 Works very well |
| Review Date: May 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: V. Elliott, Florida |
Being a manager of a kitchen retail store gives me a little edge because I can see a few of these machines in person. Our store carries the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker that has the prefreeze bowl, we also carry the Cuisinart self refrigerated unit, and the Delonghi gelato machine. We use the Cuisinart prefreeze models for our demo's we do
on Saturday's at the store. It works, but it's not the most impressive ice cream you've ever had.
I wanted something better. I looked at both of the other units I listed above. The Cuisinart unit didn't feel well made to me. I took out the bowl, etc and the arm that goes across the top of the machine to the bowl feels like it will be only a matter of time before that gets broke. I decided to try the Delonghi model.
I have used it several times now. I love it!! The first recipe I made was butter pecan ice cream. It was excellent and the machine had it ready in 30 minutes. It can take an extra ten minutes if you add alcohol to your recipe (and this recipe used Jack Daniels). The next recipe was chocolate hazelnut gelato. OMG...Yummy!
Everything we've made has been great. The machine is very simple to use and it works great. I'm very happy with my decision and hope this helps you if you're debating between machines. I would recommend this machine.
I've read that many people didn't like the Cuisinart unit because it's very loud when you use it.
This machine is not very loud. I would say that it's quieter than a blender running. I can still watch tv with it running without upping the volume. It's pretty easy to clean too. There is one area that can get crumbs when you add nuts, etc. I just wipe around in there with a moist q-tip and that's about the only "problem" I can find with this unit. I also purchased The Perfect Scoop book by David Lebovitz. Excellent recipes. Haven't found a dud yet and it also has great resources in the back of the book in regards to ordering ingredients, etc.
Hope this helps with your decision :) |
A keeper
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| Review Date: June 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Curtis W. Hargus, |
| If you know the difference between gelato and ice cream, and you don't want to spend a few thousand dollars on a commercial gelato machine to satisfy your gelato urges, then this Delonghi gelato machine is for you. I was a skeptic at first, but after having used the machine and tasted the byproduct, Delonghi engineering has created an acceptable gelato machine that is affordable. I have made french vanilla, vanilla, lemon gelato, lemon sorbet and peanut butter cup gelato and all have been excellent. The advertised differences of less air and more dense conconctions is not hype but reality. I am not ready to say this machine will rival the gelaterias of Italy for truffle smooth creations, but what it produces is close enough for my palate. The peanut butter cup gelato was very close to truffle smooth and oh so rich and smooth. The lemon sorbet is intense and delectable. The concept the machine uses to produce gelato is the same as gelato machines costing a few thousand dollars more. The difference is scale (smaller batches) and the need for hardening in the fridge after processing---minor work arounds for the cost savings. The noise level is tolerable, and it appears to be well built. I believe if you follow the manufacturer's directions for use, the machine will perform admireably for many seasons. I would suggest buying Terrance Kopfer's book "Making Artisan Gelato." Delonghi's recipes are of the mix it freeze it sort---if you really want the flavor rush and smoothness unique to gelato, invest the time to prepare it the way it should be and you will be rewarded with this machine. With that said, the Delonghi vanilla, and french vanilla recipes were very good and the prep time was minutes instead of hours. The 1.2 pint capacity was a concern for me initially and caused me to postpone my purchase a few months. I can now say this is really an asset since you can make several varieties of gelato/sorbet in smaller quantities for entertaining which I believe lessens the potential for waste and ultimately cost. The longest freeze time was 25 minutes and the hardness of the product at the end of the cycle was much more frozen than I expected. In my opinion, given what I have mostly read about other machines, and what I have experienced as an owner of the Delonghi GM6000 Gelato Machine, I believe this may very well be the best gelato, er ice cream machine at this price point in the marketplace. |
Worth the Money!
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| Review Date: June 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Legalsea, Fort Worth, TX |
Like other reviewers I was a bit hesitant about paying this much for a gelato/ice cream maker. For years I used the Cuisinart ice cream maker (where you must freeze the bowls). However, we wanted an ice cream maker for our weekend house which has a refrigerator with a small freezer compartment: taking up space to freeze those bowls was not an option.
Well! I like this DeLonghi GM6000 Gelato Maker so much that the price suddenly seems very reasonable! I am tempted to get another one for our house.
Mind, this gelato maker does have a large `footprint'. Fortunately, I had a place in the kitchen for it. It is heavy (no fear of it `walking' off the counter). I did not find the unit loud at all; indeed, no more than the Cuisinart I had been using for years. The settings are four: 'off'; 'paddle only'; 'freeze only'; and 'paddle and freeze' (I have yet to use the 'paddle only' or 'freeze only' settings).
No more pre-freezing bowls! The first weekend of usage I was able to make multiple batches of ice cream in short order (after making a batch DeLonghi recommends waiting five minutes before beginning the next batch). I made four batches in a row the first evening.
You make two and a half cups of ice cream at a time. My normal recipe for vanilla ice cream (below) makes two batches. Each batch took about 25 minutes (the instructions say around 30 minutes; however, I stop when 1) the machine starts `straining' and 2) the ice cream is no longer being churned but just moving around with the paddle).
The bowl and paddle are easy to clean. You even get a small plastic spatula to remove the ice cream (never use a metal utensil).
A word to those new to making ice cream: the small recipe book (as well as other recipe books) often calls for heating the ice cream/gelato mixture, then letting it cool off before processing. These recipes usually call for real eggs.
However, I virtually never `heat' my mixture (only if using bars of chocolate, for the most part). For one, there is the real possibility of `scrambling' the eggs if you overheat. Two, the heating is simply for the purpose of pasteurizing the eggs.
