Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart ICE-20FR Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased this in kind of a throwaway moment..."hey, a cheap ice cream maker, what the heck." I wish I had more of those moments! This is a great gadget. I used it for the first time last week and made exquisite Heath Bar Crunch in about 30 minutes. It tastes much better than store-bought ice cream.

The maker itself looks very nice. After freezing the bowl, you simply pour in your ice cream base (generally milk, cream, eggs and vanilla) and turn it on. It is loud, but it IS an ice cream maker...besides, for 15 minutes, can we not just deal? About 5 minutes before finishing, you add your goodies--chocolate chips, candy pieces, etc. I recommend freezing your creation another 1-2 hours afterward because the consistency can be somewhat like ice milk right away. The ice cream is even better 2-3 days letter if frozen covered.

Ice cream recipe books are a good compliment, but plenty of recipes are also available online at various places. Overall, I give this my highest recommendation. For the price, you can't beat it. The finished product is excellent and easily created. Cheers!

We used to have one of those ice cream makers that works with salt and ice cubes. After fighting with it one holiday, a relative of ours bought us one of these ice makers instead. We LOVED it, and friends have had so much fun with it that they now have one as well.

It's very easy. Simply put the central unit into the freezer beforehand so it gets cold. Now dump in the ingredients, put that into the base, and turn it on. In 20 minutes you have fresh, delicious, all natural ice cream or yogurt, in whatever style you enjoy!

We found it easy to use, easy to clean up, and a huge hit with not only our own family but with whoever came over to eat with us. Definitely a keeper.

I was hesitant about buying this item because of the rising population of "trendy" unused small appliances in my kitchen. I decided to take the plunge after seeing this sort of product used on the "Iron Chef" TV show. I couldn't believe that fabulous ice cream dishes worthy of a Japanese cooking contest could be created inside of 1 hour. I bought it that day! I put the freezing bowl in the freezer immediately after opening the box and blended up two cans of peach slices and a cup of plain yogurt. When the bowl was frozen (5 hrs) I dumped that stuff in and Voila'!! Ice cream with dinner! My kids think I'm the greatest and I sneaked calcium into their diet with no protests. If you have any doubts, don't. (one more thing: I didn't think the freezer space issue was a big deal, I put a bag of frozen peas inside the bowl to save space)

Don't be scared of buying Cusinart reconditioned. I have bought two of these for the mere fact that the reconditioned ice cream makers cost less than buying just an additional freezer bowl! This way, I have two makers, or an extra bowl when I need it!
This machine works perfectly-makes the best home made ice cream in about 30 minutes-and if you or your family are true ice-cream hogs like my family is, then this will pay for itself in no time.
The recipes that are included are quick and easy. And keep in mind that you can adapt the recipes to be lower fat, or lactose free by substituting either condensed fat free milk for cream, 2%/1% or skim milk for whole milk (but don't go crazy with the skim or you'll have iced milk), or use Chocolate Soy milk for a lactose free version.
As far as it being reconditioned-well one of mine did have some minor blemishes, which would have appeared after use anyway. The other one was mint.
I'm very pleased with this purchase, and I'm sure you will be as well.

I recently purchased this ice cream maker. I love it. My 4 1/2 year old son made strawberry yogurt last night. It's so easy. Just freeze the canister, dump in the ingredients, turn it on, and get ready! The instruction book is helpul with lots of basic recipes. When we made our ice cream or yogurt, we really don't measure everything that goes in there - Just pour it in. My kids love and I know it's healthy for them. You can substitute lower fat ingredients and it doesn't effect the end result. A must buy!

I absolutely love this machine. I have every kitchen appliance known to man. I recently got married and had an incredibly hard time registering, this was the only appliance that I didn't already own, so I thought 'what the heck', it can't be worse than my wooden tub/ice/salt freezer. It was amazing! It makes the perfect quantity of ice cream from a dinner for 8 and the cost savings on store bought ice cream is great. Just one pint of whipping cream and one pint of milk, a little sugar and vanilla and you are good to go! I never follow a recipe, so the book is a good guide, but feel free to embellish yourself with fresh fruit, nuts, or your favorite candy bar.

The Reconditioned Cuisinart is a fantastic bargain. When I was shopping around, I could not find a comparable product ... Don't be worried about buying a reconditioned product -- if it were not for the sticker on the box, I would have been unable to tell the difference between the ice cream maker I bought and a brand new one.

Making ice cream is easy: just freeze the bowl, fill it with an ice cream mixture, put in the plastic mixing arm, cover, and press ON. Ice cream will be ready in 20-30 minutes, depending on the consistency you like. The plastic cover usually does not get dirty, so you only have to clean the mixing arm and the bowl.

