Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We bought this ice cream maker thinking we could use it for a big party we were having. It turns out that the freezer bowl will give you about 10 - 12 servings before it needs refreezing. So we opted not to use it for the party (not enough servings) but instead use it for our family. I was a little apprehensive about buying this product since similar product reviews were none to flattering. This unit howover seems to work just fine. The instructions claim that the ice cream is ready to serve in about 12 - 15 minutes but we found that 20 minutes was needed to reach the right consistency. But, once it's ready, the ice cream poured out perfectly (we even got the knack of twirling the column of ice cream into our cones). We've decided that the vanilla ice cream recipe is our family's favorite. Clean up was a snap since all the parts can be easily removed and cleaned. We tried the condiment dispensers and my kids loved it. We found that certain things don't work well if they aren't chopped finely or if they don't have a slippery surface (like m&m's). Otherwise, it's cool to have the 'extras' intermixed with the ice cream. Overall, this product is nicely engineered and works very well.