Judge ice cream maker review

Available from:
Amazon (£35.98)
Horwood (£28.80)

• Read our full review of the best ice cream makers

The Judge entry-level ice cream machine is a bargain. It has the capacity to make 1.5 litres of ice cream, sorbet or frozen yogurt.

Also, surprisingly at this price, the machine is exceptionally sturdy; both the bowl and integrated motor are heavy and well-made. The only let down was the paddle, which was a lightweight plastic.

That aside, putting the machine together was easy, and everything snapped into place. The bowl has thick walls and froze quickly (it was solid after 8 hours), we left it overnight as with other machines we tested.

We liked the funnel in the lid, wide enough for easy, clean pouring of cream into the machine.

Once running, it was surprisingly quiet. It purred away quietly in the background, only catching our attention when the paddle began to struggle against the thick ice cream.

In less than 25 minutes it produced a light, smooth ice cream, as good as any made in costlier machines. There were no complaints on re-trying the ice cream after 24 and 48 hours – this was excellent ice cream.

The bowl of the machine is handwash only, the lid (with the motor removed) and paddle are dishwasher-safe.

Aside from the flimsy paddle and a strong chemical smell on unwrapping (it disappeared quickly after a good wash), we were seriously impressed by the cost of this machine and the quality of ice cream produced.

The Judge is a budget-priced machine with impressive results.

Available from:
Amazon (£35.98)
Horwood (£28.80)

Judge ice cream maker specifications
Type: pre-freeze
Capacity: 1.5 litres
Size: 22cm x 24cm x 26cm
Noise: quiet
Settings: on and off
Functions: ice cream, yogurt, sorbets
Lid: integrated motor
Extras: ingredient funnel in lid
Cleaning: the bowl handwash only, paddle and lid dishwasher proof
Guarantee: two years
Instruction manual: yes
Recipes: one

Read our full review of the best ice cream makers

Ice cream maker recipes

Browse some of our popular ice cream recipes and give them a try in your ice cream machine.

Real vanilla ice cream
Honeycomb ice cream
Pistachio ice cream
Quick banana ice cream
Lemon sorbet
Chocolate sorbet
Ice cream maker recipes and tips

More advice on buying electronic kit

The best food processors
The best blenders
The best toasters
The best kettles
The top 10 ice cream gadgets

This review was last updated in February 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.

Do you have an ice cream maker? Leave a comment below...