airtight container in the freezer for a half hour or so and VOILA...ice cream that rivals even Ben & Jerrys! You can make ANY flavor you want...that's the best part about it. Not enough chunks in your store bought ice cream? This is your solution, add as much as you want! Enjoy!

People are exaggerating the noise level of this machine. It is far quieter than a blender or even a hand mixer. Since it only runs for 20-25 minutes, the noise level becomes negligable. Unless it's on top of the TV you probably won't notice.

Recipes included with the machine are delicious. Be sure and use pasturized in-shell eggs and try replacing sugar with Splenda for a sugar-free treat.

It also looks nice displayed on the kitchen counter.

Well I purchased this ice cream maker after reading the reviews and after having gone through the old fashion type with Ice and Salt I purchased this along with the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream book and do not regret the purchase at all. Yes it makes noise, but it is tolerable and not as loud as a Blender. It is a motor.. they all make noise! The ice cream and sherbert come out soft but one placed in an closed tub for about 2-3 hours it is wonderful! I will not purchase ice cream from a retailer again. So far after a month I have made, French Vanilla, Maple Walnut, Coffee and Strawberry Banana Sherbert directly from B&J's book and all have been a delight to eat.

I can find a 6 speed mixer with the same power output and extra gadgets for about $20 at Target. So I think you are paying a bit extra for a good quality product name, Cuisinart, and the electronic LED. Still, I think that this is among the better hand mixers that is currently for sale at Amazon.

After going through various hand mixers and finding that they burned out fairly quickly, I was pleased to find a very powerful hand mixer with great beaters. The super-size beaters are great for cutting through refrigerated butter or for whipping egg whites. You can also use the whisk attachment for the egg whites if you prefer.

This mixer is a favorite for cookie dough! It won't bog down and the beaters just never quit. The handle is ergonomic for maximum comfort and the swivel cord is exclusive to this line. This beater has 220 watts of power and has seven speeds. The easy-to-read digital settings are a bonus. The spatula is made from hard plastic, which I don't prefer, but you can still use it for various jobs or give it to a friend.

If you have had other mixers burn out, give this one a try. I think you will be as happy as I am with the durability.

My Kitchen Aid mixer died, and I thought I'd try the Cuisinart. Although there are few differences, what I like most about this mixer are the slightly longer beater blades. When mixing dough, the longer blades keep the dough from rising up the beater shafts. The handle is ergonomically designed to prevent fatigue. The beaters start up slowly to prevent splattering. The cord swivels for both left and right-handed use. The touch-pad speed control is much nicer than the "push the lever" types. It's terrific and a good value!

The best feature of this tool is that it is dishwasher safe.

This food processor is made in China. For the same amount of money you can buy an 11 cup Kitchen Aid. It runs smoother, has the slicing blades and a mini bowl. The blades are Sabatier and are excellent. We tried both machines and returned the Cuisinart.

I received this food processor as a wedding gift and it's been such a timesaver. It's great for prepping for a dinner party because it can handle large quantities. The regular blade works really well on all vegetables--the only one I've had a problem with is onions, which either don't get minced enough or get too liquidy when I try to make the pieces smaller. Other than that, the shredding attachment is great for zucchini and carrots and the slicing attachment works well for slicing potatoes or squash. The mixing attachment even does a pretty good job with dough. Of all the small kitchen appliances I received as wedding gifts, this is by far the one I use the most.

I just got my Cuisinart DLC-8SBK yesterday. So far I have mixed a cake, shredded coconut, sliced pototoes, made cole slaw, chopped onion; green pepper; tomato, and tonight I made the BEST Guacamole I have ever tasted! It is a heavy-duty, powerful, get-the-job-done machine.You should have seen the pretty,fluffy shredded coconut! I do not know how I have survived without it. The feed-tube assembly took me a little while (an hour!) to get used to. And I wouldn't suggest mixing a cake as your first project. Would be better to get used to it before doing anything liquid. So easy to clean. This machine is mine now. We are partners! Tomorrow I will try to make some bread.

This mixer has a ton of power - in fact, the drawback is it lacks a low speed. Even the lowest setting is warp speed - I can't imagine ever using the two higher speeds, except perhaps to power a small vehicle. I mixed chocolate chip cookie dough with no problem on the lowest setting. I highly recommend you use a deep mixing bowl so you don't splatter your entire kitchen with food. Given the great price, however, I am keeping this mixer. I plan to start the mixing manually with a wooden spoon and switch to the mixer once I need heavy duty power.

Agreed - this mixer has got a TON of power!!! I actually had to purchase a high-walled mixing bowl to go with this mixer. It splatters liquids all over the place with a regular bowl. However, now that I have the high-walled bowl, I find it to be a very good mixer that gets the job done. I love the new design of the beaters (no center post) - its makes it immensely easier to clean and less waste!

This mixer broke down in the middle of Christmas cookies - and it wasn't that old. I purchased it a few years ago. The poor durability of this mixer in a brand that should deliver a better product is unacceptable. My old GE hand mixer lasted 5 times as long as this one did, and cost a lot less. I wonder about the quality of the motor if it could burn out in such a relatively short time. I do agree with other reviewers that the low speed was too high; no major differences between speeds 1-3; they were all fairly highspeed.

The lowest speed of this mixer is too fast for certain things (like pumpkin pie). Possibly if you used a very large bowl it might work ok, but when I made the pie the mixing got quite messy, with batter flying out of the bowl. Still need to use it more, so I'll see how it works with other consistencies. However, it would be nice to have one mixer that worked for everything.

Wow! I got this mixer as a wedding present. I was making my husband his birthday cake and it mixed the ingrediants up fast! Like that other reviewer has noted, it is true that even the slowest speed of the 5-speed is very fast, much, much faster than the slow speed on any other hand held mixer I have ever used! But, let me tell you it works great!
Plus, I love the beaters! They don't hold onto the cake batter like my Mom's! And, they clean up in the dishwasher easily.

Of course I have only used it once...so I may come back and add more especially since the baking season has just began.

One very important note for any mixer pour the liquid ingrediants over the dry before beginning.