We are thinking about buying an ice cream maker (they look like this)

-- mostly to avoid giving our kids the usual low-quality, high-fat bought versions. But I am not sure if it is really worthwhile and some versions are extremely expensive.

I would appreciate hearing any advice/opinions about this.

In my experience they come in two sorts:

1. Cheaper where you put the bowl in the freezer and then add some sort of electric churning device onto.

2. One where the bowl has a freezing built in element in (usually more expensive)

If you can afford it option 2 is great as its quicker and easier to use.

Hope this helps

We were given the cheaper option (bowl that you need to put in the freezer for at least 12hrs before hand) as a wedding present. We haveu sed it once in four years.

I didnt even bother unpacking it when we moved here as our freezer is tiny.

I would pay the extra $$$ and get one with the built in freezing/cooling element.

My health consious mother use to freeze tubs of yoghurt for us for what she called yoghurt ice-cream! We loved it. Or we use to mix store bought vanilla icecream with flavored yoghurt, then refreeze - slightly unhealthier version.

I think it is more the sugar which is the unhealthy part. Icecream has a hell of a lot of sugar in it because the tastebuds can't taste sweet things very well if they are very cold, which is why melted icecream tastes sickly sweet.

The "Carte D'Or" icecream we have in our freezer is made with skimmed milk but the sugar seems to make up most of the calorie count.

Kids mainly seem to eat icecream in summer when they are out and about with their parents or on holiday. You wouldn't be able to take your home made icecream with you so you either have to tell the kids they have to wait till they get home again for a treat or make them go without.

I would just limit the amount of icecream they are allowed to have. Anything "in moderation" didn't do anyone any harm.

I bought one second-hand some time ago. And, unfortunately, despite the very best of intentions, I've only made ice-cream with it once.

I even invested in an extra cooler (cost about 60.00) to make larger portions. Quite frankly, it takes some time to set up and you have to keep it very clean if you're using fresh eggs.

Perhaps one day, I'll get it out again and give it another go. In the meantime, I've taken the coolers out of the deep-freeze which were taking up too much space and have gone back to buying a decent high-quality tub whenever we feel like it.

I don't think it would work out. You are mistaken to equate low quality and high fat. Butterfat is expensive, so higher quality ice creams have more of it, not less. Good home made ice cream usually has more fat than all but the most expensive commercial products. Commercial ice cream makers also have more ability to reduce fat while maintaining reasonable texture, for example by substituting food gum for fat, or simply by adding more air.

You can try to make sorbet or ice milk in a home ice cream maker, but I don't think most children would be happy with the results.

We have one, the kind you put the bowl in the freezer. We have a separate freezer so we just keep it in there ready to go. In summer I use it maybe almost every week, lately once a month or so.

It is time consuming to make, it takes time to make the mixture stirring constantly on the stove and then it must cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. I KNOW exactly what is in it, it tastes wonderful but you have to plan ahead.I use it mostly for my husband, more than the kids, they could care less, but my husband does not like a lot of commercial ice creams. You can use a variety of recipes, so the vanilla ice cream I make has not got a lot of sugar but is pretty high in fat.

It really depends on how much you can be bothered, it is a bit of work and we tend to eat the whole batch in one go and not save any.

Good luck with your decision.
Larissa

If you are likely to make ice-cream quite often, then it might be worthwhile investing in an ice-cream maker, but then I would definitely recommend one with a built-in freezer (as Thalwiler also suggests).

I often make ice-cream with my food processor. This requires mixing all of the ingredients together, freezing, and then churning in the food processor, and then some more freezing.

Another thing you might want to keep in mind is, will your kids like the taste of homemade ice-cream? If not, probably no point in forking out big bucks for a kitchen appliance that will only gather dust. Though, it might be healthier to have them eat homemade ice-cream, and it might also save you money in the long-run.

We had the kind that you put the base in the freezer. I also tried to make "healthier" ice cream with it. Ice cream with little fat & sugar just doesn't "set up". You will either have to buy one of the big expensive ones where you put ice & salt in the base or your best bet is to make other frozen things, like frozen pudding, mousse, popcicles, slushies, ice-y water things or some of the other suggestions which don't need the ice cream maker.

I don't make proper icecream at home, but I do make individual 'icecreams' using some moulds I bought from Ikea. For example, in the blender I mix banana, milk, chocolate drinking powder, honey and some ground hazelnuts or almonds. Pour into the moulds and freeze for a few hours. My family loves them, you control exactly what goes in and it's so easy.

I know it's not the same, but in the meantime it could keep the kids happy!

Kate

My experience is exactly the same as the quoted post.
You can make really delicious ice-cream with it, but such a pallava I only do it if I'm having visitors or doing a special meal

C'mon folks, you don't eat ice cream and worry about calories. It's about pleasure and screw the calories! My other half makes great ice cream. The benefit of making your own is that you control what goes into it. Good quality ingredients - fresh double cream, real vanilla, eggs that came out of a chicken within the last few days etc - and not some crap artificial flavour additive or non dairy fat substitutes which are common in manufactured stuff. But one thing you have to do is buy one with a built in freezer. Italian jobs are the best.

Thanks everybody, your responses summed up our thinking. The thing is that my children do not really eat bought icecream more than once a year. In general we do not give them a lot of sweets and when we do, we try to give them homemade cakes or a small piece of dark chocolate.

But my daughter is to undergo tonsils removal surgery next week and although this is probably going to be more of a hassle than anything serious, I am a bit concerned about how she will take it. So I thought I could pamper her a bit.

I think that Movenpick ice cream is quite a good option in that it does not usually contain large amounts of transfats and most ingredients there seem fine.

I usually try to avoid food with a lot of additives and long lists of strange ingredients, but I am all for natural cream and butter (in reasonable quantities). So I thought that I could provide some healthier options for her with homemade ice creams and sorbets. But I am not sure, also having seen your responses, that the machine is such a good investment, especially since I am not enthusiastic about spending 500 CHF for the one with a built-in freezer.

I haven't checked this out but Migros or Coop might do a "Bio" version of ice cream. They seem to do a "Bio" version of most of their produce so perhaps you will find a scrummy tub of healthy icecream lurking in their freezer department.

As an alternative, you could buy an lolly ice kit (moulds and sticks) from a department store and freeze fruit juices into lolly ices which would also sooth a sore throat after the tonsil op.

Tupperware do a version so perhaps you could also order online.

Though I can understand your principles for normal days, surely it won't hurt to give your daughter a bit of "rubbish" in exceptional circumstances like after the operation ?
When my son had his adenoids removed (many years ago, don't know if this still happens), the doctor actually said he should eat as much ice-cream as he wanted, as it would calm the irritation. The ice-cream was provided at the hospital and there was certainly no question of being "picky" on what sort it was !