Nostalgia ICMP400WD 4-Quart Electric Wood Bucket Ice Cream Maker - Perfect for Homemade Ice Cream, Parties & Summer Treats

Just OKLoveJust the right size. Makes a gallon of ice cream. Perfect birthday gift!This ice cream maker works as described and is well constructed and for that I give it 4 stars. Why not 5? Well, continue reading:I bought this because I wanted to make home made ice cream. I live in the Southwestern United States where I experience extremely hot summers. I thought to myself that home made ice cream would be the perfect way to cool down during said summers. When buying this, I also bought the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream recipe book so that I could make the perfect creamy ice cream. So how did it go? I went to the store and I bought cream ($4), sugar ($3), vanilla ($5), ice cream salt ($5), a bag of ice ($2), and cookie dough ($6). I then proceeded to mix the ingredients as described in the recipe book. However the cookie dough sunk to the bottom and got the mixer stuck. I then took the cookie dough out with a spoon so the mixer would spin again. By this time much of the cream mixture had frozen because of the surrounding ice. I couldn't take the metal canister out of the ice bucket because the ice would cave in and I would not be able to put it back in. I did my best to hand stir the ice cream to loosen it up after which I put the mixer back in. It spun briefly then got stuck again. Because some of the ice cream was already frozen, I scooped it out and served it to myself and my roommates. The result? Far too sweet (did I add more sugar than the recipe called for?). I mixed the remaining liquified mixture by hand and put it in the freezer. When I took it out the next day it was rock solid. The home made ice cream sat on my shelf in the freezer for a few weeks before I ended up throwing it away because it was too sweet anyways and I didn't feel like thawing it out for twenty minutes at a time whenever I wanted ice cream.What I learned is that it cost me $25 in ingredients just to make one pint of ice cream which was far too sweet. If I had wanted to experiment with the recipe to make the perfect ice cream, this would probably cost hundreds of dollars in ingredients necessary for the trial-and-error. Additionally, the ice cream must be eaten immediately or it will become too hard in the freezer. I am also not sure how to add cookie dough without it stopping the mixer.Could I persevere and learn how to make the perfect homemade ice cream? Sure, I guess but I ended up buying other kitchen appliances later on that were more practical (hint, get an air fryer). What happened to the ice cream maker? It sat in the garage for the summer gathering dust and ended up in my landlord's yard sale in the fall. When he went inside the house, someone stole the fondue maker even though the ice cream machine was right beside it and probably far easier to steal (less cumbersome). No one bought the ice cream maker and it was given to goodwill. Between the ice cream machine, the Ben & Jerry's book, and the ingredients I lost $75. Isn't that just great? Good thing I have tonnnns of extra money just sitting around. This leads me to my final question, if the ice cream was so sweet why am I still bitter?Easy to use and clean. Great recipes to try. Made a butterfinger ice cream first and it was a great hit!Very easy to usePeeyooee, it stunk when I opened the box but left it out to air and the odor dissipated (i.e. no affect on flavor). Washed up the canister, dasher, etc, popped it into the fridge along with a bowl full of pureed fruit and left it there til next evening. Got home from work, assembled the churn according to directions (outside on the deck), layered in ice and rock salt, plugged it in and 30 minutes later... VOILA, delicious sorbet. My very first and it was successful. And when I say "my first," I mean my very first ice cream churn, my very first sorbet, my very first time making anything of the sort.Who said this was messy? Yeah, I dropped a few ice cubes and a few grains of salt. When I read a negative review that said it was "messy," I was expecting stuff to go everywhere. You exaggerated - there's very little, if any mess, with this churn. Count your lucky stars you don't have to hand crank a churn for ice cream these days.FYI, the canister turned but the dasher was stationary. The sorbet was completely solid in the bottom of the canister but a little soft at the top. I scooped some into bowls to eat and put the rest in a container to continue freezing and enjoying throughout the week. All the "work" that went into this particular batch was done preparing the fruit. The churn did the rest. Before you get wrapped up in the negative reviews, take it from a beginner, this is a good product. If you fail at making ice cream, sherbet, or sorbet verify that