# Looking for advice on ice cream/gelato makers with built-in compressor



## mr. jeff (Apr 24, 2009)

Hi there,

I'd like to buy an ice cream maker to make ice cream, gelato, and sorbets, and I'm thinking of getting one with its own refrigeration. After two days of research, it is narrowed down to the Lello 4070 Gelato Junior and the Cuisinart ICE-50BC.

Can anyone comment on how smooth the ice cream or gelato made by these types of units will be? My only experience is with the "freezer bowl" variety -- which tastes OK but always seemed grainy to me. Will these more expensive units eliminate the graininess that home-made ice cream seems to produce? Is its output ready to eat or must it be placed in the freezer first to set?

Please, any advice or comments will be welcome. Thanks!


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## mr. jeff (Apr 24, 2009)

Well, nobody responded, and now it has been almost a year so I thought I'd post back.  I ended up getting the Lello 4070 Gelato Junior, and we love it.  Making ice cream used to be so stressful because you'd only get one shot before having to refreeze the bowl for 10 hours.  It made it difficult to experiment.  Now we can make as many batches as we want, right in a row.  The hardest part is letting the batter sit in the fridge overnight, but if we're in a hurry we will just chill the batter in some ice water for 1/2 hour and then throw it in the Lello.  I've also made slurpees by just pouring a can of root beer into the unit and running it for 20 mins or so.  Ice cream is relatively smooth with little graininess.  I do eliminate virtually all of the graininess by adding a mixture of guar and xanthan gum to all my ice cream.  It's my secret ingredient that guarantees a rich, creamy product every time.

All in all, well worth the money and it has worked wonderfully.  Oh, it should be noted that the first unit we received did not get cold at all, and the box was pretty bashed up when it arrived.  Amazon sent out a replacement right away which worked perfectly (even though its box was also bashed in).


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

There seems to be a new product on the market and I'm looking at replacing my Cuisinart that requires the bowl to be pre-frozen with a machine that has a compressor.  The Lello that I've seen is very expensive these days, but I noticed that Delonghi has a machine on the market.  Haven't seen any reviews of it yet though.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Jeff,

What made you choose this one over the Cuisinart model that has the built in compressor? Would you mind also posting your review of the product?

http://www.cheftalk.com/products/lello-4070-gelato-junior


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## mr. jeff (Apr 24, 2009)

I think it almost came down to a coin toss between the various self-freezing models.  Both look like very nice units.  I have never used the Cuisinart, but some reviews on Amazon made note of its excessively loud noise.  Also, the Cuisinart ICE-50BC has a 1.5 quart capacity, while the Lello 4070 has a 1 quart capacity.  My understanding of ice cream makers is that you don't want to underfill them or the proper amount of air won't be whipped into the batter as it freezes.  I figured for my wife and me one quart would be plenty.  I like to experiment with different ingredients, so for me, being able to make many small batches was a plus.  The final decider was that while both the Lello and the Cuisinart had very good reviews, the Lello owners seemed almost fanatical about their love for the device.

Both ice cream makers would probably please any owner, though.


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## mr. jeff (Apr 24, 2009)

Free Rider said:


> There seems to be a new product on the market and I'm looking at replacing my Cuisinart that requires the bowl to be pre-frozen with a machine that has a compressor. The Lello that I've seen is very expensive these days, but I noticed that Delonghi has a machine on the market. Haven't seen any reviews of it yet though.


Are you looking at the 4070? It is under $180 -- one of the lowest prices for a self-freezing ice cream maker.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

It's a DeLonghi GM6000 Gelato maker.  I went to Williams Sonoma to look at it and it seems quite nice.  My only concern is that the paddle is somewhat flimsier in design than the one in my freeze-the-bowl Cuisinart model.  Then again, the Cuisinart has a straight paddle and the DeLonghi has one with a curve going down to a pointed and to scoop along the bottom of the bowl.  Given that the "batter" would be frozen at the bottom of the bowl, I'm not sure how well such a flimsy point would do in scraping the bottom.  Still thinking about it...


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