A word of caution: you need to get the bowl really cold for this to work. It has a saltwater solution sealed inside which freezes well below the freezing point of water, and this really needs to be frozen, or your ice cream will be soupy. The instructions said to freeze for at least 6 hours, but with my freezer on the coldest setting it takes closer to 24 hours. This is OK, since I just store the bowl in the freezer when I'm not using it, and I do not make ice cream more than once a day.

Your ice cream will also not freeze properly if you start with too much in the freezer bowl. Remember that during freezing, a lot of air is being added to the ice cream, and there needs to be room for it to expand!

Even when the bowl is really cold, the ice cream will not be the same consistency as you buy in the store -- it is a bit firmer than soft-serve ice cream. I think it is best when it comes right out of the ice cream maker, but if you want it firmer, you can put it in the freezer for a few hours before serving it.

There are not very many recipes included in the instruction booklet, but there are enough to get you started. My favorite ice creams have come from adding different flavors to the recipe for basic vanilla (try adding a tablespoon of cinnamon -- Mmm!). I have used this product to make ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbets, and they have all turned out better than anything I could buy in a store. I will never pay for commercial ice cream again!

I was a bit hesitant about purchasing a reconditioned unit, but after speaking with my friend I decided to take the plunge. She has the same unit which she had gotten brand new and uses it all the time.

This is wonderful for people who follow a low carb way of eating as you can adjust the ingredients for your liking. We use the traditional vanilla recipe in the front of the book, substituting light cream for the milk and splenda for the sugar. We chopped up low carb chocolate bars and sliced up some fresh strawberries, and made some WONDERFUL homemade, vanilla, chocolate chip w/strawberries. Yum...I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

HINT: be sure to chop things up small if you are adding extras and remember they get added, 5 minutes before the ice cream is finished.

Finally, after 5 years of appearing on my gift list, I told my husband to buy me this refurbished model for Mother's Day. Well worth my wait!

Many of the other reviewers have remarked on the length of time to freeze the bowl and the "inability" to stay adequately cold long enough. I'm happy to say I've had neither of these problems. Sure, the ice-cream is soft-serve density, but an hour or two in the freezer and it is the stiffness one is accustomed to buying from the store. Any stiffer during the mixing process would render it impossible to continue mixing. It takes merely overnight in my freezer to get cold enough - and it's still so cold when I'm done that its painful to pick up to empty it and the HOT wash water freezes to the sides when I'm trying to dry it. So there you go - cold!

I transfer the results to a plastic freezer container (as instructed), clean the bowl (it takes maybe a minute to clean all the parts) and put it back in the freezer so it's ready everyday, should I need it. It's about 5.5" tall x 7" inches wide, so it really doesn't take up too much space. I also stockpile meats, waffles, veggies and juice in a standard freezer and still have plenty of room.

It makes 1.5 quarts, just a bit less than the size you buy at the store. It feeds my husband and I GENEROUSLY for 2-3 nights. If you were having a crowd, you'd have to start a few days in advance and store each batch in another container.

I've used it pretty much every day since it arrived and it's held up great. Desperate to get going the day it arrived, but dismally out of dairy supplies, I threw in some juice and 15 minutes later had something between a slushie and a sorbet that the kids loved. The next day I got inventive, using whole milk and some non-dairy French Vanilla coffee creamer that was left in the fridge. Paired with some instant coffee and chocolate chips, it was heaven! Today, I've finally done it according to the recipe, using fresh strawberries, heavy cream and whole milk - divine!

It's much cheaper to make (have you priced ice-cream, especially premium, all-natural varieties lately?) and a whole lot of fun to throw stuff in and see how it comes out.

Oh - and the noise factor. Really not bad, about like an average dishwasher. Some reviewers make it sound like a freight train. One can hold a conversation easily with it in the room.

So there you have it - a great product that makes a great product! Gotta go - that fresh-strawberry ice-cream's calling!

Having used a Cuisinart food processor for years, I felt comfortable about ordering this machine, even re-conditioned. The price was what sold me - and the 90-day factory warranty plus the positive customer service experienced by other reviewers regarding minor problems with the product helped too. My machine arrived within about 3 days of ordering (thank you, Amazon.com). It was clean, packaged as new, with no discernible defects. I immediately washed & dried the machine's freezer insert, and placed it in my freezer overnight. My first batch of a mocha-chip gelato was good, the second batch better, and a follow-up jasmine tea sorbet (fat-free, no less) was superb. Storing the machine's insert in the freezer keeps it ready for use, and chilling the sorbet or ice cream mixture for several hours or overnight helps the freezing process. It's a bit noisy, but not more than I expected. Generally, a fun toy and nice addition to my culinary arsenal.