your recipe is valid. AND adhere to the churn directions when layering ice and rock salt. Don't be stingy with the rock salt.Here's my recipe: 4 cups of pureed fruit (1 fresh pineapple, 1 fresh mango, enough sweet cherries (pitted) to make four cups); 1/2 cup simple syrup; juice of one lime; 1/4 cup of coconut milk.I think next I will try to make Buttermilk Sherbet.Product worked as essentially described. I purchased this unit because my uncle makes ice cream this way, and I wanted to share the experience. My frustration was simple: I expected to get more ice cream faster than with my Kitchen Aid accessory, but it took a long time to make the ice cream, and when the motor stopped it was still very soft. I can see why they do not want you to add ingredients, as the motor is too weak to barely even deal with the ice cream. I noted that the same motor is used in both the four and six quart versions. I cannot imagine this motor with a five quart mix to freeze.The second complaint I had is that it is really a three quart maker that expands to four quarts. It is lucky I only made three quarts, as four would not have worked.The other concerns: the salt and ice permit you to make a larger batch, but that added $5 to the cost of $10 of ingredients. I now understand the cost of ice cream going up - cream alone was $6.99 a quart in CA.My biggest complaint is that I had to work my behind off to keep adding salt and ice to the freezer. I must really be getting lazy. So, while the one quart batch the Kitchen Aid can make seems like a pain, it is really easier than making ice cream the salt & ice way. If I can find a cheaper source for ice and salt I will be happier, and use it for a party, for instance. I made Rocky Road with almonds and marshmallow cream (both added after the mix was hardening) and it did turn out delicious - the next day.Would totally recommend this product. Makes the BEST ice cream ever... EVER! So smooth, takes about an hour once you set everything up and prechill the container! The machine comes with a few recipes (can make frozen yogurt, alcohol based recipes, various ice creams, sorbet...etc) and step-by-step instructions, really handy!! You definitely want a proper storage container though (I've tried a few different kinds but it needs to have a good seal on it! I bought a couple different buckets of ice cream ... ended up cleaning them after and kept the empty ice cream containers... I have found out that you can also use plastic wrap to put over the top of a container, before sealing it with a lid for some extra protection - it can get ice crystals in it if you're not careful enough). Looks just like advertised! Makes a TON of ice cream so be prepared for leftovers!! The outside of the machine is wrapped with real wood planks, probably helps with holding the temperature of the machine because it works super well!! People who have said "I don't like ice cream" have tried a scoop and then asked for a bowl!!!! If you look this machine up on YouTube, people have compared it to ice cream machines twice the price. BUY THIS MACHINE! Totally 100% recommend this... I can't wait for summer! ??I've used this twice so far and no complaints with the build. It is simple and looks nice.My first time making ice cream was a failure due to not following instructions properly. Lessons learned are:1) You have to chill your ice cream mix over night.2) Add lots of ice and lots of salt. It will not work with just half the bucket filled with ice.3) I found that buying the ice is too much of a cost so I just plan ahead and make ice ahead of time.My second attempt was much better and the ice cream was very smooth (not perfect but great for homemade).Overall, I like this machine. It is easy to use and easy to clean. For the price and if only making ice cream once a month, I would recommend itSmells like a hamster cage. Maybe it's the wood encasing the bucket. You only really need this to churn cream. For sorbet or juices this is not necessary. But makes great ice cream "neo-old school" style, so consider you need a big bag of ice and a box of salt each time you use it.I used to make ice cream with the old fashion wooden bucket with the hand crank. This new one is electric with wooden exterior, providing lots of insulation to prevent heat loss during the process, it also has a plastic inner lining for easy cleaning. My first batch was dairy free coconut ice cream, with my own recipe it came out better than the HagenDaz version, it took an hour to churn but the results were very firm just like the old fashioned wooden Makers, I'm very delighted. The smaller size is great for storage.Box came looking like it was already opened as well as being damaged - product inside was dirty as if been used and inside packaging appeared to be resealed. For a food related item, not notifying selling used goods is just wrong.