Whynter Upright Automatic Ice Cream Maker, 2.1 Qt, ICM-201SB

Great ice cream maker! I've made several quarts of ice cream so far, and every batch has turned out delicious. Not needing to cool a bowel is incredibly convenient, and the included recipes are excellent. Easy to use, reliable, and worth the investment for ice cream lovers.

Great machine. Cleans up very easily and quickly. In less than a minute your set up and making delicious ice cream or sorbet ( or both!!). Be careful not to overfill, as the ice cream expands when freezing. Great consistency when finished, although it needs to be frozen longer in the freezer for hard ice cream. So fun! Highly recommended.

Original review was one star and: Not only is it NOT freezing to make ice cream, it's actually warming the mixture. It started at 64* -- obviously well above freezing, and is now sitting at 66*. It should be COOLING and FREEZING the mixture - not WARMING it. What a waste. Customer service is non-responsive. Would not recommend. Update: I had spent about 45 minutes on the online chat feature waiting...the chat said my wait time was 'under a minute' - but it was HOURS before they responded and I was already gone. I contacted them via email and they responded immediately. Their said that their chat feature was down and they had no way to respond. After receiving my email, they asked for the proof of purchase and serial number and included some troubleshooting steps. I wrote back with the POP and photo of serial number and gave them a play-by-play of all steps I had already taken and instead of making me return the unit for repair (brand new unit - why would I have to wait for it to be 'repaired'?), they sent me a new machine directly from them. And? Told me to keep the original machine to use for parts (if needed). I truly appreciate their efforts to make things right. The new machine arrived in a few days and I am so very happy to report that this unit works properly and is everything I had hoped for: easy to use, no pre-prep, and ice cream in 30 minutes. Prior to this machine, I had the Kitchen Aid stand mixer ice cream attachment and it was awkward to use and the ice cream churning bowl needed to be kept in the freezer for at least 24 hours. So I either had to remember to put the bowl in the freezer a day ahead of time or keep it in there all the time (which takes up way too much space in my freezer). This machine is fantastic! I mixed a few ingredients together, churned in the machine, and in thirty minutes, I had homemade coconut ice cream. I can not wait to use this machine over and over again. Their recipe book has everything from basic vanilla to Chicken Soup & Dill Sorbet (not appealing to me but I give them credit for providing a wide variety!). Update #2: I took a video of the machine in action. I am obsessed with peanut butter ice cream and adding in chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, cookie dough (not all of them at once, lol).

I am having a ball using this machine. I've had a freezer bowl ice cream maker before and switching to a compressor ice cream machine has been a great decision. it is easy to use and it makes just enough ice cream. And if it isn't enough ice cream, I can make more a few minutes later. The machine doesn't take up a lot of space. It will shut off if the motor is running for too long (making 2-3 batches consecutively, for instance) to avoid overheating. It also shuts off when the ice cream gets too thick for the dasher. this happened to me and it didn't take long to cool down. I am grateful for this feature as i haven't yet figured out how long to churn a particular recipe. I don't worry about damaging the machine. This ice cream maker is well made. it looks great. The mixer bowl is solid. it has a chill feature. It feels durable and it's not loud. You get about 2 and a half Ben & Jerry pints out of it. I've only made custard ice cream so far. I have no regrets. Basic custard ice cream recipe 5 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup full fat milk, dash of salt,1 T vanilla. Adjust to your liking (I like to add an additional 1/2 cup milk). You can find full instructions on YouTube. I suggest a thermometer to help with tempering and cooking the eggs. Don't worry, it's easy. Enjoy!

We purchased this a year ago. I wanted to get some use out of this before writing a review. I would say this is one of our best purchases. This machine is easy to use and easy to clean. It is not self cleaning but when you make this amount of ice cream in one batch that is okay. We have made so much ice cream and it is still working like new. It is heavy so moving it from counter to storage is a challenge so we only move it off the counter twice a year. My wife does not like things on the counter and thid had a pretty big foot print so make sure it will fit the counter space you have. For our money this has been amazing. The cost is reasonable for the amount of use we get out of it. No ice or salt just set it up and go. We have tried several recipes and I still go back to the vanilla bean. I wasn’t sue when we spent the money but after a year of saving on chemicals in our ice cream I am truly impressed. Don’t wait get yours today you wont regret it.

