Of Course I Needed an Ice Cream Maker
Posted by Juliette Kopecky on Sun, Oct 10, 2010 @ 09:17 PM
I will whole-heartedly admit to loving ice cream. I can’t resist picking some up when I’m at the grocery store. And honestly, most often end up picking up 2 pints of it just because I can’t decide on what flavor to buy. My recent favorite brand has been Ciao Bella, but I will stick by Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip and Turkey Hill Chocolate Peanut Butter Butter. And for actual ice cream shops, I love Toscanani’s Burnt Caramel. And the best ice cream I’ve EVER had (well, it was gelato actually) was in Italy. It’s a bit of a hike, but I will make it back there some day.
Last night was such an occasion at the grocery store. Went there to pick up some milk, and ended up walking out with pints of Ciao Bella Key Lime Pie. As I was eating a spoonful, I was remarking to Micheal that I wish it had a little bit more punch – more limey tartness and more graham cracker bits. Which is really how I decided that I should experiment with making my own ice cream.
I did a little bit of research, and it seemed like the clear favorite for automatic ice cream makers was the Cuisinart ICE-20R based on the reviews I read on Amazon and America’s Test Kitchen. At under $50, it was certainly a steal. Reviewers liked it for its value, quality of ice cream produced, speed, noise, etc. I loved the red color it came in and the design of it. Since it’s the event that sparked the purchase, I think the inaugural flavor will have to be Key Lime Pie – I’ve already started researching a couple of recipes to test out. If you have any great ice cream recipes, I’d love to hear them!