WhynterIce Cream Maker Machine Automatic 2.1 Qt. Upright with Built-In Compressor, LCD Digital Display & Timer, No Pre-Freezing, ICM-201SB, Stainless Steel

It was time to replace our old and venerable Cuisinart freezer bowl ice cream maker after 25+ years. I decided to look at upright ice-cream makers with a built-in compressor. Most reviews named Whynter as one of the best ice cream makers. I chose this one, because it's an upright with a small footprint, and the 1.26 quart since there are only 2 of us.After allowing the machine to sit on the counter for 2 hours, per instructions, I made my first batch of ice cream. Knowing that it was out for delivery, I had my mixture done and chilling in the refrigerator. Needless to say, it came out perfect.The machine starts at a default of 60 minutes, so I set my phone cooking timer for 60 minutes. It had already stopped and the ice-cream was so frozen, I couldn't get the paddle out easily. I didn't want to force it, so I got out what I could and by that time, the paddle came out.I've learned that the freezer stops churning at round 30-40 minutes, using the recipe that I use. I set my cooking timer app for 30 minutes, and if it's stopped, I get the ice-cream out and into storage; if not, I let it continue to churn for another 10 minutes.I've made 3 loads, one right after another. Yes, the ingredient cannister will freeze to the inside of the machine. It's because there's frost on the outside from the previous load and air humidity. Simply empty the ice-cream into your freezer container, then add a cup of hot water to the can; it'll let loose immediately.You can prevent this from happening by spraying a small amount of any cooking spray to a cloth or paper towel, then rub it on the OUTSIDE of the ingredient holder, sides and bottom, which will prevent it from sticking.I prefer to make old-fashioned ice cream or gelato, but both require a cooked "custard" base with egg yolks. With the astronomical price of eggs, I've found a couple of ways to circumvent the eggs without compromising flavor or texture."American" modern ice-cream simply calls for a 2 to 1 ratio of milk to cream, plus sugar, and vanilla. There's nothing wrong with this. We prefer the richer texture and taste of the old-fashioned variety. I've found 3 solutions:1. Sicilian gelato. This uses cornstarch instead of egg yolks in the custard base. It also uses a 1 to 1 ratio of cream to milk. You can find a recipe easily on the internet. Like the old-fashioned recipes, this requires cooking, then cooling completely in the refrigerator prior to mixing with cream and freezing. I've found another way of creating an old-fashioned flavor without cooking.2. I use one 3.4 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding with 4 cups of milk, which makes a thickened base of the right consistency. I mix it with 2 cups of cream. I reduce the sugar and add vanilla for our taste. You can use sugar free pudding mix with a sugar alternative for people who don't like or can't eat sugar. It comes out like old-fashioned ice cream without tasting like pudding.I know many of you may not like all of the ingredients in instant pudding. Frankly, neither do I. I make my own vanilla extract, so I prefer an alternative to the pudding, so I came up with a third alternative.3. I use .75 ounce (21g) of an instant (no cook) modified food starch, in place of the pudding mix. I have a biochemistry degree. Modified food starch is simply food starch that's heated and pressed, which changes its structure, allowing it to thicken liquids without heating.The Whynter ice-cream maker makes beautiful ice cream without ice crystals. It freezes the mix more solidly than a maker that uses containers that require pre-freezing. I already have a yogurt maker, so I look forward to making frozen yogurt. We're also going to make frozen drinks. I've made homemade butter with my mixer. That's on the bucket list too.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I drink protein shakes and had heard they can make excellent ice creams. After research decided on the Whynter unit. When the box came it was way bigger than I envisioned. When I opened the Amazon box inside a bunch of wadded paper was the Whynter box. Well the Whynter box was in perfect condition and considering how heavy the original box was with its scrapes and tears on the outside, I was pleased the box from Whynter was unscathed. Then to open the Whynter box and find soft foam sheeting and another box was really surprising and definitely attention to detail and caring about their product. Upon opening the 3rd box and removing the well wrapped unit and pieces, I found everything perfect. Universal Package Smashers (UPS) hadn't destroyed the contents of a shipment as has happened in the past! Later in the day I tried making the protein shake ice cream. It was OK. Needless to say I'm improving on the recipe. I worked for a farmer that opened an ice cream shop on his dairy farm and does an amazing business. I have a great many recipes to try. I'll say this about the Whynter, it is built equally as well as the commercial batch freezers the farmer bought for his ice cream operation which now entirely supports the farm! The Whynter is commercial quality ice cream maker in a home-sized package. I'm happy I paid a bit more and got what is obviously a very well thought out and quality product. More American businesses need to adopt Whynter's business practice and maybe so much wouldn't be coming in from other countries here!.

TL;DR: It’s nice to make something that tastes so good and can easily be made with just a few simple ingredients. It’s a big step up over mass-market ice cream or sorbet, much better even than the premium brands.After much research, I decided to get a Whynter ice cream machine. I wanted a large capacity and chose this one because it’s vertical and fits my storage space the best.I’ve made 5 batches so far: 4 ice cream and 1 sorbet. Every batch has turned out great and was very easy to produce. The machine is actually very simple to use, with only a couple of controls besides the power button. Each batch completed in 25 to 35 minutes. The timer is set to a default time of 60 minutes, but that’s a maximum, not the actual time required. The time required varies based on the size of the batch and the starting temperature. My longest churn time of 35 minutes was with my hottest starting temperature of 42°F (5°C). Also, 60% of the bowl is the maximum fill capacity (top of the mixing blade), so I made sure not to exceed that.Taste, texture, and flavor depend on the recipe you use, but they provide a book with dozens of recipes. Thousands of additional recipes are available online as well.Maybe the best part of the machine is the simple cleanup. It’s really just cleaning the stainless steel bowl and the plastic mixing blade, that’s it. The manual says not to put them in the dishwasher, but since they’re so easy to clean, there’s no need to do that anyway.