Making ice cream may seem silly to some people. Why bother? You can get a pint at the gas station or a gallon/tub at the grocery store for a few dollars.

What is the attraction? Well, maybe one would want to because they can. Ice cream makers make the process very convenient for at home aficionados. Recipe books from the likes of Ben and Jerry’s have ingredient lists and instructions that anyone could potentially mix a recipe to process in a mechanized ice cream maker. In fact, even the ice cream maker manufacturers offer decent recipe guides that break the process down and explain how to get the most out of their product.

In as little as a few minutes, the ice cream base can be produced. Sugar (3/4 of a cup), milk (1 cup), 2 cups of half and half, whipping cream, or heavy cream and eggs (optional as an emulsifier) mixed together and the base is ready after stirring. Then the desired ingredients for flavor and texture can be added prior to being introduced to the ice cream maker.

Ice cream makers provide a lot of convenience at home. When you break it down into its simplest constituent parts an ice cream maker may seem fairly simple. There is a motorized base that spins. Upon this is a vessel containing water that is frozen (other variants available). Then there is a cover and an internal flipper/blending instrument that moves layers of the produced ice cream as the concoction cools and freezes during blending. The process is usually done in 15 to 20 minutes and the newly created ice cream will be ready to serve or store for later consumption. Cuisinart produces one such very easy to use machine. It may a little bit of an audible hum as it spins the cream, but other than that the recipe guide and equipment can produce appetizing and refreshing smoothies and ice cream.