Customer Reviews

Deni Automatic Ice Cream Makers with Candy Crusher

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've made ice cream with this machine four times and it has been delicious every time with every recipe that I have tried. I made a mistake the first time I used it (I don't count that time), I didn't read the instructions as closely as I should have, the Deni should be turned on and the cylinder should be turning at all times, if you stop the machine during the process, it doesn't turn back on and your ice cream process is over, finished or not! Lesson learned... :)

I bought the Deni ice cream maker with candy crusher (Model 5210) to replace my older Deni Ice Cream Factory machine. I've made ice cream now three times in this new one, and all three times the motor stops churning before the ice cream gets to the soft serve phase. It makes an uneven and inconsistent product that is more frozen to the sides of the cannister and bottom of the cannister, while the ice cream in the center is still very runny. The third time this happened, I took the cannister off the new machine and finished it off on my old one. The old one churned the ice cream to the perfect fluffy soft serve consistency, the new one is dense and runny, and freezes rock hard. I am disappointed the newer model isn't as good as my old one. The motor base is light weight, flimsy and all plasticized, while the older version (Model 5100) is a great little machine that is sturdy and solid. I expected more from the new model, thought it would be improved and even better. But sadly, it isn't. I would save my pennies and not purchase this one. At least the cannister and paddle fits my old one, now I have spare parts! The extra cannister will come in handy if I need a larger amount of ice cream. There's a Deni 5400 Scoop Factory now, and I think I should have bought that one instead.Deni Automatic Ice Cream Maker with Candy Crusher Attachment

I have recently purchased this product about a week ago and have made 3 successful ice cream recipes so far. The first thing I noticed when turning on the machine is that it is rather noisy, although the kids didn't complain about not being able to hear the TV. The candy crusher was a bit of a disappointment, as it is quite cheaply made I thought the cold smarties were going to break the flimsy plastic apart. I would recommend using a food processor instead of the candy crusher, for ease of use, and the amount of elbow grease it takes to grind a small box of Smarties is mind boggling. The upside of the ice cream maker you ask? Well, the ice cream is AMAZING!! Who knew that home made ice cream would taste one thousand times better than the stuff you buy in the store, even the really expensive brands. It is so fresh and without all the additives that they cram in there, have you ever read the ingredients on store bought? The ice cream maker's texture is a bit soft, but firms up in no time in the freezer to a wonderful consistency of hard ice cream. The whole family enjoys the process of making the ice cream and eating it together with all the inevitable oohs and ahhs.

I bought this a few months ago and immediately gave it a test run with a basic vanilla extract recipe. The bowl froze well in 12 hours and the custard was ready to go, so I started it up and poured in the custard. About 10 minutes into it, the motor sounded like it was struggling and then a few minutes later, it just stopped. I went over to inspect it and I saw that the outside edge had frozen 1/4" to the side of the bowl all the way around but the middle was still completely liquidy. What had happened was that the stir paddle wasn't scraping the side of the canister so the ice cream just built up on the side until it got so thick that it finally hit the edge of the paddle and stopped the machine.

So, I couldn't get the frozen ice cream off the side...frozen solid. So, I poured the liquid into a container and just slow froze it in my freezer--ice crystals galore. I figured I'd try it again later. Went through the whole process, bowl froze well and poured in the custard. The same thing was happening again. So, I tried moving the stir paddle to another position and nothing helped. So, I poured it out again into a container and finished it in the freezer--disappointing.

Determined to not let this be a regrettable purchase, I tried a third time. This time, I literally held the stir paddle against the side of the bowl to force it to scrape off the ice cream...for 30 minutes until it thickened. Although frustrated, it worked. And that's what I've had to do every time I've used this thing.

So, I thought maybe this was just a defect with my machine and I contacted Deni to see if this was a known issue and if they had a solution for it. The response I got from a Customer Service Rep, was "John [not my name], That is the way the ice cream maker works, in so far as the way the paddle fits. If you are experiencing the wall of ice cream against the side of the canister, you can simply stop the machine and scrape down the sides with a plastic or rubber spatula and start it back up, or, you can leave your canister out for about 5 -10 minutes prior to making ice cream so that the canister is less cold."

Because the maker is called "Fully Automatic," I find this to be a poor attempt at covering up a flawed product. Akin to "you have to hold your iPhone a certain way to get reception." So, this ice cream maker is getting one star and I'm getting another ice cream maker.

We've tried two different types of dessert in this ice cream maker. First we made a german chocolate ice cream with a recipe I got off of the allrecipes website. Soft serve is the best description and then it hardens up more in the freezer. Don't expect any ice cream to harden up more than soft serve. If you want hard scoop ice cream you will need to allow a couple of hours in the freezer for that. Very creamy with almost no ice crystals in it at all. We also made the espresso ice with the recipe from the instruction booklet that comes with the maker). It didn't freeze like you would think of an "ice". It was more of a slush. The machine locked up because of the ice that formed on the wall of the drum, which is what it is supposed to do to keep from breaking the paddle or burning up the motor. But, it left us scraping the ice off the sides and mixing it with the slush in the middle. It tasted fine, just wasn't an "ice". I would say if you are using this strictly for ice cream, it is a wonderful ice cream maker, but don't count on making other types of desserts. I love the top that it comes with so that you can just put the drum with the ice cream in it straight into the freezer to harden up. The design of the paddle mixes the ice cream up very well, one of the best I've seen. There are also lots of recipes that come with the instruction booklet, in case you are at a loss for what to make. I would also recommend Ben & Jerry's ice cream recipe book. Very good recipes.

Have had it for a little over a week. Have made ice cream 3 times. It is great. Very easy to use and clean up is fast and easy too. Haven't had it long enough to know if it will stand the test of time, but for the price you can't go wrong.

A neat, simple machine that is easily assembled, easily cleaned and very effective!

I slapped the freezing cylinder in my little sub-zero freezer overnight and turned out a perfect fresh blueberry sorbet the next day in less than a half-hour!

7 batches of various sugar-free pudding based ice creams and a couple more sorbets and I am one happy consumer.

I only wish I'd bought a larger one!

I wanted an ice cream maker that didn't use rock salt. I love this item. When the ice cream is finished churning it's consistency is less than soft serve, but once you put it in the freezer for a few hours, you are good to go. I've made strawberry, blueberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream and all turned out excellent. My family loves that we can make our own ice cream.

The noise it makes takes getting used to. I have to raise the volume of the TV while it is churning, as my family room is connected to my kitchen.

This was a gift for my daughter, and she is enjoying it with her friends. It made a batch of ice cream very fast, with minimal noise. I'd recommend this to others.

I was not happy with the performance. Motor was not strong enough to push additives (mashed fruit) through the ice cream and it just stopped. Mixing paddle dragged along the bottom and stopped the motor. Couldn't just go away and leave the machine make ice cream.