Since you're reading this, you're probably wondering if it's worth the extra money compared to a lot of the other home machines on the market. I've had mine for five and a half years now, and I can tell you that this is the King, the Cadillac, the Ultimate home ice cream machine. It's absolutely worth the extra money, and I'd recommend it to anyone that's serious about their ice cream.
You probably already know that this model has a built-in freezer, so you don't have to pre-freeze a bowl for 24 hours or so before making a batch of ice cream. It'll happily make back-to-back batches if you want, and the extra freezing power makes incredibly smooth ice cream. Every batch I've made has been on par with Ben & Jerry's, my favorite ice cream up until buying this machine.
Unlike most other machines, everything is made of metal, including the dasher, so it feels extremely durable.
It also has a large see-through plastic cover that you can lift off to have full access to the ingredients moving inside, which makes adding things like nuts, candy, chocolate pieces, etc. very easy, instead of having to funnel them down a tiny chute and not really being able to see how the freezing is progressing. One of the fun things about this machine is being able to stand over it and watch as the liquid starts transforming into ice cream.
If you've read other reviews, you've probably heard people complain about a few things, so let me ease your mind:
Weight - it's 44 pounds, which I have no problem lifting up onto the counter.
Cleanup - because of the way it freezes, it uses a non-removable stainless steel bowl. Use a sponge with warm water, and you'll have it cleaned out in less than two minutes. It's a bit easier if you let the bowl warm back up to room temperature first, but if you're in a hurry to start another batch, you can do it right away also.
Ice Cream Extraction - use the specially-designed plastic spoon that comes with it, and you'll have no problem getting it all out, even in the curves along the bottom of the bowl where the spoon fits perfectly.
The description says it's a 1.5 quart machine, but use recipes that say they make 1 quart and it'll have a bit of room for the air that gets added.
I store the ice cream in cardboard ice cream containers and then put them in the freezer for several hours to get the consistency of store-bought ice cream. (although several batches have been eaten right after coming out of the machine -- it makes a very stiff, soft-serve consistency) Quart-sized containers are here:
25ct White Quart Frozen Dessert Containers and pint sized here:
25ct White Pint Frozen Dessert ContainersI'd recommend starting with
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. The sweet cream base is a good first recipe to try, since it's used in so many other recipes, and is delicious even on its own. Another good book to start with is
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Homemade Ice Cream.
Generally a batch takes about 30 minutes, and I usually shut off the machine when I hear it slowing down.
If you're serious about ice cream, this is the one. I've even seen it on TV a couple of times when they talk about high quality machines and ice cream classes.
Update: Dec. 31, 2012 - After five and a half years, the machine finally started taking longer to chill the bowl. I called an appliance repair company and they sent someone over to add more Freon to it. Now it's back to chilling in about 5 minutes, and good as new. While he had the machine open, he pointed out that it has a direct drive motor and fan, with no belts. It also has a clutch on the motor, so in theory you should be able to run it until the ice cream gets hard enough to stop the motor, without hurting it. Great, high-quality machine!