cabbagehead
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You have two choices in ice cream maker designs: those that mix in a freezable bucket, and those that are cooled by salt and ice. Salt and ice makers are noisy and require some attention, but they hold a lot of ice cream and are inexpensive. Bucket machines are quieter, but they only make two or three quarts at a time.
Yes, you can get hand-crank makers. Some people feel nostalgic about these devices, remembering when their family would hand crank ice cream together. As an adult, you'll probably find turning a hand crank through thick cream for half an hour to be an exercise in masochism.
Even "uncooked" ice cream needs to be heated to dissolve the sugar into the cream. The mixture needs to be cooled before turning it into ice cream. If you really want to go low-fat, try a soy milk based recipe: it keeps the creaminess of regular recipes while avoiding the crystallization problems of ice milk.
If you have a liquid container mixer, you will need to start it before pouring in the ingredients.
If you have the older style maker, you'll need to fill the ice cream container and place it in the tub. Fill the space between the container and the tub with alternating layers of ice and salt: each ice layer should be two to three inches thick, with enough salt on top to cover the surface. Latch the motor onto the top and turn it on. The container will spin around the beater: this way it contacts the ice as much as possible, speeding the freezing process.
Either type of maker will shut off when it's finished mixing. At this point the ice cream is edible, but it will be really soft: it will need to be stored in the freezer at least overnight before it reaches the proper texture.
 Posted 5392 day ago
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