Ice Cream Maker

An  ice cream maker is a machine used to make  ice cream at home or in the factory. Ice cream makers may stir the mixture by hand-cranking or with an electric motor, and may chill the ice cream by using a freezing mixture, by pre-cooling the machine in a freezer, or by the machine itself refrigerating the mixture.

Most ice creams are ready to eat immediately, but some, especially those containing alcohol, must be chilled further in a freezer to attain a sufficiently firm consistency.

Some machines, such as certain low-priced counter-top models, require that the resulting mixture be frozen an extra four hours or more (or overnight), depending on the recipe, in order for the ice cream to harden to a desired consistency.

If we differentiate ice cream making machine according to power source, we can divid it into two categories. One is Manual machines, and another one is Electric machines.

Obviously, these manual machines usually comprise an outer bowl and a smaller inner bowl with a hand-cranked mechanism which turns a paddle, sometimes called a dasher, to stir the mixture. This type of ice cream maker is inexpensive, but inconvenient and messy as the ice and salt mixture produces a lot of salty water as it melts, which the user must dispose of, and the ice and salt mixture has to be replenished to make a new batch of ice cream.

In the other hand, for electric machines, there are three types of electric ice cream machines. Each has an electric motor which drives either the bowl or the paddle to stir the mixture. The major difference between the three is in how the cooling is performed. More expensive, and much larger, machines have a freezing mechanism built in and do not require a bowl to be pre-chilled. The cooling system is switched on, and in a few minutes the mixture can be poured in and the paddle switched on. As with coolant-bowl machines, ice cream is ready in twenty to thirty minutes, depending on the quantity made. These machines can be used immediately with no preparation, and any number of batches of ice cream can be made without a delay between batches. Some of these machines cannot be moved without waiting twelve hours before use, as moving the unit upsets the coolant in its freezing system; they would normally be kept permanently positioned ready for use, impractical in a smaller kitchen.

We can also divid it to home ice maker and commerical ice maker.

The commerical machines’ features include:
Very low temperature, higher hardness ice along with commercial grade long lasting design.
Computer controled, automatically input water, making ice, defrosting and trouble shooting.
luxurious appearance, stainless steel outer panel, erosion resistant and endurable.
Ice thickness adjustable, suitable to various usages.
High performance compressor, CFC free gas.
Different power type available.
Spray mode making ice.
Power saving design.

And the home ice making machine is just very simple, convenient and practical.Just like the machine in the below image.

If we differentiate ice cream makers according to brand, there are many brands such as below:
1) Cuisinart
2) Kitchenaid
3) White Mountain
4) Rival
5) Donvier
6) Hamilton Beach
7) Deni
8) Aroma
9) Delonghi
10) Musso
11) Back To Basics
12) Bosch
13) Nostalgia Electrics
14) Mehen