Magimix Gelato Expert | Frozen Dessert Maker with Built In Compressor | 2 x 2 L bowls | Makes Ice Cream, Gelato, Granita, Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbets | Satin, 11680

I wanted to upgrade my vonshef ice cream machine which I had for over a year. It had a compressor, aluminium bowl, and worked reasonably well. However, it was noisy, kicked out lots of heat, and didn't product ice cream as smooth as I wanted. I looked at the musso machines used in gelato stores day in day out (£800 - £1200) but that was a bit too much, and they only came with a year warranty. Then I saw the magimix, I have seen that people have had the older model for nearly 10 years running strong. This model looks aesthetically fantastic and is relatively compact / well weighted so it is easy to put in a cupboard if required. You can make granita, gelato, ice cream, and manually chill / mix with the button. There are 2 stainless steel bowls, the fixed one and the removable one. I did make the salt solution and put this between the bowls as I thought it'd be easier to clean, it was not since you still have to clean the salt water solution (or alcohol) out. The best solution is just to use the fixed bowl, and clean it with a sponge / clean cloth (water and soap) a few times. This is also colder - I recorded -40c inside the bowl and the thermometer kept on going down. For best results let this pre-chill for 20 minutes, when it's done put it straight in the freezer and let it set for about 4 hours (best results 12 hours). As long as you have a chilled ice cream base, you have whipped ice cream consistency in 20 minutes or gelato in 15 minutes. Very easy to clean the fixed bowl, and fairly quiet + it doesn't kick out that much heat all things considered. Powerful motor too, I've had this for nearly a year, and I have no doubt this will last for many more years! Great service / delivery speed from Amazon. There are honestly so many free recipes online for ice cream. Just search up "best ice cream" or "best gelato" recipes. You can make your own custard base ones, granita, frozen yoghurt, ones without a custard base... It's best to get the base ready 24h before in the fridge (nice and cold) so the flavours develop. This is the "best" consumer grade / price ice cream maker with a good warranty, from a reputable brand. You don't need a special recipe, it can do them all! I've known people with the old model that have used it regularly for nearly 10 years with no issue. I strongly believe this will last just as long, if not longer.

Decided to treat myself to the Rolls Royce of domestic ice cream makers and bought this as I couldn't find a bad review for it, It arrived promptly from Amazon and unpacked it straight away. There was some suspect indicators that this had been opened before - but looked unused and was impatient to use it so carried on unpacking and washing all the parts. Really good quality parts and solid build so I was impressed. Impatient to get started with nothing in to make ice cream I found I could make a sorbet from apple juice and sugar water - and I had some orange and carrot juice I made yesterday so had a go with that. I followed the instructions and made a brine solution to put in the fixed bowl and placed the removable bowl back in with the paddle. This was really easy - some people said that they had problems with the salt solution but when I finished up I was able to simply wipe it out and rinse with a cloth. So I switched it on for 5 minutes to cool down. I made the sugar solution in a saucepan - placed it in a sink of cold water and cooled it to about 40degrees C and then mixed with 250mL my juice that was stored in the fridge. This was nice and cold enough to put into the machine. I then pressed the ice cream/sorbet button, the paddle started to rotate, I poured the juice sugar solution in and put the cover on and let it do its thing. It continued till the paddle stopped and the light on the sorbet button then flashed to indicate it was now keeping it cool (for up to 2 hours). I tried it - it was delicious - maybe a little too sweet for me so may use less sugar solution next time. But this will be lovely and refreshing when it gets warmer in the summer soon. The machine I did not think was too loud but you do know it is on certainly. Cleaning up afterwards was quick and easy (although an ice cream may be more demanding). I stored the sorbet in smallish containers which will be good for up to a week. Overall I love it and look forward to many more creations. I also love the idea of making gratina with cocktails and wines when it gets really hot. I would recommend this if you can overlook the high price tag as I don't think anyone would be disappointed with what it does. It is definitely a wow factor machine.

So excited to receive this machine and l wasn’t disappointed with it look and feel. However, the machine simply didn’t get cold or freeze in anyway. Even after churning for six hours the mixture had warmed up after being very cold from the fridge. I am going to return this unit and hope it’s just a one-off defective unit

I've now done my first batch of gelato using this machine - vanilla. Compared to my previous setup, this is a dream. It's easier to set up (previous one required bowl in freezer overnight and the fixings to set up the mixing paddle were tricky). The machine obviously uses a torque sensor on the motor to work out when the gelato has reached the required consistency and finishes. I use a smaller, silicone spatula to extract the gelato - gets into the mixing paddle easier. When I had finished my vanilla I cleaner out the removable bown and paddle to clean and dry then set up for the next batch of banana and ginger gelato. No need to use the fixed bowl - just need to make sure you wash and dry the bowl and paddle well. Tasted the vanilla gelato and what is striking is the lovely smooth consistency. In my previous setup there was no consistency at all. Once the banana/ginger batch is made I'm moving onto a black grape and blueberry flavour. Very impressed so far. My gelati were tested at a barbecue attended by 4 to 15 year old children and a number of adults. The gelato was very popular with both groups with quote a lot of 'can I have some more' requests. Looking forward to making sorbets and granitas. I made a very simple non-egg gelato mix (based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but adding in condensed milk) added good quality vanilla essence and preserved ginger. It was really light, refreshing and delicious. I'm just hoping I can source Sorrento lemons to make a sorbet. Further gelati made: strawberry with mini marshmallows and chocolate. The fresh strawberries were prepared with raw cane sugar and chilled and added to the fiore di late with honey, a pinch of salt, lemon juice, a splash of Manila (Polish raspberry extract). After churning I added in the mini marshmallows. The chocolate was prepared with 85% chocolate bars, a touch of chilli flakes, and cocoa powder all added to the fiore di late. Delicious and intense flavour. I already have a Magimix blender (Le Blender) which has given excellent regular service for almost 10 years and just retired my Magimix toaster of 14 years which I should really have had sent off for repair (one of the elements had gone). This is testament to the quality of Magimix products.

It works really well and quickly. We use supermarket tubs of fresh custard and just add double cream and flavourings, fruit, chocolate, coffee, etc. You get delish ice cream in half an hour. Very expensive but oh so worth it. Great stainless steel bowl too so easy to use and clean. No included recipe book but there are plenty for sale on Amazon. I bought the “I Love My Ice Cream Maker” book and it’s OK. The Magimix one is available online on their website. The included pamphlet has some good advice to help you become more of an expert in the whole process. Don’t forget to get some tubs to put your lovely ice cream in. I gave it 4 stars because of the lack of paper recipe book, the noise it makes and the high price. Also there aren’t many English language HowTo YouTu.be videos available, unlike for the Cuisinart (MasterChef) machine. (Remember to pour the ingredients in when the machine is turning otherwise the beater will freeze stick to the sides.). The instructions say to put salt water or alcohol in between the bowls for heat conduction but I’ve found it doesn’t make an observable difference. I couldn’t remember what the symbols on the buttons meant so added Demo labels.