Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this a few months back from Sharper Image. Since then, I haven't bought ice cream outside of my home. You can make not only ice cream, but sorbets, slushes, and other frozen desserts. It's very simple to use: mix the ingredients, turn the single switch on, and come back in 20 minutes. The machine makes a humming noise as it's churning. I'd say it's louder than an electric can opener, but quieter than a blender. Clean up is pretty simple. There are only 4 parts to the machine: the machine base (which you don't wash), the drum, the mixer, and the top. The last two are easy enough to put in the diswasher. In fact, if you pour perfectly, then you don't have to clean the top. The drum, however, you'll have to wash by hand. It's easy enough to clean though. Just DON'T use paper towels to dry it if it's still in the frozen state, otherwise the towel pieces will stick. I've seen two common complaints that I'd like to address: 1) "You can't use it right out of the box." True, you have to take the drum (it's like a thick bucket) and put it in the freezer overnight. Or at least until you can't hear the liquid sloshing in between the walls of the drum. But keep in mind how ice cream is made. Regardless of what device you use to make ice cream, in all cases you're basically taking a sweet cream-based liquid (cream, sugar, egg, flavoring) and stirring it against a cold surface. This freezes the substance while still keeping it soft (there's a microscopic amount of air inside the ice cream), instead of becoming a block of frozen solid cream. The old hand-crank devices do this by lining the outside surface with chunks of ice and rock salt. This machine instead just has a single piece you store in the freezer until it's cold, then take it out when you're ready to make ice cream. This is much less messy and easier than having to get ice and rock salt out for every recipe. 2) "It comes out soft." Yes, freshly made ice cream will have a consistency like softserve. All you have to do is pour it in an air tight container and stick it in your freezer. Then it will have the correct consistency of store-bought ice cream. It says this right in the directions. I have to wonder if people bothered to read them first. Although about a dozen sample recipes are included, I would recommend buying an additional ice cream recipe book. I HIGHLY recommend the one by Ben & Jerry's, as it's extremely informative (gives their trial & error tales for each recipe, etc.), has lots of recipes, and is very easy to follow. I'd also recommend getting some Tupperware or similar to store the ice cream. I've found that the 2-quart Glad Interlock plastic containers are the perfect size for a batch. Have fun experimenting. Oh, and as I'm sure others have said: you may just need a gym membership after getting this.