We had a "freezer bowl" style ice cream maker for 10 - 15 years. We used it a lot. We did the whole "science it" thing to determine exactly what ice cream base we thought was best. We had fun riffing off of flavor combos that we liked (coconut chocolate chip and peppermint candy cane chocolate chip being our favorites). We enjoyed it so much that after a while I got it in my head that I wanted to upgrade. Why? Sometimes, we forgot to put the bowl in the freezer. Or I wanted to make more batches at a time (note: you can always buy a 2nd freezer bowl, if you have the space in the freezer). In the end, we enjoyed making it enough that we thought it was worth the splurge on the chance that the quality of ice cream will be better. So, I sat on this idea for about a year. It is just the way we work - we are not impulsive. I did my research, learned about compressor models, and focused on this one. Then I pulled the trigger a few weeks ago. Enough background, here are my thoughts: 1. Using the exact same recipes, the ice cream is an upgrade. It isn't night and day or anything. But it is definitely there. The ice cream is just ... creamier. Say like a 10 – 20% improvement. 2. The thing is stupid easy to use, at least for ice cream (I haven't tried the other features yet). Make your mix, dump it in, press start. That is it. 3. Cleaning is relatively easy. The parts are not dishwasher safe, which is a bummer. And when you hand wash you cannot just rinse things off - the fat content won't let you get away with that. But everything comes out pretty easily and it isn't too much of a chore to get them cleaned up. Oh, and it is possible to overfill the bowl, in which case the mixture runs down into the freezer chamber in which the bowl sits. Not a big deal, but you do have to wait until the freezer chamber warms up to clean it properly. 4. Coming from a freezer bowl model, the bowl looks very small at first. I did worry that there was no way that thing was going to hold a full batch. But relax, it still makes the same amount of ice cream. 5. I find the timer kind of strange. I mean, it is really easy to read - it starts at 60 minutes and counts down. Simple. But I haven't figured out why it counts down from 60 minutes. The ice cream is usually ready w/in say 35 – 40 minutes. I guess the extra time is so that it can firm up a little bit more (even after the dasher stops moving, the machine keeps freezing the ice cream). 6. There is also not any sort of indicator that the ice cream is ready for mix-ins (nuts or chips or whatever). And if you put it in too early, it falls to the bottom and jams up the dasher. I have figured out – wait until between the 30 – 35 minute mark. At that point the mixture will look like ice cream. Do not put in mix ins until the ice cream looks like that. Also, do not wait too long because when the ice cream starts to get too stiff the dasher will stop turning. At that point, you will have to put in the mix ins manually when you move the ice cream to its container. Not the end of the world, but not as easy as letting the machine do it either. 7. I do find the clear lid kind of finicky to close. You have to put it on and twist it but it usually takes me several tries to get it lined up correctly. Maybe there is a trick I haven’t figured out yet. 8. If you let the machine run to the end of the 60 minute timer, the ice cream is firmer than it is as the end of a cycle in a freezer bowl machine. It is still soft – I wouldn’t immediately scoop it and put it on a cone – but it is firmer. But the question is: since a freezer bowl machine is done in about 30ish minutes, would that ice cream be just as firm after 30 minutes in the freezer? I am not sure. Bottom line: Do I like it? Yes. Do I regret buying it? Nope. Do I think it is for everybody? Nope. You have to really enjoy making ice cream to spring this much on a machine and have one of these things on your countertop. If you are just dipping your toes in or think you will just make it once every few months, go for a freezer bowl machine. If you fall in love with it like we did, you can save up and buy one of these.

