Customer Reviews

Krups GVS142 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice-Cream Maker

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the first ice cream maker I've ever owned or used. It works great and the resulting ice cream has turned out fabulous.

The bowl freezes well and I've never had a problem with the ice cream never getting cold enough. The motor is very quiet so you can run the machine during dinner or when you have company. Clean up is a snap. There are no weird parts or super delicate pieces to worry about.

I've made ice cream several times. I've enjoyed recipes in the Williams Sonoma ice cream book, "How to Cook Everything" by Bittman and Gourmet's cookbook. One note: I have had to toss out a few attempts at making custard-style ice cream using eggs. I just needed to get the hang of it. I'm glad I hung in there until I got the recipe right because it's worth the effort!

This is also my first automatic ice cream freezer, and I am glad I chose this one. You do need to follow the directions and pre-freeze the container. In fact, after using, I immediately wash the freezer bowl, dry it well, and stick it back in the freezer so it is ready to go when I want to use it. I store any leftover ice cream in another container. That is, if I am lucky enough to have leftovers!

The unit is a snap to put together, use, and wash.It is reasonably quiet to use as well.

I found tons of recipes on the internet. So far, our favorite has been orange sherbet. Yes, it is cheaper to buy commericial and you do need to keep ingredients on hand and chilled, but well worth the effort!

I've made at least 6 different types of ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt since receiving this as a gift. Even though I've followed the directions carefully, chilled both the bowl and the mix as directed, the consistency of the end product tends to be a bit granular. I still haven't produced an ice cream with the smoothness that I was able to get from my old 1970s era Salton-put-it-in-the-freezer-while-it-mixes ice cream maker. I'll keep trying, but I'm disappointed. Plus, other than the metal lining for the freezer bowl, all the other pieces are plastic, so I have to wonder how long this thing will last.

Krups brand has a good reputation, but my experience with their automatic ice cream maker has raised some concerns, "buyer beware." I read all 17 reviews, and only three ranked less than 5 stars. I found JM's two star review dated Aug 3,07 particularly useful because I encountered similar but not identical issues.

I made the coffe gelato recipe from the, "Dessert Bible," by Christopher Kimball, editor of Cooks Illustrated. Krup's instruction says to put the freezer bowl with the finished product back in the freezer overnight. When I did, the gelato became a frozen-solid not suitable for scooping out. My suggestion would be to remove the finished product to a separate container before placing it into the freezer for "final curing." As the mixing finished, I removed the lid and paddle and noticed that the sides and bottom of the bowl was not scraped cleanly during the "churning" to incorporate all of the mix.

Last week, for my second attempt, I tried Ginger Ice Cream, a recipe from the Little Washington Inn cookbook. After making the cream mixture I placed it in the refrigerator to cool. The next morning I began to assemble the Krup's ice cream maker and, as much as I tried, I was unable to get the lid to attach to the freezer bowl.

Customer Service at Krups is closed on weekends, so on Monday, I called them and described the problem about my difficulty in securing the lid. The lid assembly has the motor attached from the top and the paddle attached from the bottom. Customer Service's analysis came back as a "defective freezer bowl---warped." I described my problem to them as I could not get the lid assembly unit to fit into the "lock" recesses of the upper ring (there are four such recesses that secure the lid to the freezer bowl. First, I described how the paddle shaft fit only part way into the recess of the motor and when I pushed as far as it would go, instead of being firmly seated, it seemed to be in too shallow and was wobbly when I moved it. Second the ill-fitting paddle appeared too long, preventing the lid from seating evenly along the top ring which is designed to secure the lid to the freezer bowl. Krup's response that the bowl was warped (bottom was not flat, but it bowed upward) preventing the motor-lid-paddle assembly to fit.

I then looked at Amazon's web page again and noticed that the Krup's ice cream maker shown came with the paddle in two parts (separate paddle and drive shaft) versus mine which was a single plastic molded paddle with shaft as part of the design. I also looked at the original packing carton, and it had a notice that the picture printed on the carton may not match the parts packed.

I do not know the nuances of the model identification of the machines the customers reviewed (probably all #GSV 142) with a different suffix, mine reads #4506 and has the single paddle, or some other suffix number for the two piece paddle. But it's a fact that there are differences in the paddle design. I believe, based on my experience, that the two-part paddle design is preferred. And if the freezer bowl has a tendency to warp, it may be due to quality control of how much freezer gel is pumped into the double wall of the Freezer Bowl. If there is too much, the freezing gel could push against the bottom of the bowl, warping it. Just a thought. Anyway, my defective unit is being returned, and my several hours of preparing the ginger ice cream mix sits in the refrigerator and will probably not survive the time it takes me to get a different mixer.