I use Eggbeaters, which are already pasteurized. As such, no need to heat. Here is my basic Vanilla Ice Cream recipe:
One and one-half cups of Fat-Free Half and Half (splendid stuff, and cuts out a lot of fat; of course, you may substitute regular milk, or regular half and half).
One cup of heavy whipping cream.
One and one-fourth cups of Eggbeaters.
One cup of sugar.
One-fourth teaspoon of salt.
One tablespoon of Vanilla extract.
Mix everything together (I use a blender), then pour half into your DeLonghi Gelato Maker (or, if using one of those pre-frozen bowls, the whole thing).
This basic recipe can be used for many types of ice cream, simply substituting `whatever' for the vanilla (peppermint, peaches, mint, etc). Remember this: taste the mixture! If it does not taste good in the mixing bowl, it will not taste good after churning and freezing.
When your batch it ready it will have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Enjoy as is or place in the freezer for a bit.
In summary, this DeLonghi gelato maker is very, very easy to use and makes wonderful ice cream. No more waiting 24-hours for the freezer bowl to freeze!
Edited to add: by the way, the instructions talk about getting `some vodka or rum' and moistening a `cotton swab' in order to swab the bottom of the canister, so that the metal bowl does not `stick'.
So, I went out and got some Vodka. I was not sure if it was of good enough quality for such an expensive Gelato machine, so I mixed it with some Coca Cola and tasted it. Hmm. I tasted it again. Indeed, after a few tasting I decided that the Vodka was a little too good for `swabbing'. I can't remember if I came up with that thought before or after I finished the bottle.
So, I went out the next evening and purchased a bottle of `rum'. I believe it was Myers Dark Rum. I am not sure about that. I am sure that mixing some of the Myers rum with Coca Cola is delightfully pleasant to the taste buds. Long story short, I ended up not swabbing the bottom of the canister with anything, and yet the metal bowl came out well.
You may want to try the experiment yourself.
Edited to add: keep an eye on the price, since it tends to yo-yo a bit, from a low of about two and a quarter (if you follow my drift, since prices are not allowed) to two and three bits.
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Great little machine
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| Review Date: June 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Gelato Vero, |
| I read the reviews for all of the other gelato machines on Amazon and decided to give this little guy a try. It's truly amazing. I had been using the Cuisinart 1 1/2 quart machine with the freezer bowl for months and was annoyed that I could only do one batch a day. I am in the process of starting up a gelato business and needed something to do my test batches on while I save up for a commercial machine. A few months ago I made gelato on a commercial Carpigiani batch freezer and I am not lying when I say that the texture of the gelato coming out of the DeLonghi is pretty darn close to the stuff that came out of the Capigiani. Smooth, creamy, small ice crystals - amazing! The dasher (beater) is really well engineered and scrapes the gelato off of the sides of the bowl so that the gelato is evenly processed. My only wish that they made a model that could make more than 3 cups at a time. This little machine is so great that I don't mind processing the gelato in two batches. DeLonghi makes quality products. I have the toaster oven, coffee grinder, and now the gelato machine too! Buy this one! |
Outstanding Gelato Maker
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| Review Date: June 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: DanMan, Northwest, Arkansas. |
I've made ice cream in the past, but as i was looking for a decent ice cream maker I came across the Delonghi Gelato maker. What a great find!
Most of the ice cream makers were shoddy devices with these third rate kind of gel canisters that you have to freeze and then try to make ice cream. A friend of mine had one, a Cuisinart version and the results were third rate, icy and gritty ice cream that you might buy at a Dollar General Store after the ice cream freezer had gone off the day before for three hours. I felt sorry for my friends for have wasting their $100+ on this piece of junk.
I started searching for ice cream makers and looked at some that were almost $200. that were based on technology from when I was a kid 35 years ago. i kept searching and came across a gelato maker and remembered how I liked gelato better than ice cream, because it has less air in it and therefore was denser and yet uses less cream and no eggs and that makes it healthier. I settled on a unit that had it's own self contained compressor. That means no messy ice and salt or crude frozen gel containers that never get cold enough.
I chose the DeLonghi GM6000 Gelato Maker with Self-Refrigerating Compressor. The first two times I used it after about 20 minutes I heard a few squeaks and figured that it was probably done. Well, while it was good, it really wasn't done, because the directions said to run it for 30 minutes. The next time I made some gelato I let it run for the full 30 minutes and WOW!! What a fantastic improvement. This was the real thing, like the best gelato i had back in New York City. I've now made at least 6 different flavors and they are all great. I especially like vanilla, raspberry gelato, chocolate and stratichella (vanilla with chunks of dark chocolate added in the last 5 minutes.
The key is to run the machine the full 30 minutes and have a glass bowl that has been in the freezer for at least 3 hours, so you can quickly scrape the gelato from the machine's bowl into the glass bowl and then compress it down hard to get out any air bubbles. The final step is to cover the gelato itself with plastic wrap tightly inside the bowl. Then quickly place the gelato filled bowl into the freezer for several hours for the gelato to really harden. Then comes the fun part - the most delicious homemade gelato or for some they might think it's the creamiest, richest, densest ice cream they've ever eaten. The best part, it's yours for a fraction of the price at the store, it's made from only the best and freshest ingredients.
If you like excellent ice cream or gelato, you are going to love this machine. It's not really noisy and it cleans up in minutes. The best part is gelato doesn't have all of the whipped in air and lots and lots of cream and egg yolks that ice cream has in it - this means it's lower in calories and tastes better. It's hard to find tastes better - lower calories. If you can afford it buy it.
One final word: I bought the book, Artisan Gelato at the suggestion of an other reviewer, but I actually like the flavors in the enclosed user manual better and they are much easier to makel |
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