Cuisinart Ice Cream and Gelato Professional ICE100

This model comes with two types of paddle: one for ice cream and another with more notches for gelato. Unfortunately, no elements of this model are dishwasher-safe, but everything is easy to hand wash.

• Read our full list of the best ice cream makers

How easy is the Cuisinart Ice Cream and Gelato Professional to use?

Thanks to high-quality design, this model is easy to put together. All component parts slot into place and, overall, assembly is intuitive.

There aren’t many controls to work out, just a power, timer, and nifty stop/start button, which allows you to stop the churning process to taste or inspect your ice cream without having to reset anything.

The timer runs for up to 60 minutes, though it’s unlikely that anything you make will take that long, and can be set in five-minute increments. There’s no noise or signal to let you know when to add in extra ingredients, like chocolate or nuts, but the manual recommends doing this in the last five minutes of the mixing process. There’s no need to stop churning, just take the lid off and pop them in.

This model has a 1.5-litre ice cream bowl, which Cuisinart say is equivalent to a litre of ice cream if you’re using your own recipe. The manual includes 15 recipes for ice cream, sorbet, gelato and frozen yogurt. Particular standouts include espresso gelato and honey frozen yogurt.

Our only gripe is that it’s makes a noisy, mechanical whirring sound when churning. This isn't unusual for an ice cream maker though, many we tested were as loud as this one.

Results

We tested this Cuisinart model by making ultimate vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet using the ice cream paddle and hazelnut gelato with chocolate sauce with the gelato paddle. Both paddles are well made and robust, no flexing under the weight of ice cream here!

The manual says to run the ice cream maker for 35-45 minutes for soft serve ice cream and 45-60 minutes for hard ice cream. When we made our vanilla ice cream we stopped the machine after 41 minutes as the ice cream was just being pushed around the bowl. It looked well mixed, soft and aerated. When we tasted it, it had a super-smooth texture that was slightly firmer than soft-set ice cream: perfect for serving straight away. We decanted the ice cream and let it freeze overnight where we found no change; the ice cream was just as deliciously creamy as before.

Our sorbet was equally smooth and ice-crystal free. It lingered on the tongue and slowly melted away – the perfect sorbet.

We were intrigued to see how much of a difference the gelato paddle would make: it has one extra rung and small teeth on the side. After churning, our hazelnut gelato had a smooth and creamy appearance, it was the texture of ganache – thick and velvety.

Conclusion

If you’re in the market for an ice cream maker that produces professional results, the Cuisinart model is perfect. A self-freezing model is a must-have for anyone serious about ice cream-making, as it allows you to get creative and make batches very quickly.

Whether you’re making ice cream, sorbet or gelato, it excels. Ice cream was consistently creamy, smooth and ready to serve, even after a day in the freezer.

It’s not the smallest, but as a self-freezing model, this is to be expected. It’s also one of the cheaper options of this kind on the market.

Specifications

Wattage: 150W
Pre-freeze or self-freezing: self-freezing
Accessories: gelato paddle
Pre-set functions: none
Dimensions (cm): H:30 x W:24 x D:42
Bowl capacity: 1.5L

Ice cream recipes

Ultimate vanilla ice cream
Strawberry ice cream
Vegan vanilla ice cream
Buttermilk, brown sugar and rye bread ice cream
Malt chocolate ice cream
Cranachan ripple ice cream
Gooseberry ice cream

Sorbet recipes

Mango sorbet
Raspberry sorbet
Elderflower sorbet
Lemon sorbet
Rhubarb and star anise sorbet
Gooseberry, elderflower and sauvignon sorbet
Refreshing lychee and lime sorbet

Related reviews

Best food processors
Best blenders
Best saucepans
Best pan sets
Best hand blenders
Best ice lolly moulds

This review was last updated in April 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk