Why you'll love it: The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment allows you to make whatever ice cream you want without the additives found in store-bought brands.
The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment makes up to two quarts of gelato, sorbet, or ice cream in less than half an hour. Your ingredients are mixed, spread, and scraped thoroughly using the dasher that rotates inside the bowl. Once you are done, the drive assembly, adapter ring, and dasher are all dishwasher safe, and the bowl is easy to clean with soap and water. The unit comes with a one-year replacement warranty.
I own the Ice Cream Maker attachment and use it with my KitchenAid Professional 5 stand mixer. The process is incredibly easy, but it does require a little bit of planning. The batter must be cooled, and all of the other elements should be frozen. KitchenAid recommends keeping the freezer bowl in your freezer when not in use so it is ready to go when you need it. You also need to allow the ice cream batter to cool for at least eight hours. I do it using an airtight pitcher stored in my fridge The pitcher makes it easy for me to pour the batter into the ice cream maker.
The first couple times you use the ice cream maker, you should follow the directions closely. There are a lot of user complaints that could have been remedied if they had read the directions. For instance, all of the ingredients you add to your ice cream should be frozen so they do not heat up the ice cream and stall the thickening process. Also, make sure the dasher (at speed 1: stir) is running when you pour the batter in, or else the batter will freeze immediately and make it hard for the dasher to do its work.
Overall, the ice cream maker attachment works great, but it is not less expensive than buying store-bought ice cream. However, it does give you the opportunity to create whatever ice cream concoctions you want with about 15 to 20 minutes of active cooking time. Ever had candied bacon ice cream? It’s unlikely you will find it anywhere, but with this attachment, you can make it at home. Just make sure to freeze the chopped candied bacon before you add it to your batter in the final few minutes of churning.
Several expert sites have taken the Ice Cream Maker Attachment for a test drive, and the reviews are generally positive. Foodal gave it 4.2 stars because it is an affordable, low-effort way to make homemade ice cream. Top5Reviews compared the attachment to other ice cream makers. The site liked that it didn’t require salt or ice and that the setup and cleanup were effortless. However, the tester would not recommend buying the KitchenAid stand mixer just so that you could make ice cream with this attachment.
The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment has more than 1,200 five-star reviews on Amazon. Buyers were impressed with how it makes ice cream that is relatively healthier and tastes better than what you can buy at the store. There were a few complaints about the device cracking and dripping a blue liquid. This is likely due to extreme temperature changes. To avoid this, wait until the bowl is thawed before washing it. And, dry it completely before you put it back in the freezer.
Pros: Reliably makes delicious ice cream
Cons: Have to read the directions closely, takes some forethought
Buy the KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment on Amazon for $69.95