Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

This was a temporary buy because I ordered a 6 QT electric White Mountain but had to wait 10 days for delivery and I wanted ice cream now. So I had little expectations. Boy, was I surprised. It worked better than the cuisinart electric. I must say the texture and consistency was perfect. The ice cream was ready in 35 minutes. I'll keep this one and look forward to many more batches of homemade ice cream.

This is a great machine.

Materials. Light weight and nothing to rust, a big plus! Some of the reviews here didn't think that the materials were durable enough. They are. Clearly, it's not professional restaurant grade, and it's not going to endure being kicked around in your garage. On the other hand, though, if you're just looking for a nice machine that the whole family (including the kids) can handle, it's perfect.

Design. Really simple and easy to use. Also, no fasteners to come loose and cause problems.

Ice cream. The recipes included will all produce rich, creamy, and delicious ice cream. Some reviews stated that the consistency was too soft. If you like firmer ice cream, just leave the canister in the ice and salt for a while longer, as per the instructions. We tried some as soon as the motor stopped, and it was exactly like we used to eat as kids. The rest we left in the ice/salt for about an hour and then ate some more. After that hour it was firmer all the way through. No ice crystals or lumps.

Noise. The motor is definitely quieter than the machine we had as kids. Not sure why some of the reviews thought it was too loud. Obviously, a metal canister spinning around in ice and salt is going to make some noise. We ran it in the bathtub (for drainage) just across the hall from the room we were in. There was only one closed door in between. We could barely hear it.

In general, I'm not sure why people would want to spend more money. This is a big ice cream maker that does an excellent job of churning ice cream.

I received no coupons, special offers, or price discounts for this review. Just really liked the product. Good job Hamilton Beach!

I am very impressed at how simple it is to make ice cream with this machine.It said it takes 20-40 mins to make but I used 2% milk instead of whole milk and it took a little longer.But who cares! It's electric.I just did like the instructions says and listened for it to slow down and or stop.It did and the ice cream was great.I used the quick and simple recipe ,not the one you have to cook.I can't wait to try out different things to add to the mix.Also I was very impressed at how quiet it is.It seems like most small appliances are very noisy but not this one.

I love this product! I use it every two weeks or so & get flawless results. The product makes an ice cream with a soft serve texture (which I love) which then becomes harder in the freezer. I use Ben & Jerry recipes & make up my own.

I first tried the newer models that don't require ice and salt but was extremely disappointed. They kept breaking and the ice cream wasn't even as thick as a shake. After trying this one, I really don't mind the ice and salt because the ice cream comes out so perfect. I use it very often and never have any problems with it. All ice cream makers are a little loud. I just plug it in behind one closed door & it works very quickly & makes the best tasting ice cream I've ever had.

I absolutely recommend this product.

This is a great maker...simple setup, does a good job making ice cream, etc. My only compliant is that the motor is EXTREMELY LOUD...I had to move it to another room and close 2 doors. Otherwise, makes great ice cream.

Makes great ice cream, but after about 6 uses, the plastic lid cracked. If you are planning on using your ice cream maker often (i.e. every couple of weeks), spend the $ and get a better quality one.

Yes, the price is comparatively cheap -- but the low price is reflected in the low quality materials and workmanship in the product. After a number of uses, I found one day that it had completely stripped the chintzy aluminum fittings, rendering the machine worthless. But even worse, the metal filings from the stripped parts dropped down inside the canister around the stirring blade, completely ruining a full batch of ice cream! NOT HAPPY.