It took me a couple of years to decide on buying the machine and I wish I hadn't hesitated for so long. I've made multiple batches of ice cream since receiving it and they've all been delicious and creamy. Everything from standard chocolate gelato to vanilla, banana butter pecan, peach and pistachio. I'm looking forward to summer for cantaloupe or lemon sorbet. More flavors to follow I'm sure. I'm allergic to soy and almost all commercial ice cream makers use gums derived from soy or guar gum which is a close relative of soy and can cause digestive issues. Now that I have my own machine I have total control over the ingredients so I can safely eat ice cream made with fresh organic ingredients , soy and gum free. My family has been thrilled with the ice cream too. The machine is small enough to store in the pantry and move to the counter when needed, it runs quietly and finishes in an hour or less. On top of that it's very easy to clean, I can't ask for more. I found Wynter's customer service to be excellent. When I first got the machine I had a small issue. I contacted the company asking for advice and spoke with a very nice and knowledgeable woman who resolved my issue immediately. No fuss no muss.

This ice-cream maker is not cheap. But it's well worth the cost compared to the value you get. A lot of people use the ice-cream makers that rely on the bowls you pre-freeze overnight. I tried one of those once and it didn't stay frozen long enough to get the ice-cream to the soft-serve consistency you need in the finished product. Then you have to wash the bowl and re-freeze it before you can use it again. We also have two of the old-fashioned bucket-type ice-cream makers. Those make a lot of of ice-cream and it's real ice-cream when you're done. We even have the plug-in motor that does the cranking for you. But they make a huge mess and take a lot of ice and salt. And it has to be the right kind of salt. This Whynter ice-cream maker is more of a professional grade ice-cream maker. It has a compressor that freezes the bowl while the motor runs the churn. It's easy to use and doesn't make a mess. And while it does cost more than the other two kinds of ice-cream makers, it is far superior. The recipes in the booklet provided with the machine are all good, but be warned that they all make twice the amount the ice-cream maker can churn at one time. I got good results by churning half the mix, and then churning the other half right away. Keep in mind, if you don't rinse the bowl and plastic churner in warm water, the bowl will freeze into the machine and you'll have to let it sit at room temperature to thaw before you can take it out to wash it. The plastic churner is a really weird shape and it's hard to scrape clean. But it's designed to do exactly what it's supposed to do, so I can live with it. The bowl, the plastic churner, and the lid are all machine washable. You can also soak them in hot, soapy water and rinse them without scrubbing. They are very user-friendly. And the churn isn't cheap plastic. It's built to last. One last thing: the first machine I got didn't work. It didn't get the bowl down to freezing. But there were so many good reviews that I took the trouble to return it for a replacement, rather than a credit. I'm so glad I did. Our test batch of milk and sugar froze in 15 minutes. A higher fat content mix takes about half an hour to freeze to soft-serve consistency. If you churn cream without freezing it, you can make butter. I might actually try it for making herb and honey butters. All in all, I highly recommend this machine.

Have had this for two years now and it rocks. Highly recommended.

Cannot say good enough things about this unit. As with all Whynter products I've bought (Have a portable dual hose AC unit ARC-14S) it's all about the build: No fancy crap internet connected doodads and thingamagigs. Rock solid and made to last. A couple suggestions: First make sure to fill it WELL BELOW the top paddle... I did it and since it expands as it freezes it tends to start popping the lid which disengages the paddle and "jumps". Second: For those complaining about the paddles and how convoluted they are, I use a chopstick or small silicone spatula to clean it off nor prob. Ya'd think they're expecting the machine to feed it to them? Seriously? :-) All in all TOP NOTCH and well worth the price. And just to be clear: The machine churns about 16oz and anyone says it makes 1qt is talking about the RECIPE (I do vanilla). The machine CANNOT freeze 32oz in one go. With the Vanilla (which I might add is a process LoL!) it takes 2 runs to do the entirety of it.

Comes with US plug and US voltage but this information is nowhere written

La máquina funciona excelente. Sí, es más cara que otros modelos que existen en el mercado pero tiene una ventaja superior a otros productos y es que esta siempre está lista para trabajar sin tener que congelar tanque o conseguir hielo. También es muy fácil de limpiar. Recomendada!

Product boxes had been previously opened. Candy sprinkles all over. Product was definitely not handed to me even though multiple people were home at the time. Very flimsy ice cream scoop and removable “pot” which isn’t even stamped as being 304. The removable “carrier” pot might be some kind of SST but the inner pot which gets scrapped is just a real light metal like aluminum. Manuals not is separate bags. No bags were tied closed. Not acceptable for a food machine.