Best Homemade Ice Cream Maker?

[RZehr]

My wife wants one for her birthday. She doesn't want "a junky one like we had before". I have no idea what this means. To my knowledge we never even used the one we had before because it was apparently junky. How do we know it was junky if we never used it? Because so-and-so who makes a lot of home made ice cream said it was. And so-and-so even borrowed it one time in a pinch, and it's junkyness was reestablished. It has long been gone, so I don't even know what it was. I know there was wood involved. Anyway, wondering if anyone can recommend a high quality, non-junky, home ice cream maker?

[mike]

White Mountain.

https://goodsstores.com/products/electr ... ream-maker

[Bootstrap]

For $80, perhaps a Cuisinart? Here's a review that made it look good.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/why_this_ ... _families/

[Mountain Merle]

For $80, perhaps a Cuisinart? Here's a review that made it look good.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/why_this_ ... _families/

Yep, if you don't need a big batch, the Cuisinart is the way to go. No ice or salt needed.We had ice cream this evening.

[Ken]

There are two kinds.

The old fashioned ones that you use outdoors with crushed ice and salt and hand-crank or run with a motor. They make large quantities of ice cream for a group. The newer ones that sit on a kitchen counter or go in a freezer and make small batches. I've never used one of these.

If you want the larger old fashioned outdoor type then the only one to get is the White Mountain. You may have to hunt around, it's usually sold in old fashioned farm and garden type stores. I bought a cheap Chinese copy at Sam's Club some years ago and it was a piece of junk. It wasn't strong enough to stand up to the considerable forces generated when you crank ice cream to completion. And it rusted out after sitting for a month in the garage. The White Mountain is made with nickel-plated parts and is rock solid so will last for generations. I bought mine about 10 years ago. My parents have one that is about 60 years old and is more or less indistinguishable. If this is an infrequent thing and you have kids handy, get the crank version and put them to work. if it is just you then get the motorized version.

You can also find them used on ebay

In fact if you ever pass through Canby you can probably pick up the one my parent's have. They are downsizing and moving into Hope Village and I think want rid of it but I already have one in my garage.

[MaxPC]

This one. We make ice cream for family and guests. If there's any left over we freeze it for the next day. Our White Mountain is 42 years old and still going strong.

White Mountain.

https://goodsstores.com/products/electr ... ream-maker

[RZehr]

These white mountain reviews sound like this product quality has dropped.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/B0 ... geNumber=2

[Ken]

These white mountain reviews sound like this product quality has dropped.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/B0 ... geNumber=2

Yeah. I dunno. I bought mine mail order about 15 years ago. My parents bought theirs probably in the late 60s or early 70s. Both are still working perfectly. Maybe find a used on one ebay if you don't have some sort of country store nearby that has them you can actually look at. The older ones last forever if taken care of.

Maybe the White Mountain quality has declined because I see there are no premium alternatives like Immergood that I have never heard of. Perhaps they are filling the niche that White Mountain abandoned.

I'm not sure how a company like White Mountain can screw something up like that. After many decades of manufacturing the same thing it should be pretty easy to just keep pressing the same thing out unchanged as they must have all the jigs, castings, parts, and whatever they need to make them figured out. Company probably changed hands and the new owners tried to cut corners. But what do I know.

EDIT: Ah hah I was right!

Found this on a homesteading forum: https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threa ... es.440673/

White Mountain was long considered the cadillac of home ice cream makers. My mother's family had one when she was a little girl in the 1930s, and that was A Big Deal. They'd last a lifetime.

Unfortunately, White Mountain was bought out some years back by Rival; and like in many such acquisitions, the quality declined precipitously. They're benefitting from the name and reputation, but they're undermining it badly.

I have one that's not very old, and it leaks some sort of black gunk onto the top of the cannister while it's churning, and the bucket is a pain to keep from drying out and leaking in the winter. In the summer though, it does fine. A long soak in hot water takes care of the worst the leaks.

I don't think I'll get the many years of enjoyment that my mother's family got.

[Ken]

Some further googling uncovered the Immergood Ice cream maker which gets splendid reviews on Amazon to go with its splendidly high price: Apparently they are Amish-made in Lancaster County PA. Someone here must know about them.

https://cottagecraftworks.blogspot.com/ ... d-ice.html

[silentreader]

Some further googling uncovered the Immergood Ice cream maker which gets splendid reviews on Amazon to go with its splendidly high price: Apparently they are Amish-made in Lancaster County PA. Someone here must know about them.

https://cottagecraftworks.blogspot.com/ ... d-ice.html

Well for one thing it wouldn't sound as expensive if they named it Alwaysgood.