Kenwood IM200 Electric Ice Cream Maker, 1.1 L, 8 W, White

I totally love this ice-cream maker, despite the poor reviews. It is true that it isn't perfect - for one it can only handle about 600mL of liquid (it expands as it freezes, so makes about 1L in total); secondly, it makes quite a soft ice-cream fresh from the ice-cream maker; and thirdly if you freeze it, it freezes really hard. None of these factors bother me - especially since it is so cheap. My recipes make about 600mL and we get about 6 servings of ice-cream for this (and as it's fresh, you need to eat it within 2 weeks - so that's a perfect amount of ice-cream to make at a time). I finish it off in the freezer to harden it up, and just take it out about 10-20 minutes before we want to eat it to let it soften up a bit.Despite, the poor reviews and these negative factors, I totally love this ice-cream maker and I think that it is essential for anyone that cannot eat dairy ice-cream. It has opened a lot of dairy-free ice-cream flavours that were previously not available to me and I am having a lot of fun creating my own ice-cream flavours.If you want to make dairy-free ice-cream I also recommend that you buy "The Vegan Scoop" by Wheeler del Toro as this has so many really tasty recipes - and the quantity is the perfect amount for this ice-cream maker capacity.

Wow! What can I say? This machine is seriously remarkable. I ordered the Kenwood IM200 Ice Cream Maker one Wednesday afternoon following the positive reviews from others on the Amazon website and was surprised to receive it the next day at 11:00am. I even told the courier man who delivered it that this was so quick and didn't expect to receive it until the next 3 days. 100% thumbs on this type of service. Yes, I ordered my machine from amazon.co.uk.Advantages* Within half an hour, you get the most smoothest creamiest ice cream on the planet. (For a firmer texture, place in a container and leave in freezer for about 2 more hours).* Minimal gadget pieces. Just the bowl, paddle, the paddle attachment and the mixing motor.* Does exactly what it says on the box.* My lemon and lime sorbet came out so nice. Very citrusy in flavour. Hmmm! Made a 450ml batch within 25 - 30 minutes!* The use of your own ingredients. (Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book has brilliant recipe ideas).* Just enough for one person who lives alone so no problems with quantity. It fills half pint airtight tubs. I use the plastic round Chinese containers which are quite handy for freezing remnants. (Same shapes as medium sized Haagen Dazs containers). Or you can use a recycled ice cream tub previously filled with shop bought ice cream. LOL!* A second batch can be made immediately after the first batch once the liquid is extremely cold (Straight from the fridge). The bowl is still frozen for a while. The process can be sped up by leaving the mixture in the freezer for about 10 - 15 minutes.* Comes with about 7 recopies on the instruction leaflet. Or you can improvise. The only limitation is your imagination. Homemade raspberry ice cream is serious!Disadvantages* It only manages 1.1 litre which is only achievable by measuring the ingredients to no more than 500ml. Any more than that results in the paddle jamming up. (Good tip:- If there's more liquid than necessary, make a second batch so you don't waste it.)* Need to freeze the bowl at least 24 hours prior to use so spontaneity is well out of the question.* The bowl is quite heavy and can be a bit of a nuisance if you suffer with weakness in your arms like me.* Can be noisy after which within a few minutes can cause some annoyance. Shut the kitchen door and chill out in the living room for the next half an hour before checking it out.* The bowl is very difficult to wash unless you leave it on one side to come to room temperature. Also the whole bowl is one piece so you cannot separate the metal part of the bowl from the ceramic base.* Will need a fair bit of space in the freezer to store the bowl for next use. I place my frozen vegetables in there to make extra space on the middle shelf of my freezer.All in all, not a bad machine. I've had no problems with the paddle jamming up and the bowl freezing over on the sides preventing the paddle from turning. I use a measuring jug to pour my ingredients into the bowl avoiding hitting the sizes as this will result in the liquid freezing on the sides. Following instructions to the T is a must. Overall review: - positive thumbs up!!! I gave it a 4 star for three reasons. 1 quite noisy, 2 length of time to wait to use it and 3 how difficult it is to wash without bringing it back to room temperature.

This arrived yesterday, the bowl was in the freezer overnight and I have just eaten my first batch of icecream. Which incidentally was stunning and very easy to make(mango puree and double cream). I followed the instructions and had soft icecream in about 20 mins. I then put it in the freezer for an hour to firm up a little bit more and it is totally delicious and far nicer than bought stuff. I am a complete convert and can't wait to try out more recipes. Yes, it's a little noisy, but that's only a minor detail and the price is excellent.Update Aug 2011.I continue to love this little machine and am starting to buy extra ones as presents for friends and family. Each new batch of ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt becomes my favourite - Dulce de leche, lemon curd, strawberry, peach/apricot.... the list is becoming very long!Major tip I have discovered, particularly for sorbets, but also as a way of keeping your icecream scoopable once it has been in the freezer a while: liquid glucose. You only need a spoonful in each recipe, but it prevents big ice-crystals forming and keeps everything soft enough without being sloppy.