Testing 13 ice-cream makers during the hottest days of the year turned out to be a milk-fuelled adventure, complete with accidental butter and a house that smelled of dairy. After cracking more than three dozen eggs, zesting 30 lemons and making emergency trips for milk, our tester emerged with a newfound appreciation for homemade ice-cream.
A churning challenge
The first hurdle was sourcing ingredients for all those machines. The food delivery driver looked confused when he arrived with bags full of eggs, lemons, milk, cream and sugar for the second time in a week. Undeterred, the tester made batches of Felicity Cloake’s perfect vanilla ice-cream and lemon sorbet in each machine, plus a standard recipe of double cream, sugar and milk.
Each batch was tasted for flavour and consistency, then left in the freezer for days to see how it held up. The Caso Design compressor IceCreamer came out on top as the overall favourite, while the original Ninja Creami won for ease of use and freeze-first convenience.
Butter disasters and milk smells
Not everything went smoothly. A recipe from one machine’s booklet took too long to churn, turning the high-fat mixture into butter before it could freeze. This happened twice, leaving the tester to scrape butter from every nook, spout and corner of the soft-serve machine for 45 minutes.
The smell was another issue. The tester’s partner burst in one day, despairing that the “whole house stinks of milk”. He did get to eat plenty of ice-cream, though.
Space, weight, and a lasting love
The testing revealed that some of the best models demand significant counter space. Compact options like the Nutribullet Chill and Cuisinart Solo Scoops were excellent, but complex machines like the GreenPan Frost are “magnificent beasts” that take over your kitchen. They’re also heavy, though the tester’s partner did much of the lifting.
Despite the chaos, the tester isn’t sick of ice-cream and has gained a real appreciation for homemade versions. Still, they might stick to Ben & Jerry’s for the rest of the summer – or at least until the house stops smelling of milk.
