Have you heard the scoop? There’s no need to chase after the ice cream truck this summer because you can make your own frozen treats right in your kitchen with the ICEE Ice Cream Machine!
Last year, Iscream launched an ICEE Machine you can use at home (read our review here), and now the company is expanding its retro-inspired ICEE collection with a countertop ice cream maker! The appliance measures 12 by 9 inches, so it’s compact enough to fit right on a kitchen counter. It only weighs about 4 pounds, so you can easily carry it to wherever you want if you need it on a lower surface for the kids, or even if you want to take it to a friend’s house. The ice cream maker is recommended for kids ages 12 and up, so while teenagers can use it on their own, younger kids will need a helping hand. Make sure kids are careful because it does have a plug and moving parts like a blender.
Before you get started, you’ll need to do a little bit of planning ahead by prefreezing the inner canister overnight (for at least 8 hours) and making sure you have a few basic ingredients on hand, including milk, heavy cream, sugar, gelatin, and any additional flavors or toppings you may want to add. The manual includes recipes for vanilla, coffee, banana, chocolate, strawberry, and lemon ice cream. The kit also comes with four red-and-blue ICEE paper cups that really ramp up the retro vibes.
All you have to do is dissolve some gelatin into hot water, mix the rest of the ingredients in with the dissolved gelatin, and pour the mixture into the inner bowl with the paddle running so that the ice cream can form and freeze into a soft, spoonable consistency. In about 30-40 minutes, you’ll have 30 ounces of soft-serve ice cream, just as fresh as you’d find at any old-fashioned ice cream shop — and even fresher than what’s in the back of any ice cream truck. You can even create a toppings bar with crushed up Oreos, sliced strawberries, coconut shreds, or whatever you like. Imagine having a homemade ice cream bar at a backyard birthday or graduation party this summer.
You do need to clean the ice cream maker after each use, but it’s easy to remove the different pieces, such as the paddle, the canister, the top chute, and the outer bowl, and wash them off in the sink (not in a dishwasher). Obviously don’t put the plug or the power unit near water, and make sure kids know not to do that, either. You can also store the ice cream in a separate container for a week.
Feel free to get creative and let your kids experiment with their favorite flavors, or convince them to branch out and try something new. Have you ever tried sweet corn or cilantro ice cream? Get a little crazy! Who knows: You may just have the next Ben and Jerry in your kitchen. At the very least, you’ll make some lasting memories.
