Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this Ice Cream Maker for home use. So far I've only used the Ice Cream Maker to make Gelato and Ice Cream. As many reviews point out, the recipes can be a bit confusing in how they are written and the amount of base you end up with is to much for 1 full batch of Ice Cream without it spilling out of the container a bit when finishing up in the machine. The following are the complaints I saw the most in the review section and the possible solutions. All solutions are dependent on the Machine working properly in the first place. 1- Ice Cream spills over towards the end of freezing process. Solution- A few thing's you can do. You can remove 1/2 cup of the Ice cream Base, but then you have Ice cream Base leftover! You could make a really small batch with the remaining base, but the better solution IMHO is to make the recipe 50% larger so you can make two smaller batch's of Ice Cream without the liquid spilling over during the ending freezing process. You could also make 2 full batches of Ice Cream Base and make 3 smaller batches of different flavors. I have also used the Gelato Paddle so there is less air in product and hence less volume. Problem Solved. 2- The container get's stuck/frozen to the machine when finished. Answer- It only takes an extremely small amount of water to freeze the container to the inside of the machine. Solution's. The gear at the bottom of the Ice Cream Base container hold's A LOT OF WATER (relatively speaking). After washing between batches or before every use, blow very hard 2-3 times (or until no more water comes out) into the gear at the bottom of the container. You'll be amazed at how much water comes out. The 2nd possible issue is if you're doing another batch immediately after making the 1st batch, make sure there is ZERO Ice/ Condensation on the inside walls of the machine. Check by wiping with a paper towel. If a bit of ice shows on the wall of the inset for the container or the towel, take a warm wet towel, wipe out inset, dry thoroughly with paper towel. As an added precaution, you can put some hot water in the Ice Cream Makers container, put into the machine and warm the sides of the machine. This will also help get rid of the small amount of condensation or thin layers of ice. You can do all that for the machine, or just let the machine sit for 10-15 minutes to get it closer back to room temp and a chance for the condensation to dry, but still blow the water from the gear at the bottom of the Ice Cream Base container before EVERY USE. 3- Ice Cream Not freezing in the stated amount of time. If you want to have your ice cream frozen in under an hour, cool your Ice Cream Base down to 55f. I shouldn't have to say this, but the cooler the Ice cream base is when you start, the quicker it will freeze. At a 55f starting temp mine take's 40 min to be ready. Another possible problem that may cause your Ice Cream to take longer to freeze is that the exhaust for the machine is blocked or doesn't have enough clearance (only takes about 8-10 inches max of clearance). The air blowing out of the machine is aprox 105f. If you don't have proper clearance for the exhaust or around the machine it will warm the entire machine a bit causing the freezing process to take longer. Lastly, did you prepare the recipe properly? My solution is that I usually make a Custard Style Ice Cream Base in which I replace the milk with Half & Half. This makes it much easier to get the right consistency, is richer in flavor and is easier to get to thicken when freezing. Yes it takes more time (there's a bit of cooking involved due to the eggs), but is well worth it!! IMHO. The only drawback to Custard Style is the Calories/Fat Content. I made one batch that was just over 130 calories per-teaspoon after I did the caloric math!!! Now that's RICH!!!! LOL I will update this once I start to play with the Sorbet and maybe I'll even share a recipe or two.. I'm not really interested in making Sherbet so probably no tips for that coming up. Hope this helps.. :)