There's nothing quite like churning your own pint of ice cream at home. LIM TSIAO HUI gives it a go with three ice-cream makers.
CUISINART ICE 50BC $798, from Mayer
FEATURES At a hefty 14.5kg, and the size of half an A4 paper carton box, this takes up considerable space on the countertop. But there's good reason for its bulk: unlike the other two models, it holds a built-in compressorfreezer, which means you don't need to prefreeze a bowl and you can make batch after batch of ice cream. Great if you want to make different flavours in one session. Comes with 17 recipes.
USING IT It was easy to transfer the ice-cream mixture into the pint-sized metallic bucket. The bucket comes with a handle, so it was easy toworth the splurgeinsert and remove. Our only gripe is its loudwhirring sound. Soft ice cream takes about 30minutes and hard ice cream, about 45 minutes. You turn a knob to set the timer, and it beeps when it's ready. It stops automatically when the ice cream reaches the right consistency - our half pint of coffee ice cream was ready in 30 minutes although our timer was set for 45 minutes.
THE ICE CREAM Dense and smooth; the best of the lot
VERDICT: 9 Pricey and hefty, but does a great job
KENWOOD IM280 $108, from major electrical and department stores
FEATURES Check that your freezer can accommodate this 18cm tall, flowerpotshaped bowl. We needed to pre-freeze the bowl the day before. Comes with six recipes.
USING IT We placed the heavy frozen bowl into the machine, fitted the paddle and lid onto it and poured the mixture through the opening on the lid (the spout makes it easy to pour). The ice cream was ready in the shortest time - 30 minutes. The paddle rotates faster than the other machines, which, apparently, introduces more air into the mixture, giving you fluffier ice cream that melts more easily. It emits a low hum during use. Doesn't come with a timer.
THE ICE CREAMA bit too airy; not for those who like a creamy texture.
VERDICT: 7 Quick and easy to use
PHILIPS HR2304 $92, from major department stores
FEATURES We had to pre-freeze a 5cm thick, plate-like discus in a freezer bag for a day (the instructions said 18 hours). The bag keeps ice from forming on the discus. Comes with 39 recipes.
USING IT It can get a bit messy pouring the ice cream mixture through the lid opening; so it's best to use a bowl with a spout. There's no timer, so we had to keep an eye on it and stop the machine when the mixture reached the right consistency. It took about 45 minutes to churn out the ice cream. It's the quietest of the lot.
THE ICE CREAM Relatively smooth,
slightly fluffy.
VERDICT: 8 Works silently; makes a decent ice cream
MAIN PHOTO SNAPPER MEDIA PRODUCT PHOTOS WONG WEI LIANG & JUSTIN LOH