The title says it in a nutshell. The poor design of this product deserves 0 stars, but if you don't mind doing some slap-dash repairs it will make some good homemade frozen treats. The details:
If you look at the picture of the machine, you will see a clear plastic top which fits on to the white plastic piece below it. There are 4 small round pegs on the inside of the top which slide down the same number of slots in the white plastic piece below it. At the bottom of the slots you can then turn the top to either side where it will slide into a semi-circular recess. And therein lies the problem--while a circle will easily slide into a semi-circle, there is nothing to lock it into place. Once the motor starts running, there is more than sufficient vibration to jiggle the lid out and up. This will result in the paddle no longer scraping against the bottom of the frozen bowl as it turns and you are left with a non-creamy solid block at the bottom of the bowl when you are done.
I called Krups support line about this issue. After 20 minutes on hold waiting for someone to pick up, and another 5 minutes on hold after I explained the issue for the agent to track down the machine so he could see for himself, I was told "If it makes you feel any better, the previous model's lid just sat on top with nothing to hold it down at all." Which tells me the designers were aware of the issue but couldn't come up with a very good idea to solve it, and didn't do sufficient testing to determine whether the problem had been solved. As I said, the designers deserve 0 stars on this one. While the wait for support was longer than a customer should have to put up with, the guy I talked to certainly did all he could do under the circumstances. For those who already bought this machine he did offer a helpful suggestion--since the lid can be turned in either direction, turning it in the direction opposite the direction the paddle is turning will make it pop out less frequently. This is still of limited help since as the ice cream gets thicker the paddle reverses direction. Ultimately, I found that in order to keep the lid on without constant baby-sitting that the old home repair stand-by--duct tape--would hold the lid down as long as you make sure to apply it right at the start before condensation forms.
So having done all that, how's the ice cream? Quite good. The frozen bowl holds its cold well and has no problem getting your ice cream from liquid to...well, ice cream. The paddle does its job of keeping things creamy rather than frozen lumps. The texture is best right out of the maker--after you put it in the freezer it tends to harden up, but how much depends largely on what your ingredients are (the more fat, the more "creamy"). So once you overcome the design flaws of this machine you will ultimately get what you got it for. But if I had it to do again, I'd get a machine that was designed right in the first place.

Okay, so some of the plastic parts aren't confidence inspiring. Nevertheless, this contraption snaps together easily and securely and makes a fine quart or so of ice cream, gelato, sorbet, etc.

We have been delighted with the performance of this ice cream maker. Like most modern ice cream makers you don't use ice and rock salt to do the freezing. The base (which must go empty in the freezer for 24 hours before you make a batch) does all the freezing all by itself. It takes about 30-45 minutes to freeze a batch. Like all ice cream you can make at home with a small machine, what comes out is soft serve. If you like your ice cream more firm you just need to package it and freeze it another hour or two before serving.

The feature that really differentiates this ice cream maker from all other home makers I've ever used or seen is how quiet it is. It is no more noisy than a quiet dishwasher. so now we can make a batch in a kitchen that is open to the family TV room and have it be ready by the time the TV show is over.

First try was a key lime sorbet. It came out perfect. Cherry vanilla ice cream was next. It couldn't have come out better. The machine is easy to use and easy to clean. Almost forgot, it's quiet.

A friend of mine has the cuisinart ICE-20; it is VERY loud when it churns. This one works so much quieter and has the same end product!
The first batch I made came out soupy and I was initially disappointed. I then moved the freezer bowl to the top shelf in the freezer and let it freeze longer than the suggested 24 hours and the second batch came out perfect! Now I just have to find some better recipes! The recipe manual that came with this model left me disappointed, but I have found lots on the internet.

some friends and I were having a conversation about the "good ole days" of real frozen custard. If you want to experience ice cream that had remarkable depth and incredible creaminess, use this machine. It works flawlessly and delivers the goods. There are hundreds of recipes for ice cream on the internet including those that are "healthy" for you! it's great for dinner parties where you want to really wow the guests with homemade quality ice cream. It makes just the right amount for 6 or so, and is VERY cold out of the freezer. top shelf product.