Ice cream cones Q: I would love to make ice cream, and I'm told that cheap ice-cream makers are no good; is it worth spending £200 or more?
A: The big professional machines freeze and churn all in one, but little churning machines require the bowl to be frozen for 8 hours before use. Both have their pros and cons. The former are easy to use and totally reliable but they cost around £250, are very heavy and take up a lot of space. The small machines aren't much bigger than the size of the 1.1 or 1.5 litre bowl. If you have room to store the bowl in your freezer and plan to be an occasional ice cream maker, I would suggest one of these (mine is a Magimix) which cost around £35-45 depending on bowl size. All the machines take 20-30 minutes to make a batch of ice cream.
This information was first published in the September 2008 edition of Saga Magazine
Details were correct at the time of publication in September 2008. Please check with suppliers for up-to-date prices and models.