Hamilton Beach 68330R 4-Quart Automatic Ice-Cream Maker

by Hamilton Beach

• Ice-cream maker produces up to 4 quarts in 20 to 40 minutes
• Fully automatic operation--no labor-intensive stirring required
• Makes homemade ice cream, frozen yogurt, custard, sherbet, and gelato
• Easy-lock lid; hand wash; user manual with 20 recipes included
• Measures approximately 12 by 12 by 13-1/2 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 12 x 13.4 inches ; 6.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0009A0N4E
• Item model number: 68330R
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (329 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #7 in Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Ice Cream Machines

Product Description

Makes ice cream, frozen yogurt, custard, sherbet & gelato, fully automatic, over 20 recipes included, Easy-Lock lid

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

418 of 423 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Ice Cream Maker, Fantastic Value May 14, 2010

By Joyce A. Brenc

Amazon Verified Purchase

1st, a great value. If you get cream at a bulk store, 6 bucks for a 50 pound sack of rock salt, ice from your freezer, and a few pennies for the other ingredients (sugar and vanilla), you're looking at a gallon of high quality ice cream for 5 bucks or less. Figure you're saving 5-7 bucks a use. That means this unit pays for itself if you use if 6 times, maybe 10-20 times if you're spending a lot on added ingredients.

2nd. Simple to use. Really well designed. Can't for the life of me understand people sticking plastic orange juice container parts to "fix" it. If it doesn't work, bring it back! Otherwise, top only goes on one way, and there's a locking feature that means that the unit must be properly assembled to fit correctly.

3rd. For people saying "it uses a lot of ice, and I had to run to the store . . . " my lord people, are we that helpless? You own a freezer, right? Make your own ice. All it takes is just a bit of planning. Just a bit people, not invading-Soviet Russia level planning. If you have an auto ice maker on your freezer, just empty it into a very large zip lock 2 or 3 times and you're good to go.

4th. The unit stops spinning when the ice cream reaches a given viscosity. I've made several batches of several different types and the only time the ice cream was "runny" was when I didn't break up the cookies and they clogged the mixer holes and caused the unit to stop prematurely - my fault. The other batches all came out about the same - like a very thick yogurt consistency. Into the freezer, and a day later it's getting there and 2 days later it's the same consistency as store bought. If you're getting runny ice cream, you're doing something wrong. BTW - if you use more crushed ice and/or salt, the mixture gets colder quicker, and you'll get more-crystally ice cream. If you use regular ice and/or less salt, the mixing takes longer and you get a creamier texture - adjust to desired consistency!

5th. As for using Ben and Jerry's recipes, be aware that this can affect the mixer. Maybe BandJ's recipes require a higher torque motor. We have made several types of ice cream from the instructions that came with the mixer, and they all work great. If you load the ice cream with pretzels and what not, this might not be a powerful enough mixer.

Great unit. Highly recommended.

EDIT - It's now late July and I've used this mixer one or two times a week since we bought it in March, which means we've done about 30 batches (lots of kids and friends and such). Still on the same 8 dollar bag of rock salt. Have made a dozen or so of the recipes that came with the book. Love it, recommend it even more than I did a few months ago.

2nd Update - It's now November, 2012, and the mixer motor is still going strong. Alas! The plastic bucket has a crack in it because a very zealous ice cream making person pounded on it to try to get some sticking salt/rock out after a run (argghh!). The new unit has just arrived. No issue whatsoever with the unit - it made a fantastic batch of vanilla with chocolate chips and walnuts right before its bucket was injured. I suppose I could have attempted to seal the crack, but at this price, I just decided to get a new one and use the old motor as a back up.

Regarding some of the negative comments, it's very clear that some folks have unrealistic expectations from this machine. "It's made out of plastic, so it's cheap." The space station has a lot of plastic on it, as do Mercedes cars. "It's too big." Really? The volume of ice cream produced was not concealed! "It never froze the mixture." You're either not using the enough salt rock and ice, or you're putting warm ingredients in - everything must be very cold prior to putting them into the mixer (cream, milk and egg mixture, and so on). "The paddle wasn't stirring because it has to be firmly pushed into the motor." True. The paddle does not stir using magic - it must be affixed to the motor. "Ice cream was not completely frozen." Correct - it's a slurry to somewhat solid when it's done. Mix a bit by hand, then put in freezer until solid! "It doesn't make Ben and Jerry's flavors." Too much stuff in the mix will hinder the mixer - go buy Ben and Jerry's. This machine works well, but it's not an industrial ice-cream maker, nor is it intended to be. Used properly, it will provide you with gallons of home made ice cream with the ingredients you choose and without chemical preservatives! Great deal.

180 of 183 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hamilton Beach 68330R August 4, 2008

By T. Council

Amazon Verified Purchase

I always read customer reviews here on Amazon before purchasing a product. The reviews posted for the Hamilton Beach 68330R 4-Quart Ice Cream Maker were somewhat puzzling. Some feedback was a concern and some raved about the product. I decided to buy the product and am very glad that I did. This machine is not as noisy as some have claimed and the quality of construction is pretty good. The ice cream produced by this machine is fabulous! Yes, it comes out like soft-serve but hardens perfectly when placed in the freezer for half a day. I prefer soft-serve anyway and tend to eat more than my share before it goes into the freezer. Clean-up is a snap with this thing. I really don't see any down-side for this product at this price.

179 of 186 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it! Just got it today & already have a gallon of ice cream May 12, 2007

By Jack M. Robertson

Just received this afternoon. Ran down to the store, bought all the ingredients, and just threw our first gallon of ice cream in the freezer. It's so cool ... and FUN! We did the quick and easy vanilla recipe that came with the recipe book, chopped up some brownies and reeses PB cups, and the motor stopped like it's supposed to in just 30 minutes. Soft serve ice cream as good as anything from the store ... and better for us. The directions are VERY simple to follow. We've never made ice cream before and didn't know squat about how to do it. Including time spent going to the store, we had our first batch within two hours after FEDEX delivered the package. We were skeptical about the loudness of the motor based on a prior review we read; the motor is really not that loud, but the sound it makes is rather obnoxious after about 10 to 15 minutes. However, it sounds just like I thought an electric ice cream maker would sound like. So, no surprises and SOOOO worth it! The price was awesome too!